Customer Reviews:
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 not as good as his first but still interesting October 4, 2005
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This isn't quite as good as Bone in the Throat but is still pretty engrossing. The plot isn't much, and the ending is disappointing, but still Bourdain turns a good phrase and I couldn't put the book down. The characters are likeable, and you care about what happens to them, although there is something uncomfortable about liking characters who are ruthless killers. Some of the story line could have been developed further, but still this is a pretty good read.
 Great follow up April 11, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Tony's first novel "Bone in the Throat" left us in stiches with laughter. Much of that humor were the situations those characters got themselves into. In Gone Bamboo, the humor was mostly the off-beat characters themselves.
Although both formulas worked, I liked the first one better but both are five star reads. As far as substance, "Bone" gets 5 stars and "Bamboo" gets 4 but I give "Bamboo" an extra star for the risks involved by the author in what could have been a sophmore jinx.
 Very Entertaining June 12, 2004
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
All in all, the book was very entertaining. I read it on the airplane on a recent trip to Puerto Vallarta. I heard it was set in St Martin, and since we've been there before and are returning later this year the setting piqued my interest. The book starts out a little rough, but when the author eases up a little on the excessive adjectives it becomes much more readable. I didn't think the ending was great though. In fact, he tried to tie up loose ends after the climax, but the last part reads as though his publisher had told him that the book was too long and he needed to trim something. If that happened, it probably took the wind out of his sails and he took the easy route of chopping out final chapters. Who knows. I also think that Frances' character could have been developed better. When you read it, you'll find that there are definite inconsistencies with her personal skills (well... not all of them) and her vocational background. It's kind of odd to miss that with a main character. There were many parts of the book that made me roar with laughter though. It was well worth the read.
Less cooking this time, and more shooting . . . April 29, 2004
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
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.
Colorful characters make it good mob story October 7, 2003
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Bordain is always appealing to carnal delights in one way or another. This is not some mind expanding book, so those seeking great truths or want noble characters ought to look elsewhere. While I found the plot of the story to be nothing very special, the unique characters are what make the story memorable.The main characters, Henry and Frances, a couple that live in St. Martin, spend most of the time getting drunk, smoking dope, passing out, hanging around the beach, and fornicating in unusual places. When Henry isn't engaging in these activities with Frances, he's a hit man. Hardly the usual sympathetic characters one usually roots for, but in the world created in this book, that's exactly what I found myself doing. I think Bordain uses a skillful touch. Any book with heavy set, cross-dressing mob boss could easily drown in the absurdity of such a character, but it doesn't here. The envelope is pushed, but the characters never seem to go over the top. Other characters are more convential, but I still found them unique. And we understand the motivations of each character without going into deep, heavy handed explanations into human experience. This isn't compelling, page turning stuff, but has a breezy pace like a pleasant day at the beach. Before I knew it, I'd knocked off 80-100 pages at a sitting. For those not particularly into mob stories, smart-aleck story telling, or characters with loose morals, try something else. For the rest of us, time well spent.
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