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daumari's review against another edition
5.0
Compiled from interviews with over 90 people across friends, family, and colleagues, Woolever presents a memory mosaic of who Tony Bourdain was: charismatic and sharp, intuitive, perfectionist, addict. Definitely am going to rewatch episodes with some of the behind the scenes in mind... and I actually haven't gotten around to his fiction work, so there's that too. Crushed that he'll never be a grumpy, sage elder.
kateyoutka's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
What a brilliant idea it was to have everyone interviewed for this oral history voice their sections. It made this feel like a really long podcast and made it all the more emotional to listen to. It’s exhaustive, hilarious and heartbreaking all at once.
lesbiangrandpa's review against another edition
5.0
Man, I miss him. Thank you to everyone who helped make this book happen.
kimberlone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
mariapfarr's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
knod78's review against another edition
4.0
This was like being the fly on the wall at Bourdain's funeral and/or wake listening to the stories people told about him in a perfectly curated way in a perfect timeline of his life. It helped me see him as a person through the eyes of others. No, he wasn't perfect and no, he wasn't always an angel, but he had his moments of greatness and there are many reasons why he related to us, the regular people. I didn't realize how much his shows started revolutions for so many other shows and networks (although, now, The Travel Channel ONLY plays ghost shows and sometimes museum mysteries). I loved that we saw the vulnerability of him and almost the realness that we could get from people who were with him every day. We see the truth to an extent of the last two tumultuous years of his life before his suicide, and boy, do the storytellers in this book not like Asia Argento at all. Some outright blamed her, but some were realistic, and blamed the situation moreso than her.
My issues were with this amount of stories (like at a funeral or a wake), the stories tend to get repeated and they kind of flow together, getting me confused. This was an advanced copy that I won on Goodreads and it was missing pages like the Appendix with the contributors and I kept forgetting why this person was important. And like with any suicide or depression, everyone now is like, "oh I saw it. I knew." But no one said or did anything. Some tried a little bit, but not much. I've heard that same bullshit before and you know they didn't really do shit. So, it's hard for me to take seriously.
Anyways. If you are fan of Anthony Bourdain, you will absolutely 100% love this book. If you are curious about this man, it's an interesting perspective to read about how he came to be, the middle, the during, the end, the after effects, and everything in between. I learned quite a lot about him tha I never knew. Long live Bourdain!
My issues were with this amount of stories (like at a funeral or a wake), the stories tend to get repeated and they kind of flow together, getting me confused. This was an advanced copy that I won on Goodreads and it was missing pages like the Appendix with the contributors and I kept forgetting why this person was important. And like with any suicide or depression, everyone now is like, "oh I saw it. I knew." But no one said or did anything. Some tried a little bit, but not much. I've heard that same bullshit before and you know they didn't really do shit. So, it's hard for me to take seriously.
Anyways. If you are fan of Anthony Bourdain, you will absolutely 100% love this book. If you are curious about this man, it's an interesting perspective to read about how he came to be, the middle, the during, the end, the after effects, and everything in between. I learned quite a lot about him tha I never knew. Long live Bourdain!
viprholmes's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
3.5
The man is an interesting subject- the oral biography format is challenging.
bizlet's review against another edition
I don't feel comfortable since Bourdain wasn't able to consent to these stories being shared about him. The format was also very difficult to listen to and I knew I wouldn't retain anything I had read by the end and I wasn't connecting to it emotionally.
I imagine this was a way to grieve for everyone involved and I'm happy for that. I'm uncomfortable that they are also profiting from the book.
I imagine this was a way to grieve for everyone involved and I'm happy for that. I'm uncomfortable that they are also profiting from the book.