Get Jiro
Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose
Art by Langdon Foss with Villarrubia
The city is ruled by two chef warlords. Each is locked in battle with the other over culinary minutiae and arcane philosophical differences—and, of course, turf.
In the near dystopian future, chefs are the new gang leaders. Los Angeles is divided into two camps: the earthy-crunchy followers of Rose and the French technique-driven apostles of Bob. Virtually everyone else has been relegated to Outside the Ring. Some restaurants, like Jiro’s small sushi spot, secretly thrive and become destinations for those in the know. Others, like those located in the “feedlot,” exist to shovel fast food into the gaping maws of the fat, fat masses. In the end, however, they all exist at the whim of Bob and Rose. Unfortunately for Jiro, he garnered a bit too much attention, and both Bob and Rose tried to win him over to their respective sides.
This is probably where I should divulge that I’m not a reader of graphic novels. I don’t have anything against them, per se; they’re just usually not my cup of tea, and I’m not really sure why. I think that reading something with so many pictures just feels inherently lazy to me, but that’s not fair to the genre. Telling a story pictorially is no less valid than telling it through prose, and in some cases, I think relaying the story visually is more effective. A picture is worth a thousand words and all that.
I actually had quite a bit of trouble summing up this story. It’s not complicated at all, but where I usually have a few hundred “introductory” pages in a novel to work with, I had about 10 pages in this graphic novel—and most of them were, obviously, filled with pictures, not words. That being said, I really enjoyed the story portion of this book. Of course, I like pretty much everything Tony Bourdain writes. He’s such a cocky asshole that he somehow manages to work his way back around to charming. I also love the idea that chefs are the big power in this future version of Los Angeles. With so many of us worshipping at the gastronomic altar these days, I almost wouldn’t be surprised if chefs really did claim socio-political power. I mean, it’s not any less realistic than some of the other possible dystopian futures floating around out there. They pretty much all come down to tradition versus progress, anyway.
For as much as I enjoyed the story, though, I wasn’t super fond of the art. Everyone has creepy eyes, and I just couldn’t get past them. That being said, I did like the fight scene panels. They reminded me of every Where’s Waldo book ever, and I mean that in the best possible way. The more I looked at them, the more details popped out. I’m also pretty pleased with how well everyone’s tattoos were drawn. (I might have a few myself. I notice these things.) Bourdain even threw in a few points on sushi etiquette. If you take away nothing else, remember this advice: never order a California roll again.
Buy It: I appreciated this book for a few reasons. First and foremost, I liked the story. Second, I like that it made me stretch myself to review it. Third, I like that it got me out of my literary comfort zone and made me read something I rarely consider. I hope I’ll be much more open to reading graphic novels moving forward.
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