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Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain
The bestselling, “unvarnished� ( The New York Times ), “engrossing� ( The Guardian ), “gritty, well-researched� ( The Economist )—and definitely unauthorized—biography of the celebrity chef and TV star Anthony Bourdain, based on extensive interviews with those who knew the real story.
Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide in June 2018 shocked people around the world. Bourdain seemed to have it all: an irresistible personality, a dream job, a beautiful family, and international fame. The reality, though, was more complicated than it seemed.
Bourdain became a celebrity with his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential . He parlayed it into a series of hit television shows, including the Food Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and CNN’s Parts Unknown. But his bad boy charisma belied a troubled spirit. Addiction and an obsession with perfection and personal integrity ruined two marriages and turned him into a boss from hell, even as millions of fans became enamored of the quick-witted and genuinely empathetic traveler they saw on TV. At the height of his success Bourdain was already running out of steam, physically and emotionally, when he fell hard for an Italian actress who could be even colder to him than he sometimes was to others, and who effectively drove a wedge between him and his young daughter.
Down and Out in Paradise is the first book to tell the full Bourdain story, and to show how Bourdain’s never-before-reported childhood traumas fueled both the creativity and insecurities that would lead him to a place of despair. “Filled with fresh, intimate details� ( The New York Times ), this is the real story behind an extraordinary life.
Anthony Bourdain’s death by suicide in June 2018 shocked people around the world. Bourdain seemed to have it all: an irresistible personality, a dream job, a beautiful family, and international fame. The reality, though, was more complicated than it seemed.
Bourdain became a celebrity with his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential . He parlayed it into a series of hit television shows, including the Food Channel’s Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and CNN’s Parts Unknown. But his bad boy charisma belied a troubled spirit. Addiction and an obsession with perfection and personal integrity ruined two marriages and turned him into a boss from hell, even as millions of fans became enamored of the quick-witted and genuinely empathetic traveler they saw on TV. At the height of his success Bourdain was already running out of steam, physically and emotionally, when he fell hard for an Italian actress who could be even colder to him than he sometimes was to others, and who effectively drove a wedge between him and his young daughter.
Down and Out in Paradise is the first book to tell the full Bourdain story, and to show how Bourdain’s never-before-reported childhood traumas fueled both the creativity and insecurities that would lead him to a place of despair. “Filled with fresh, intimate details� ( The New York Times ), this is the real story behind an extraordinary life.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published October 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 454 reviews
March 1, 2024
I've been an admirer of Bourdain for years having loved his travel programs, Parts Unknown and No Reservations. I knew from a distance he had some troubles with alcohol and depression but I've never read any of his books nor had I made any effort into learning more about him. Until now.
My heart broke in 2018 with news of his suicide and it has now broken again knowing all that I have learned about him.
He was a troubled soul from as far back as his youth. He never wanted to conform or to follow any rules. That was always part of his appeal to me. He always seemed to be just the right side of bad boy to make him seductive. His lust for food, travel, and other cultures was indisputable.
"He was the epitome of cool, a sad-smiling Jersey boy who combined supremely high standards with the underappreciated art of not giving a shit in ways that seemed to excite both sexes."
On himself:
"I spent most of my waking hours drinking, smoking pot, scheming, and doing my best to amuse, outrage, impress and penetrate anyone silly enough to find me entertaining."
Also on himself:
"I was a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive, and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of a good ass kicking."
Something I hadn't realized was that he spent many years in the 80's cooking around NYC addicted to heroin and crack cocaine.
As with most highly intelligent people he was always harder on himself than anyone else. While he may have been on top of the world, in life, he was at the very bottom.
The alcohol, drugs, and self loathing is the perfect trifecta for the perfect storm in any person. But it may have been his relationship with Asia Argento that finally pushed him toward the edge.
I do not know her nor will I ever but I can tell you that I have a strong dislike for this woman. Her fiery temper, her aloofness all made Anthony crazy. She claims that Harvey Weinstein raped her when she was 21 which is terrible but then she continued to have a 5 year sexual relationship with him for money and support. Again, I don't know her or her mental stability but I'm guessing she has some major issues to work through. Speaking of issues, she was also accused of sexually assaulting a 17 year old boy, a young up and coming actor, claims which she denies but that have texts and photos that prove otherwise. Anthony paid this young man $380,000.00 to make it all go away. This is after Bourdain rallied for her against Weinstein and even leaked information on Mario Batali, one of his closest friends, when he heard of the accusations made toward him. I think this revelation may have been his final straw.
"By briefly reliving his past, he may have gotten a glimpse of how far he had come. By experiencing what he had been, he may of seen more clearly what he turned into - a character out of a sordid, slightly deranged James Ellroy novel, a doomed and desperate lover who hired a private detective to soil an obscure kid actor for the sake of a woman who respected him less for each effort he made on her behalf. The kind of man who had talented, loyal people living in constant fear of being banished from a show for which they worked hard and given up much to make great. It was an especially horrible thing for Tony to learn about himself, that he had lost his integrity in pursuit of a woman who seemed to spend her life performing for the paparazzi and clowning on Instagram, but perhaps there was some consolation and peace in finally seeing things for what they were."
Anthony Bourdain, you are still missed to this day. I hope you have found peace amongst the stars. 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my complimentary copy.
My heart broke in 2018 with news of his suicide and it has now broken again knowing all that I have learned about him.
He was a troubled soul from as far back as his youth. He never wanted to conform or to follow any rules. That was always part of his appeal to me. He always seemed to be just the right side of bad boy to make him seductive. His lust for food, travel, and other cultures was indisputable.
"He was the epitome of cool, a sad-smiling Jersey boy who combined supremely high standards with the underappreciated art of not giving a shit in ways that seemed to excite both sexes."
On himself:
"I spent most of my waking hours drinking, smoking pot, scheming, and doing my best to amuse, outrage, impress and penetrate anyone silly enough to find me entertaining."
Also on himself:
"I was a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive, and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of a good ass kicking."
Something I hadn't realized was that he spent many years in the 80's cooking around NYC addicted to heroin and crack cocaine.
As with most highly intelligent people he was always harder on himself than anyone else. While he may have been on top of the world, in life, he was at the very bottom.
The alcohol, drugs, and self loathing is the perfect trifecta for the perfect storm in any person. But it may have been his relationship with Asia Argento that finally pushed him toward the edge.
I do not know her nor will I ever but I can tell you that I have a strong dislike for this woman. Her fiery temper, her aloofness all made Anthony crazy. She claims that Harvey Weinstein raped her when she was 21 which is terrible but then she continued to have a 5 year sexual relationship with him for money and support. Again, I don't know her or her mental stability but I'm guessing she has some major issues to work through. Speaking of issues, she was also accused of sexually assaulting a 17 year old boy, a young up and coming actor, claims which she denies but that have texts and photos that prove otherwise. Anthony paid this young man $380,000.00 to make it all go away. This is after Bourdain rallied for her against Weinstein and even leaked information on Mario Batali, one of his closest friends, when he heard of the accusations made toward him. I think this revelation may have been his final straw.
"By briefly reliving his past, he may have gotten a glimpse of how far he had come. By experiencing what he had been, he may of seen more clearly what he turned into - a character out of a sordid, slightly deranged James Ellroy novel, a doomed and desperate lover who hired a private detective to soil an obscure kid actor for the sake of a woman who respected him less for each effort he made on her behalf. The kind of man who had talented, loyal people living in constant fear of being banished from a show for which they worked hard and given up much to make great. It was an especially horrible thing for Tony to learn about himself, that he had lost his integrity in pursuit of a woman who seemed to spend her life performing for the paparazzi and clowning on Instagram, but perhaps there was some consolation and peace in finally seeing things for what they were."
Anthony Bourdain, you are still missed to this day. I hope you have found peace amongst the stars. 4 stars!
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for my complimentary copy.
May 5, 2022
My thanks to Simon and Schuster, Charles Leerhshen and Netgalley. For me, this may just be a case of too much, too soon. I really thought that I was ready. But, I'm not. You know, I loved Bourdain. He tucked into a few places that I'd want to visit. Not because of some weird food,"or even good food! " But because the locales and people were intriguing. Who else would want to visit Romania because of their graveyards! Anthony was amazing at what he did. This book? I expect that I'll finish it someday. This will not be that day. Possibly not even the year! There have been a few favorite people over the years that have killed themselves. I've never yet been able to read, nor watch anything with it about them. Robin Williams? Nope. My favorite band was INXS. I still mourn Michael's death. Suicide messes with fans too. If it's this hard for us, then it has to be majorly messed up for the family. I never came close to finishing this book, so I can't in all fairness leave a rating. Best wishes for this author! Whoops! Without stars, I can't leave a review! Fine. 4*
September 28, 2022
Releasing his personal messages when he was struggling with the depression that eventually took him is so disgusting. Making a spectacle of his life and the end of it is so nasty. We treat this like this entertainment? Like we should be *allowed* to see these things? None of his family or friends were part of this. None of them want this released. Tony struggled a lot during a lot of his life and was open about it. This author wants to remove “the Bourdain sheen� from the story? Wtf do you mean???? Tony did that himself. If you want information and to know about Tony, he was his own best biographer. Go read one of his books and leave this tragedy p*rn alone.
September 27, 2022
Before he took his own life, he said he hated being famous. And now you have written an unauthorized biography detailing his most painful, intimate times. Do I need to say anything else?
November 20, 2022
The negative reviews in my opinion come either from Bourdain fans that idolised him in unhealthy ways or from people unable to recognize great writing on a magnificent subject. I didn't feel for one second that the author had an axe to grind or an agenda to push, other than to paint the picture of a great man with great flaws in a rather sympathetic way. It is unvoidably a subjective enterprise, but a high quality journalistic investigation nonetheless, and it made me feel closer to him. The prose is unexpectedly refreshing, witty and well constructed and the story makes one reflect on subjects like unrequited love, fame, failure, success and fortune, and how do they impact different personalities in different ways. This book left me liking Anthony Bourdain better that before, or maybe just more accepting of my fellow brothers and sisters and their struggles. But if you tend to see the world in absolutes do yourself a favour and don't read this book
November 22, 2022
The main issue I have with this book is…the writing.
May 19, 2022
I stopped reading this half way through. As with many, I was deeply touched by Bourdain's death. I remember him in a certain way. I know he was a man with flaws. I didn't like the direction of this book. I may be missing out but my choice is to live with the thoughts and memories I have about Anthony Bourdain. When Eric Ripert writes a biography I will happily read it cover to cover.
October 19, 2022
This book was awful. The author was so clearly exploiting Bourdain I felt ashamed to be reading it.
October 31, 2022
Voyeuristic, speculative dogshit, a mean-spirited and clumsy attempt at iconoclasm heavy on insinuation and light on contributions from people who loved him. To posit that his persona was crafted and at odds with his behavior, especially as he became more famous, is a perfectly reasonable take. To air grievances from people at various points in his life who disliked him or felt jilted by him is not attempting to find nuance or to complete an airbrushed picture of the man; it is simply to tear him down. The last couple chapters rely heavily on texts and emails and browsing history to try to paint the picture of a pathetic, lovestruck man in late middle age; it was devoid of empathy or even an acknowledgement that such a picture is itself incomplete. And it advertised itself as explaining how and why Bourdain had pulled away from those closest to him in his last couple years on earth but it failed to deliver much of that.
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October 21, 2022Oh man, this one really hurt. If you've read all his books and seen all his shows... if you've read Tom Vitale's book and Laurie Woolever's oral biography and watched Roadrunner, then you know a lot of what's in here but not all of it, and maybe it's better that way. Those weren't hagiographies by any stretch of the imagination, but they did leave certain things unsaid. This one doesn't.
I agonized over whether or not to read this book when I first heard it was coming out. The author shares private texts, emails, deep family histories, and unpublished writing from all the way back when Tony was a kid. It's a total invasion of privacy, a disrespect to his memory, and most of all, he would've hated this. Maybe he would've agreed with it in the end, but he would've hated it.
Part of me is mad at myself for reading it, and giving money to this project, but the other part knows I couldn't possibly help myself. Like lots of fans, I'm sure, I just knew I couldn't look away. From the moment I picked this biography up, I couldn't put it down. Genuinely, I can't remember the last time I've been so absorbed in a book. It tells the truth, and it tells the truth about the end of his life in a way it hasn't been told before. In a way it probably shouldn't. The writer was ruthless in gaining access to the most private parts of Bourdain's life, without any expression of hesitation or remorse. The use of AI to recreate his voice in Roadrunner pales in comparison to the intrusions included here.
Anthony Bourdain is still my favorite famous person, a personal hero, and my forever answer to what celebrity I'd have lunch with, dead or alive. This book didn't change my opinion of him for the worse. It just uncovered the parts of him he absolutely would've preferred to keep a mystery. Maybe, like most of us, he looked better from a distance. As a fan and not a personal connection, maybe I got the best of him. I saw him the way he wanted to be seen. He made life better though, at least for me, through everything he created.
It makes me incredibly sad to know there's nothing more of his yet to be read, seen, listened to. I just feel lucky to have seen the world through his eyes for the years he was willing to share with us.
I agonized over whether or not to read this book when I first heard it was coming out. The author shares private texts, emails, deep family histories, and unpublished writing from all the way back when Tony was a kid. It's a total invasion of privacy, a disrespect to his memory, and most of all, he would've hated this. Maybe he would've agreed with it in the end, but he would've hated it.
Part of me is mad at myself for reading it, and giving money to this project, but the other part knows I couldn't possibly help myself. Like lots of fans, I'm sure, I just knew I couldn't look away. From the moment I picked this biography up, I couldn't put it down. Genuinely, I can't remember the last time I've been so absorbed in a book. It tells the truth, and it tells the truth about the end of his life in a way it hasn't been told before. In a way it probably shouldn't. The writer was ruthless in gaining access to the most private parts of Bourdain's life, without any expression of hesitation or remorse. The use of AI to recreate his voice in Roadrunner pales in comparison to the intrusions included here.
Anthony Bourdain is still my favorite famous person, a personal hero, and my forever answer to what celebrity I'd have lunch with, dead or alive. This book didn't change my opinion of him for the worse. It just uncovered the parts of him he absolutely would've preferred to keep a mystery. Maybe, like most of us, he looked better from a distance. As a fan and not a personal connection, maybe I got the best of him. I saw him the way he wanted to be seen. He made life better though, at least for me, through everything he created.
It makes me incredibly sad to know there's nothing more of his yet to be read, seen, listened to. I just feel lucky to have seen the world through his eyes for the years he was willing to share with us.
October 13, 2022
A cheap excuse for a biography. The writer clearly holds some grudge against AB. Don’t waste your time.
October 17, 2022
Asia Argento is worse than heroin. The book shows Bourdain was troubled throughout his life, but not really too far out of the realm of normal fucked up; what did him in was a highly dysfunctional relationship with an evil, manipulative person.
October 16, 2022
We know how it ends, tragically, in a hotel room in France. That reality hovers over the book like a dark cloud.
I’ve been an Anthony Bourdain fan since I read Kitchen Confidential twenty years ago. I was a religious viewer of his TV programs. I was shaken when I read about his suicide. He was someone I admired. I admire him a little less now. The book shines a light on aspects of his personality that are unattractive, especially the essential abandonment of his daughter. I blame a lot of his issues on the fact he was an alcoholic, but we are all still responsible for our choices. I still consider his shows to be some of the best TV I’ve seen, and the finest travel shows ever produced. He lived a fascinating life.
I really enjoyed the book. It was engrossing; a page turner that I could not put down. The prose was snappy. I hope Tony rests in peace.
I’ve been an Anthony Bourdain fan since I read Kitchen Confidential twenty years ago. I was a religious viewer of his TV programs. I was shaken when I read about his suicide. He was someone I admired. I admire him a little less now. The book shines a light on aspects of his personality that are unattractive, especially the essential abandonment of his daughter. I blame a lot of his issues on the fact he was an alcoholic, but we are all still responsible for our choices. I still consider his shows to be some of the best TV I’ve seen, and the finest travel shows ever produced. He lived a fascinating life.
I really enjoyed the book. It was engrossing; a page turner that I could not put down. The prose was snappy. I hope Tony rests in peace.
May 3, 2022
Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain by Charles Leerhsen
This was an interesting book to read and the first about Anthony Bourdain I have read. I have read his book: Kitchen Confidential after he committed suicide in 8 June 2018. Like many, I was shocked by his death and only knew him as someone whom I enjoyed his love of life, food, alcohol and people from all over the world. So, this book by Mr. Leerhsen added some background to my understanding of who was Tony. Needless to say, as I read, I kept thinking no Tony no but obviously to no avail. His personality was beyond obsessive whether it was food, comics or testing himself with alcohol and drugs. He knew he was not a great chef but he was a verbal poet. I think his writing when spoken on the food/travel shows was incredible and clearly it was from the center of his heart and soul. For this he was a cursed genius. I know there are other books available on Anthony Bourdain’s life but I do recommend this one.
January 4, 2023
What would provoke an author to biographize a person he so clearly disdains? Nothing new or provocative here, but plenty regurgitation of other, better books. I should’ve listened to Patrick Radden Keefe, when asked at the Southern Festival of Books if this was worth reading, and he uttered a vehement “No.� A hard pass for true Bourdain fans. I got my credit back.
PS. Fuck this guy for mocking the Orwell title Bourdain loved so much.
PS. Fuck this guy for mocking the Orwell title Bourdain loved so much.
January 21, 2023
there are a number of one/two star reviews that I took a look at before reading this and I was expecting much worse than what this was. it's extremely clear that his estate isn't upset about the book, so the claims that this goes against the wishes of all of those left is bs. I don't see a problem regarding the texts that are part of this book - the author says he is using them in the same way biographies of folks pre cell phone use letters, which I think is totally valid. The one caveat is that it'll probably be shitty for his daughter to see them, but this doesn't feel out of line with something she'd see or possibly even seek out privately.
the author inserts himself a bit more than I would expect in a biography which is a bit annoying, and he does it in a way that isn't quite as smart as he may think it is. I feel men in author's age group will respond to it better but there is a level of what I can best describe as smiling slightly at a relative you don't really want to get into a pedantic arguement with about a comment that isn't quite in poor taste but also like did I ask? (I read the book so I suppose I did!) I certainly don't interpret it as cruel and being out to get the memory of bourdain. a lot of the criticism toward this book feels as if it comes from a place of folks being upset it besmirches the memory of bourdain and perhaps that bourdain does not come across well in specific parts, especially those regarding how he treated his daughter and ex-wife post new girlfriend or how he pressured a staffer to talk about her experience with sexual harassment publicly. I don't think that we shouldn't speak ill of the dead and if you did shit in your life that reads like a creative writing exercise fake post on the am I the asshole? reddit? well damn guess it sucks that, as has been happening for millennia, when you're dead people talk about you, and when you're famous a lot of people talk about you on a way you can't control. With that being said, even the parts of this book where I'm like "this man is a dick" don't feel that far removed from my casual viewership of the man's tv shows over the years and the sketch drawn in Tom Vitale's book. I do recommend that book more than this one. I think this + the oral history round out a fuller picture of a man who is quite interesting, and I think they're all worth a read if you aren't looking to keep a specific view of their subject.
the author inserts himself a bit more than I would expect in a biography which is a bit annoying, and he does it in a way that isn't quite as smart as he may think it is. I feel men in author's age group will respond to it better but there is a level of what I can best describe as smiling slightly at a relative you don't really want to get into a pedantic arguement with about a comment that isn't quite in poor taste but also like did I ask? (I read the book so I suppose I did!) I certainly don't interpret it as cruel and being out to get the memory of bourdain. a lot of the criticism toward this book feels as if it comes from a place of folks being upset it besmirches the memory of bourdain and perhaps that bourdain does not come across well in specific parts, especially those regarding how he treated his daughter and ex-wife post new girlfriend or how he pressured a staffer to talk about her experience with sexual harassment publicly. I don't think that we shouldn't speak ill of the dead and if you did shit in your life that reads like a creative writing exercise fake post on the am I the asshole? reddit? well damn guess it sucks that, as has been happening for millennia, when you're dead people talk about you, and when you're famous a lot of people talk about you on a way you can't control. With that being said, even the parts of this book where I'm like "this man is a dick" don't feel that far removed from my casual viewership of the man's tv shows over the years and the sketch drawn in Tom Vitale's book. I do recommend that book more than this one. I think this + the oral history round out a fuller picture of a man who is quite interesting, and I think they're all worth a read if you aren't looking to keep a specific view of their subject.
October 16, 2022
The dude is just a contrarian. He goes line by line through every aspect of Anthony bourdains life from cradle to grave and try’s to explain why it isn’t true. Things like saying he was pretending to be a drug addict because he wanted to seem cool or going back to his grade school days and trying to “prove he was a good student.� It’s just 300 pages of someone using his opinion rather than fact.
October 17, 2022
I'll forever read anything related to Anthony Bourdain, and I enjoyed this insight into his life. This book has gotten some buzz deeming it as "tragedy porn" and "overly invasive", and I think that's a bit harsh. Bourdain's life ended in tragedy, and glazing over it feels dishonest. Sure, there were moments when I wondered if I really needed to read his personal text messages and Google searches, but those made up a small portion of what I found to be a well-researched biography.
November 10, 2022
2.5 stars, only rounded up because Bourdain’s early story was interesting and told with minimal bias. Otherwise, this author has clearly never heard the phrase “do not speak ill of the dead� as he pretty much trashed Bourdain throughout the book. Also, I felt the author was overly snarky from beginning to end and proceeded to make some crazy generalizations about AB that I personally felt were completely unwarranted.
April 19, 2022
Mr. Leerhsen has done a decent job of a job difficult subject.
Anthony Bourdain became famous on television and for all intents and purposes, should have been a happy man.
But he committed suicide while on the top of his success.
Why? That is what this book attempts to answer……I was a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain: I loved his speech, his travels, his occasional arrogance. But as years went by…it was impossible to not notice that he was getting less pleasure from his work..
Getting more jaded. If you have traveled you might know what I mean. The first time you see a place, it is exciting and new and different�
By the the third time, the cracks begin to show. That would be the epitome of Bourdain life.
As a child he lived pretty well upper middle class, when that was less than he wanted�.he tried a lower class, drugs, alcohol, .
But he kept striving to find � It� that thing which would be perfect. Marriage.? Fame? The perfect place? Love?
Like most wildly popular people there is a slim margin between greatness and outright misery and , like many before him, ultimately he chose to commit suicide. We don’t really know why ( he did not leave a note ) we can see through the lens of his youth and middle age, that the choice between suicide and personal happiness was always going to be a coin flip. His alcoholism probably helped him choose his ultimate path.
Well written and thought provoking.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
Anthony Bourdain became famous on television and for all intents and purposes, should have been a happy man.
But he committed suicide while on the top of his success.
Why? That is what this book attempts to answer……I was a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain: I loved his speech, his travels, his occasional arrogance. But as years went by…it was impossible to not notice that he was getting less pleasure from his work..
Getting more jaded. If you have traveled you might know what I mean. The first time you see a place, it is exciting and new and different�
By the the third time, the cracks begin to show. That would be the epitome of Bourdain life.
As a child he lived pretty well upper middle class, when that was less than he wanted�.he tried a lower class, drugs, alcohol, .
But he kept striving to find � It� that thing which would be perfect. Marriage.? Fame? The perfect place? Love?
Like most wildly popular people there is a slim margin between greatness and outright misery and , like many before him, ultimately he chose to commit suicide. We don’t really know why ( he did not leave a note ) we can see through the lens of his youth and middle age, that the choice between suicide and personal happiness was always going to be a coin flip. His alcoholism probably helped him choose his ultimate path.
Well written and thought provoking.
Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for allowing me this ARC in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
November 6, 2022
As a frequent patron of Les Halles, I had the great pleasure to spend many evenings in Tony Bourdain's presence. He was persnickety, hilarious, warm, sarcastic and always an expansive, if demanding, host. If Tony had written one more memoir it might have been this unflinching look at his life. As it is Leerhsen captures his strengths, his weaknesses, his successes and his mistakes with humor and love. He digs deep into Bourdain's childhood, his marriages and his last love affair without sentimentality. I thought I knew a lot about Anthony Bourdain before reading this terrific book but I came away with new respect and even empathy for his life and his ultimate decision to end it far too soon. This is a must read for Bourdain fans.
October 11, 2022
I will consume any and all content about Anthony Bourdain.
September 3, 2024
I hesitated a lot before reading this book. I wanted to know everything there was to know about my beloved Anthony, but I had also heard that this biography hadn’t been authorized by his estate, the reviews are all over the place and some readers obviously felt that it was quite exploitative due to all the private messages it uses� My curiosity ended up getting the better of me, and I got a kindle copy. I felt bad about my inability to look away, I wondered how he would have felt about his unpublished writing being used � something I usual am quite vocally against with deceased artists, since unpublished stuff was unpublished for a reason� Gah!
This is my attempt at reviewing the book, make of it what you will.
Having read plenty of other books and articles about Bourdain, I can tell you right off the bat that while some of them may be trying to canonize him, few are actually the hagiography Leerhsen claims them to be: people who cared for Anthony and who were happy to talk about him knew he was flawed and they were honest about it � so this ‘let’s expose the bad stuff� tack is more than a little disingenuous. “The Definitive Oral Biography�, for example, is quite open about a lot of bad stuff and doesn’t try to make excuses for them. I feel that Leerhsen was trying to work this angle to position his book as the most honest biography, or as some kind of exposé, and I dislike that manoeuvre because I’m not sure it has a point. It really affects the tone, and I wonder who his target audience was, exactly. Bourdain was self-deprecating and while he kept some aspects of his life very private, he was generally open about all of his shit.
The opening sets the ‘one-two� punch tone with the last text messages exchanged between Anthony and Asia Argento, and right there, I knew this would hurt, but I was also a little weirded out: unless I missed it, it never says anywhere how Leerhsen ended up with access to Anthony’s private text messages, or documents that were on his personal laptop - and I find that sketchy. Not to mention invasive as fuck.
The issue I have with this book vs. “The Definitive Oral Biography� is that people who participated in this one seemed to not have liked Tony all that much and used their interview as an occasion to trash talk. The people Laurie Woolever spoke to were quite close to him, and brought a nuanced perspective to his life events, and talked about good and bad stuff, and I didn’t find that this was the tone in “Down and Out�. Of course he was troubled and contrary and could be a pain in the ass: everyone who has watched his shows or read his books could tell you that, and I am not sure what’s the point of rubbing that in so much.
Aside from some detail about his last few months, I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know about Anthony from this book. Obviously, it’s heartbreaking to read what happened with his daughter and his ex-wife when the new girlfriend became such a big part of his life, but as the daughter of a man who left my mother for another woman who tried like hell to push us out of his life, I wasn’t surprised. This is the sort of shitty things that happens with divorce, and nothing seems to indicate that Miss Argento was going to be graceful about any of it. The last few years of his life are the only ones Anthony didn’t really write about himself, and the bits and pieces that can be gathered from his show, and now from this book, indicate that it really was an unhealthy roller coaster. It feels probable that all this emotional instability pushed him past the point of endurance, and given that he had contemplated taking his own life before, the conclusion was tragic but not unpredictable.
I saw a few reviews mention that a book like this shows that there is often much more going on in people’s lives than we know, and, yes, obviously that’s true. I would add that everyone is a mess and/or is dealing with a mess in their lives. None of us are sane. None of us are beyond reproach. Being dead doesn’t necessarily absolve faults. Anthony was a human, so his applies to him too.
I rated it 2 stars mostly because while there are occasional bits of good writing in there, it generally gave me very tabloid-y vibes and I didn’t really get the point Leerhsen was trying to make. Maybe I am one of those fans he seems to have so much disdain for, but I don’t think that underlining stuff we already knew about with Sharpie and talking to people who had a chip on their shoulder makes much a difference in Anthony’s legacy. There are better books about him out there.
This is my attempt at reviewing the book, make of it what you will.
Having read plenty of other books and articles about Bourdain, I can tell you right off the bat that while some of them may be trying to canonize him, few are actually the hagiography Leerhsen claims them to be: people who cared for Anthony and who were happy to talk about him knew he was flawed and they were honest about it � so this ‘let’s expose the bad stuff� tack is more than a little disingenuous. “The Definitive Oral Biography�, for example, is quite open about a lot of bad stuff and doesn’t try to make excuses for them. I feel that Leerhsen was trying to work this angle to position his book as the most honest biography, or as some kind of exposé, and I dislike that manoeuvre because I’m not sure it has a point. It really affects the tone, and I wonder who his target audience was, exactly. Bourdain was self-deprecating and while he kept some aspects of his life very private, he was generally open about all of his shit.
The opening sets the ‘one-two� punch tone with the last text messages exchanged between Anthony and Asia Argento, and right there, I knew this would hurt, but I was also a little weirded out: unless I missed it, it never says anywhere how Leerhsen ended up with access to Anthony’s private text messages, or documents that were on his personal laptop - and I find that sketchy. Not to mention invasive as fuck.
The issue I have with this book vs. “The Definitive Oral Biography� is that people who participated in this one seemed to not have liked Tony all that much and used their interview as an occasion to trash talk. The people Laurie Woolever spoke to were quite close to him, and brought a nuanced perspective to his life events, and talked about good and bad stuff, and I didn’t find that this was the tone in “Down and Out�. Of course he was troubled and contrary and could be a pain in the ass: everyone who has watched his shows or read his books could tell you that, and I am not sure what’s the point of rubbing that in so much.
Aside from some detail about his last few months, I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know about Anthony from this book. Obviously, it’s heartbreaking to read what happened with his daughter and his ex-wife when the new girlfriend became such a big part of his life, but as the daughter of a man who left my mother for another woman who tried like hell to push us out of his life, I wasn’t surprised. This is the sort of shitty things that happens with divorce, and nothing seems to indicate that Miss Argento was going to be graceful about any of it. The last few years of his life are the only ones Anthony didn’t really write about himself, and the bits and pieces that can be gathered from his show, and now from this book, indicate that it really was an unhealthy roller coaster. It feels probable that all this emotional instability pushed him past the point of endurance, and given that he had contemplated taking his own life before, the conclusion was tragic but not unpredictable.
I saw a few reviews mention that a book like this shows that there is often much more going on in people’s lives than we know, and, yes, obviously that’s true. I would add that everyone is a mess and/or is dealing with a mess in their lives. None of us are sane. None of us are beyond reproach. Being dead doesn’t necessarily absolve faults. Anthony was a human, so his applies to him too.
I rated it 2 stars mostly because while there are occasional bits of good writing in there, it generally gave me very tabloid-y vibes and I didn’t really get the point Leerhsen was trying to make. Maybe I am one of those fans he seems to have so much disdain for, but I don’t think that underlining stuff we already knew about with Sharpie and talking to people who had a chip on their shoulder makes much a difference in Anthony’s legacy. There are better books about him out there.
October 15, 2022
This was a tough read.
October 12, 2022
Anthony Bourdain seemed to be a vibrant, confident person in his tv appearances. So this reader was surprised and saddened when it was announced that he had taken his own life. The book Down and Out in Paradise, The Life of Anthony Bourdain is an unauthorized biography that tells a life that is mostly the opposite of what persona was presented by the chef and food lover. If you want to know the details of Bourdain, you may find them in the information given- but to me it was difficult to piece them together into a story of a life. Author Charles Leerhsen uses a combination of opinions on looks, friendship changes and relationships with women to create a picture of Bourdain. All of Bourdain’s writing success and culinary prowess seemed to be just presented as results of his life changes and decisions as opposed to hard work. To me the writing is weirdly presented, using a lot of parentheses and extra phrases to cram pieces into sentences that were partial thoughts. This writing style made it hard to read, along with the assumption that the audience of this book is an expert on Anthony Bourdain. The author said that Anthony didn’t use a chronological order type memoir for his book Kitchen Confidential because there isn’t enough action in some people’s lives to keep the reader moving along. Perhaps that is why this book is written as it is. Leerhsen seemed to be all over the place in time frame and was quite scattered about the information that he chose to show Bourdain’s life, and for that I did not feel I learned about the chef himself in this work. Thank you to NetGalley for a chance to preview this book in return for an honest opinion.
February 5, 2023
Deeeeeply personal and intimate
July 8, 2024
I’d read Bourdain’s books and the portrait painted here doesn’t stray much from AB’s own take…which is surprising in that much criticism has come this author’s way for what I assume is considered an unflattering portrayal�.shrug�
Did AB kill himself over a difficult woman? Seems more likely she was the particular lightning rod that pulled down a deep mid life crisis, a troubled psyche, and a depression fueled alcoholic�
Did AB kill himself over a difficult woman? Seems more likely she was the particular lightning rod that pulled down a deep mid life crisis, a troubled psyche, and a depression fueled alcoholic�
October 23, 2022
I read all his books (I even bought Kitchen Confidential in the West Village 20 years ago), went to Les Halles, and watched his shows religiously back in the day. This is a three star book but I gave it four stars because it’s the closest thing to closure we will get.
October 10, 2022
Bourdain fans shouldn't miss this throughly researched and well-written biography. I can imagine Bourdain himself approving for the truth that is told. I got an early copy thanks to my local indie bookstore, and this book is everything the excellent reviews and interviews with the author promised - and more. It reads like an old-fashioned People magazine story you can't and don't want to put down, with a great narrative, exceptional reporting, and lots of wows and I-didn't-know-that. The compelling story told here is the one that Bourdain's celebrity hid. I won't provide spoilers here; there are plenty available in the press. But I will say that this book is, so far, like a great meal that surprises and satisfies with each course. You learn much, you want to tell your friends about it, and you keep thinking about it. For this isn't just about Bourdain. It's about understanding there is always much more going on with people than we know or even imagine.
July 15, 2023
This book was kind of weird and annoying in the sense that it felt like a compilation of facts and stories pulled off the Internet interspersed with some interviews with very peripheral characters in Tony Bourdain’s life who offered no real information about Bourdain. It felt like a LOT of non-fact-based personal speculation about Tony’s behavior and decisions from the author.
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