Chop chop

Title:

Chop chop

Author:

Wroe, Simon.

Personal Author:

Wroe, Simon.

ISBN:

9781594205798

Physical Description:

276 pages ; 24 cm

Abstract:

"Fresh out of university, our narrator, Monocle, is eager and determined to live the literary life in London. But soon he's two months behind on rent and is forced to take a job doing grunt work in the kitchen of The Swan, a restaurant that's seen much better days. He's surrounded by a cast of characters including the sadistic head chef, Bob. Soon a darker tale unfolds as the restaurant staff devises a plot to overthrow Bob and Monocle's dead-beat dad shows up"-- Provided by publisher.

Subject Term:

Restaurants -- Employees -- Fiction.

Fathers and sons -- Fiction.

Cooks -- Fiction.

Genre:

Suspense fiction.

Summary:

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Belmont	Book	FICTION WROE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"[W]it, vigor, and gleeful, necessary profanity… sheer crackling energy." -- The New York Times Book Review

Fresh out of university with big dreams, our narrator is determined to escape his past and lead the literary life in London. But soon he is two months behind on rent and forced to take a menial job in the kitchen of The Swan, a gastro-pub with haute cuisine aspirations.

Mockingly called "Monocle" by his co-workers for a useless English lit degree, he is thrust into a brutal, chaotic world full of motley characters. There's the lovably dim pastry chef Dibden; combative Ramilov, who spends a fair bit of time locked in the walk-in fridge for pissing people off; Racist Dave, about whom the less said the better; Camp Charles, the officious head waiter; and Harmony, the only woman in a workplace of raunchy, immature, angry, drug-fueled men. Worst of all is the head chef, Bob, who runs the kitchen with an iron fist and an alarming taste for cruelty.

But Monocle's past is never far away and soon an altogether darker tale unfolds. As the chefs' dreams of overthrowing Bob become a reality, Monocle's dead-beat father shows up at his door, asking for help. With The Swan struggling to stay afloat and Monocle's father dredging up lingering questions from an unhappy childhood, Chop Chop accelerates toward its blackly hilarious, thrilling, and ruthless conclusion.

Kirkus Review
"Arch comedy... Dave Eggers channels Anthony Bourdain."

Entertainment Weekly
" Darkly comic... a first course worth savoring. Grade: B+ "

Reviews (1)

Kirkus Review

A British university graduate sets out on a journey of self-discovery when he's forced to break a sweat in an asylumlike kitchen in Camden Town. Freelance journalist Wroe employs his experience as a chef in an uneven debut novel that tries to shoehorn in a few too many stylistic moods. Our narrator is a recent graduate of one of London's many English literature programs and believes himself the next wunderkind of the publishing scene. As his hopes are dashed on the rocks of reality, he takes a job as the resident "bitch" in a rough-hewn kitchen called The Swan, where he's quickly dubbed "Monacle" by the crew. This ensemble comedy is the best part of the novel, pitting the sensitive writer against merciless head chef Bob, the aptly named "Racist Dave," a salacious molester named Ramilov, daft pastry chef Dibden, and a quiet, dark-eyed girl named Harmony who captures Monacle's heart. After the crew sabotages a monstrous creation similar to a turducken, Bob is ousted and Monacle holds out slim hope of promotion. "No, you're still the bitch. But a loved bitch," Ramilov tells him. It's in the back half that the tale takes a dark turn, interrupted by wearisome meditations from Monacle on his troubled childhood and his relationship with his father, who turns up on his son's doorstep all too often. Following the arch comedy of The Swan's kitchen and the familial drama, Wroe finishes his kitchen epic with a monstrous encounter with an unsavory local crime lord that may leave even the most jaded readers a bit shocked. "Then the bad news," shares Monacle. "I was arrested almost immediately, along with Ramilov, on unrelated but extremely serious charges, the charges that form the dark heart of the story." Proceed with caution. For British readers, David Nicholls meets Guy Ritchie; for Americans, Dave Eggers channels Anthony Bourdain.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.