A review by celebrationofbooks
Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography by Laurie Woolever

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

 For the past three years we, as a culture, have been searching for Tony's voice as we all navigate through this crazy world. Millions of people worldwide watched him travel the world and have authentic conversations with the people he found everywhere from Vietnam to Texas. I'd come to rely on him to tell me that there was still good in the world even when the news seemed bleak and then suddenly, unexpectedly, his voice was gone. 

I finally feel like I can stop looking now that I've read Bourdain. He really is gone, and this book will help everyone appreciate him, but acknowledge that there will never be another like him. For his many fans, we just need to take his message, "be a traveler not a tourist" to heart and travel in his memory and finally say goodbye. For those hoping that World Travel would have allowed us to say goodbye and were disappointed, I'm satisfied in saying that this is the one that will bring closure. 

A comprehensive portrait of the man by those who knew him best, Bourdain is, thankfully, not a hagiography - he was no saint. I'm also glad that the focus is not on his death but him as a person and, mostly, the twenty years of his life after Kitchen Confidential, the twenty years of his life he shared with all of us. 

Included in the early years are his brother, Chris, mother, Gladys, as well as his childhood sweetheart and first wife, Nancy. The middle years feature the real people behind the aliases of Kitchen Confidential sharing their sides of the story. The television years bring us his second wife, Ottavia, daughter Ariane, best friend Eric, and crew from his various shows over the years. 

The parts that are "missing" I'm glad are missing - there is nothing from Eric Ripert about his final days and his girlfriend at the time of his death is not included at all. Ariane, his daughter, has the closing reflection of the book, a fitting tribute to her dad. It's a well organized book, but I wish Laurie had stepped out from behind the editor's desk and added some of her own recollections as well. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings