PAgent reviewed Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
Review of 'Medium Raw' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Before you read this, you must realize that I am something of a fanboy where Tony Bourdain is concerned. I'm one of the folks who read "Kitchen Confidential" and thought it was genius, and then tracked down a copy of "Bone in the Throat," and liked that, too. And what I love about his writing is his voice -- By God the man can string words together. And no one, absolutely no one, can write a snarky tirade like Tony Bourdain. And that hasn't changed.
It should therefore not surprise anyone that I enjoyed "Medium Raw." But where KC was a diatribe of a burned-out cook, seared and scarred, angry at the world, Medium Raw is more of a reflection, a look back at the fallout that occurs when that burned-out cook scores an unexpected best-seller. What happens when you give them everything they've ever wanted. It's not an entirely …
Before you read this, you must realize that I am something of a fanboy where Tony Bourdain is concerned. I'm one of the folks who read "Kitchen Confidential" and thought it was genius, and then tracked down a copy of "Bone in the Throat," and liked that, too. And what I love about his writing is his voice -- By God the man can string words together. And no one, absolutely no one, can write a snarky tirade like Tony Bourdain. And that hasn't changed.
It should therefore not surprise anyone that I enjoyed "Medium Raw." But where KC was a diatribe of a burned-out cook, seared and scarred, angry at the world, Medium Raw is more of a reflection, a look back at the fallout that occurs when that burned-out cook scores an unexpected best-seller. What happens when you give them everything they've ever wanted. It's not an entirely happy story.
After all, Tony Bourdain is an asshole. He's a reformed junkie who has sabotaged his own life so frequently and systematically that one has to conclude he has a deep-seated and all-consuming fear of success. He has definitely made mistakes. But at the same time, he is his own most dedicated critic. We know he is an asshole because he admits he is an asshole. We know he has done questionable things, because he has confessed those sins. There's no "aha" moment here, because Tony freely admits to every misstep, every bridge burned, every bad decision. At the end of the day, there's no one will ever be harder on Tony, than Tony. And that's admirable, in its own way. In many ways this is not just a love letter to the world of food, but an apology -- to his fans, to his coworkers, and to everyone he has ever loudly maligned...except for the fuckers that deserved it.
Because Tony's still angry, and if anything he's become even more passionate about good food, about those who spend their lives in service to good food. And he has become, if anything, even more articulate in his fury at those who willingly turn their backs on good food for the wrong reasons.
Despite some occasional unevenness, it's a good book - it's entertaining, and provides a great deal of insight into the author's tortured soul. There's also a delightful chapter that serves as a loving epilogue to Kitchen Confidential, giving us a taste of the fallout from the book, and a much-appreciated "where are they now" for many of the most memorable characters.
The only fault I could point out is specific to the audiobook -- many of the transitions between chapters are so rushed that the chapter title is lost in the text, making for confusion. This is especially a problem when the chapters a short. But that's a quibble. Well worth reading.