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The Bobby Gold Stories
Bobby Gold is a lovable criminal. After nearly ten years in prison, he's no sooner out than he's back to work breaking bones for tough guys. His turf: the club scene and restaurant business. It's not that he enjoys the job-Bobby has real heart-but he's good at it, and a guy has to make a living. Things change when he meets Nikki, the cook at a club most definitely not in h...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
June 19th 2004
by Bloomsbury USA
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i'm on the fourth chapter and i'm pretty interested. :]
Not one of Anthony Bourdain's best. I found this book disjointed with not much redeeming value.
I had looked forward to reading something outside the culinary world by Bourdain and heard a lot of hype about his three novels on the underworld. The writing is good, the characters are somewhat interesting, but this book should have been at least twice as long as it is. The book starts out interesting, but the future in the reader gets the more it seems that the author has begun to fal...more
I had looked forward to reading something outside the culinary world by Bourdain and heard a lot of hype about his three novels on the underworld. The writing is good, the characters are somewhat interesting, but this book should have been at least twice as long as it is. The book starts out interesting, but the future in the reader gets the more it seems that the author has begun to fal...more
Short, fast paced and gritty, Bourdain slaps us into a dark tale of Bobby Gold, a guy who could have been a doctor, a lawyer, a good guy...but somehow ended up the strong arm for a short, arrogant, mob wanna-be boss.
Bobby lives a life of sparse routine, of doing what has to be done, without question. But, as usual things go awry and he is forced to make some tough calls.
Bourdain's writing is to the point, sharp, witty and has a classic style to it. His voice is unmistakable...more
Bobby lives a life of sparse routine, of doing what has to be done, without question. But, as usual things go awry and he is forced to make some tough calls.
Bourdain's writing is to the point, sharp, witty and has a classic style to it. His voice is unmistakable...more
You could finish the entire thing during the course of a particularly epic bowel movement, and you get the sense it's just something Anthony Bourdain threw together to capitalize on the success of the mega bestseller Kitchen Confidential and the subsequent TV series, but who gives a shit? I don't like long books anyway, because they take forever to read, and it makes me feel like that's because I can't read well (when it's really just the book's fault), and I'm a very sensitive person, due to my...more
Anthony Bourdain is rough cut. Robert Goldstein is rough cut. The Bobby Gold Stories are rough cut. So what did you expect? More a novella than the novel proclaimed on the artsy cover designed by Whitney Cookman (seriously), the tough, dirty, obscene, realistic, and mildly engaging story is at least as good as any other in the mini-genre of culinary stories involving the mob. How many are there? Well, don't forget Joseph R. Gannascoli, A Meal to Die For: A culinary novel of crime, New York...more
I am addicted to Anthony Bourdain No Reservations on the Travel Channel. I am particularly attracted to Bourdain’s narration of the program. He is insightful, humorous, and eloquent.
Last night, I caught a rerun of Bourdain’s visit to London. During the program, he refers to one of his novels. Hmm, a novel? I headed to the library today and picked up Bourdain’s The Bobby Gold Stories: A Novel.
Bobby Gold is a good-hearted thug who falls for a cook, Nikki, who dreams of life...more
Last night, I caught a rerun of Bourdain’s visit to London. During the program, he refers to one of his novels. Hmm, a novel? I headed to the library today and picked up Bourdain’s The Bobby Gold Stories: A Novel.
Bobby Gold is a good-hearted thug who falls for a cook, Nikki, who dreams of life...more
This book is what got me hooked on Bourdain fiction.
I found it laying in some Ecuadorian hostel and read it a good 5 times in my months abroad.
Great writing style, fast paced story-line, fun characters, quick read.
It's like reading a Guy Ritchie movie, only with white truffle oil and a tad more sexuality.
This is definitely a book for men. Bourdain's misogyny shines through a couple of the chapters in this book, but as a 22 year old, I have loved it to death.
I found it laying in some Ecuadorian hostel and read it a good 5 times in my months abroad.
Great writing style, fast paced story-line, fun characters, quick read.
It's like reading a Guy Ritchie movie, only with white truffle oil and a tad more sexuality.
This is definitely a book for men. Bourdain's misogyny shines through a couple of the chapters in this book, but as a 22 year old, I have loved it to death.
The blurb on the front of the book compares Anthony Bourdain's novel to Elmore Leonard but in some ways this is a better book than Elmore Leonard could write. The dialogue is excellent, Bourdain seems to understand just how much people curse in real life. While short (and honestly, too expensive for the length) the plot works pretty well in the space that it's told. My main complaint with the book is that the main character is basically a Mary Sue for the author.
I'm a big fan of Bourdain's non-fiction writing about his career as a chef (Kitchen Confidential), so when I read fantastic reviews about this fiction crime novel, I was eager to check it out. Luckily, it's really short. The book features Bobby Gold, just released from 10 years in prison for a drug charge. He finds a job working as some kind of bouncer/enforcer for a ne'er do well, and becomes infactuated with Nikki, a chef as one of his frequented haunts. This book is long on bone-crushing enco...more
The raunchy story of a small-time arm breaker with a taste for the finer things in life, this seems partially autobiographical, except for the criminal parts. Bobby Gold (nee Goldstein) wears a Ramones tshirt(see the back of the book flap for a photo of Bourdain in one) and likes bone marrow on toast (one of Tony's favorites). He does a three-year stint in prison to protect his boss. When he gets out, his boss gives him a job as an enforcer and bouncer, a role Bobby has no stomach for. In the en...more
As a fan of Anthony Bourdain, I was happy to see that his fiction is basically his own persona, multiplied. The Bobby Gold Stories are a collection of character sketches with a loose narrative thread. It's short, sweet, escapist fun. The back of the book promises "food, sex, crime and mayhem" and it does deliver, but I enjoyed the cool, laid-back, tough-guy bravado of the main character most of all. Looking forward to more Bourdain.
I was pretty disappointed in this book. I've enjoyed Bourdain's non-fiction, and I thought he might have a flair for the novel. He might, but not this novel. This book had no real flow-through and felt very disjointed. It was like the author had several plot points he wanted to get out there and was fine with just putting them in a book without connecting them.
A fun, quick read filled with spare, smart prose, Bourdain's third crime novel mixes outer circle mob life with wonderful kitchen detail. "The Bobby Gold Stories" also contains some of the best sex I've ever had on the page. But I may be biased as Bobby's love interest is tall, dark, and foul-mouthed: those of you who know my wife will understand.
If you like a book laced with vulgarities, lacking much of a plot, and absolutely worthless of your time to read --- then this book is for you. When I saw Anthony Bourdain's name on the cover I was surprised that he was an author, in addition to a chef and TV personality. I was wrong...he really is not an author. That would give other authors a bad name. Give a pass to this one.
I miss Bourdain writing fiction. And this book is just another example of that.
It was far too thin a volume, yet fitting for the life of Bobby Gold. I wanted more adventures with him at the end. But a lifetime can only hold so much, and I think that was one of the points Bourdain was trying to get across.
A+, would read again. I need to read the rest of his fiction now.
It was far too thin a volume, yet fitting for the life of Bobby Gold. I wanted more adventures with him at the end. But a lifetime can only hold so much, and I think that was one of the points Bourdain was trying to get across.
A+, would read again. I need to read the rest of his fiction now.
the last thing i read was anthony bourdain's kitchen confidential, and it's so funny how you can almost predict what's going to happen in this book because of how well you get to know him in that quasi-autobiography. this novel was ok. a quick read, and pretty funny at times, i wasn't drawn in too much. it was a 'this happened, then that happened' kind of story, with awkward non-sexy sex scenes peppered (excuse the pun) about for no discernable reason. i agree with other reviews of the book ...more
So this is definitly not a fine piece of writing...certainly not the standout that Kitchen Confidential was. But I'm a sucker for Bourdain and the best elements of this book are when his writing is set in the kitchen. This is a man who nails it when he describes the rythmn and fluidity of the kitchen and of course his mastery of kitchen patois. But it's a little too machismo, a little too cheesy gangster movie to be considered a good book. But the bits and pieces where Bourdain articulates what ...more
Executive chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain indulges his gangster fantasies. Very brief but interesting and fairly well written. Far too much detail about food and restaurants, which is to be expected but a noticeable contrast with the brevity of everything else.
This is another of Bourdain's novels, also a culinary-mob tale. It was enjoyable and easy and quick to read. It got a little food-nerdy for a while and if I were a first-timer to Bourdain I'd probably get annoyed and move on, but I'm hooked on the man and easily forgive his nerdiness. I wouldn't put this on my all-time favorites list, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Like most of Bourdain's writing, The Bobby Gold Stories: A Novel is very crisp, expletive and violent-- the very reason I enjoy it so. Still for anyone familiar with the noir genre, and for anyone who knows how they go, this book and it's crash course ending will come as no surprise. So what's this one about? Well, much like his non-fiction work, this book is about thugging and cooking.
The titular character of this book is a lovable thug whose personality finally awakens when he fa...more
The titular character of this book is a lovable thug whose personality finally awakens when he fa...more
My first experience with Bourdain's fiction. It was raunchy with lots of bad language. I wasn't surprised haha. Decent story; very fast read. Nothing earth shattering
This book proves Anthony Bourdain should be more cautious of writing fiction. His creative name for a nightclub is "Nite Klub". Enough said.
The Great American Novel it's not, but it follows a good gangster-genre tradition -- and gives some glimpses into Bourdain's culinary expertise.
Love it. Can't say enough of how well Bourdain writes. He has a definite command of the English language and an infinite vocabulary.
Matt Towery
is currently reading it
So far a great read. Anthony bourdains television show is one of my favorites. Now I'm adding him to my list of fav. Authors
One of Bourdain's first attempts at fiction, and he did so with success. A quick, easy read that was quite enjoyable.
I have a silly school girl crush on Anthony Bourdain. I don't have a silly school girl crush on this book.
Kinda dark. I'm iffy about this one - not the usual witty fare that you expect of Bourdain.
not what i expected. should be between two and three stars. pot boiler. fast read.
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Anthony Bourdain is the author of the novels Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo, in addition to the megabestsellers Kitchen Confidential and A Cook’s Tour.
His work has appeared in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and he is a contributing authority for Food Arts magazine. He is the host of the popular television show No Reservations.
More about Anthony Bourdain...
His work has appeared in the New York Times and the New Yorker, and he is a contributing authority for Food Arts magazine. He is the host of the popular television show No Reservations.
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