Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Updated Edition) by Anthony Bourdain

20 reviews

peytonhhill's review

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This book surprised me! While it wouldn't be my regular cup of tea, the audiobook is quite good, and I learned a whole lot about the culinary world. It sounds like Anthony Bourdain was a really interesting person, and it was certainly worth the listen to learn about his life, passions, and world. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook read by the author. People interested in food and cooking books, and anything nonfiction but fast-paced would enjoy this!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide and Drug abuse

samchase112's review against another edition

funny informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

I’ll be right here. Until they drag me off the line, I’m not going anywhere. I hope.

Hell yeah, this book was freaking fantastic. Narrated by Anthony Bourdain himself, it's an utterly engrossing (and gross) recount of his restaurant and kitchen experiences, complete with more blood, sex, drugs, and alcohol than you could ever imagine. A truly fascinating glimpse into a world I've never been interested in — food is… let's say, not my thing — and isn't that truly Bourdain's gift? One reviewer said reading this memoir was like meeting a ghost, and I wholeheartedly agree. I'll be recommending this (now decades old) book to anyone who will listen.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Blood, Cursing, and Drug use

Moderate: Sexual content and Alcoholism

Minor: Transphobia, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

kfish's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Suicide

taracloudclark's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

I noticed a friend of mine posting about Bourdain often. I knew almost nothing about him, so I decided to take in a book by him. First, Bourdain is sexy as hell. How did I never know this?! He also gives great voice to his own words. Makes me want to be in the NY restaurant culture. Second, this is such a fun read. A bit vulgar for milder tastes, but such a great insight into the biz. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Bullying, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

cibani's review against another edition

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Deportation, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Alcohol, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, and Drug use

aus10england's review against another edition

funny informative tense fast-paced

4.5

this is what memoirs should be written like!! Engaging, insightful, full of laughs, and hard to read anecdotes. Very impressed by this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Rape

thewordsdevourer's review against another edition

adventurous funny reflective fast-paced

3.5

not so much a memoir as a detailed, enjoyable account of bourdain's time in the culinary industry, kitchen confidential is a fast, hilarious, self-deprecating and informative read. there's resto secrets, kitchen dynamics, no-frill recipes, marvels on the awesomeness of food, and musings on different ppl and food cultures. man was rly ahead of his time im; whats not to like? i love food and i miss mr. bourdain very much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content, Racism, Drug use, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Suicide

amberlfaris's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing

Moderate: Suicide, Drug use, Homophobia, and Drug abuse

kimveach's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

My son, a bartender, wanted me to read this.  I was not an Anthony Bourdain fan, having never read any of his books, nor watched his shows.  This book didn't make me a fan, either.  

I think I would have liked it if I'd read it in the early 2000s when it was first published.  As a forty-something person, I would have enjoyed this book's rough, vulgar, stream-of-consciousness.  But reading it in 2023 was a different experience.  I found the repeated descriptions of substance abuse, criminal activity, and swearing tiring and boring.  

The book's best parts were the detailed descriptions of what it takes to manage and run a restaurant and the incredible skill and timing of the people working on the line.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Violence, Drug use, Sexism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Vomit

myclutteredbookshelf's review

4.0

I should preface this review with the admission that until about a year ago, I knew basically nothing about Anthony Bourdain. I had heard his name before and knew that he was big in the culinary world. But as I have never had much interest in reality TV, that was the extent of my knowledge. It was only after viewing this incredible video essay by Lola Sebastian (which you should definitely watch if you have the time) that I found myself wanting to learn more about the man. And his most well-known memoir seemed the best place to start.

Kitchen Confidential is a difficult book to review, since Bourdain himself would go on to regret most of what he wrote here. This is particularly obvious in this edition, which includes handwritten annotations Bourdain wrote 12 years after the original publication date. It creates a stark contrast between the more inexperienced—I'm hesitant to say 'immature,' considering Bourdain was in his 40s when the book was released—narrator of the main text and the Bourdain that the world would come to know. As he states in the book's introduction, "I never knew shit about shit."

Read the full review at My Cluttered Bookshelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Drug abuse, and Gore

Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, and Suicide