[.ca] Gone Bamboo (ISBN 0679448802)

Sophomore Slump:
A rather disappointing followup to "Bone in the Throat," this mob caper never reaches the breezy good humor of the Bourdain's debut. There are some decently interesting characters (a crossdressing mobster and a legendary ancient French commando being two), and some offbeat happenings, but the climax is wholly unsatisfying (at least to me). One redeeming aspect is that Bourdain doesn't shy away from killing some of the characters you least suspect will die. Definitely read "Bone in the Throat," before this, as some of characters overlap, and this comes second chronologically.

Less cooking this time, and more shooting . . .:
Henry Denard is an American ex-pat living with his wife, Frances, in a nice hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. They hang around with friends, eat barbequed chicken, and drink a lot. And every so often, Henry gets paid to kill someone. It's a good living and they're happy. Then Henry messes up an assignment by only wounding the target, which irritates the customer -- a cross-dressing New York wiseguy, whom you may find amusing in the first chapter but who quickly becomes more menacing and a lot scarier. At the same time, "Donnie Wicks" Balistieri, an elderly capo and the target whom Henry failed to quite kill, has agreed to testify for the feds and is stashed away on the same island with a guard of U.S. marshals. This could be a problem for Henry and Frances. Then there's Mickey and Rachel, more recent escapees from New York (and who are perhaps the main characters from Bourdain's first novel), who live in Donnie's palatial home, and whom Henry hopes can be his conduit to old Donnie. Then there's Paulie the good soldier, and Kevin the hitman who finds love in a bordello, and Monsieur Ribiere, the French cop on the island. It sounds confusing, but the author is very good at laying out the plot clearly, pacing the action properly, and developing the characters in a way that hold your attention. He never lets you forget what these people really are, either. Just when you're smiling at the adolescent sexual antics of the middle-aged Henry and Frances, a bit of violence will remind you of the realities. If Bourdain cooks half as well as he writes, I'll have to make a reservation at his restaurant.

In the tradition of Elmore Leonard & laugh out loud funny !:
While initially disappointed that "Bamboo" didn't feature the kind of food/chef/NYC atmosphere of his first book; I was knocked out cold by Bourdain's usage of street lingo,various American dialects, and cop-speak in the best Elmore Leonard tradition. Sprinled liberally with hip humour and pop culture it was a great read that I'd love to see in film...and I've got a crush a mile long for the protagonist's lethal wife. What a character!

If Tony Bourdain cooks as well as he writes...:
I'll move to New York and eat at Les Halles twice a week. Mid-week, of course. I loved "Bone in the Throat," and was delighted to find major characters re-appearing in "Gone Bamboo." I read it in an afternoon, and heck! I didn't think it was too hardboiled. In fact,I did cry in a couple of places. Like Elmore Leonard, Bourdain knows how to write dialogue. He also knows how to create characters, and write a pageturning plot. The sense of place, in this case St. Martin, is done so well that I could feel the sand between my toes, smell the barbecue shacks and want to run to the fidge hoping to find a bottle of Red Stripe. Bourdain has a nice touch especially with creating strong female characters. Frances, the female protagonist, is now my idol and role model.

Bourdain Drops a Notch:
Maybe three stars is a little low. However in rating a book by an author whose previous work was stellar you can't help but be biased. "Gone Bamboo" is an above average novel with strange characters, a good storyline and some great action. However Bourdain gets away from what made his first book so good. The gangster feel is not as pronounced in this book and the restaurant setting is nonexistent. "Gone Bamboo" is about semi retired hit man Henry Denard and his wife Frances. In the begining Henry is hired for one last hit on a mob boss Charlie Wagons. After botching the job Henry and Frances are hiding out on a tropical island. When who moves in next door Charlie Wagons himself, also hiding from the mob in the witness protection program. Henry know the mafia will come looking for Charlie and realizes that he may be found too. Henry befriends the ex-mobster and when the time comes for conflict the action really gets jumping. The major fault of this novel is that it is hard to like Henry or Frances. They are lazy,drug users, which when the actions starts makes it hard to believe their reactions. If you consider reading this book, I strongly suggest you read "Bone in the Throat" first. There are about a half dozen characters who cross over in this book including Tommy Pagano the main character from "Bone In the Throat".