Review: The Dark (And Often Disturbingly Funny) Price of One Chef's Success
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 06 18, 2014
“Henry First” is a novel about ambition and the price of success—by turns dark and humorous, and sometimes a mix of the two, it slowly gains momentum until you can’t turn away.As the story begins, the kitchen of Firsts is a blur of activity; the judges for a restaurant competition are coming, and Henry is fiercely invested in success. A sudden and gory kitchen accident leads Henry to a discovery that will change his life and catapult him into the limelight as an up-and-coming chef—although Henry doesn’t realize the secret to what makes his soup special at first. Running the competition is the ruthless Patrice Czarny, whose corporate restaurants are slowly crushing the independents, and at her side is her magazine’s critic, Grant Whant, who finds Henry to be the perfect man for reasons of his own. As the three cross paths and attempt to manipulate one another, Henry will go from a long-shot to win to someone who will stop at almost nothing to do so.I enjoy dark satires, and “Henry First” is right on the mark (especially if you are already a foodie who likes to read or enjoys shows such as “Top Chef”). I couldn’t ever decide if I liked Henry—at first I did, especially with the efforts he makes toward his brother-in-law, who is dying of cancer—but as the novel goes on he becomes more shocking and distant from the reader; his actions go beyond the pale. However, that’s really the point of the novel—that a normal person who has passion for something can lose himself in that passion and do terrible things. (In contrast, Patrice was oddly likeable to me in her complete lack of morals, and I was shocked as she was at the climax of the novel when Henry visits her with a special proposition.)I gasped a few times, laughed a few times, and was uncomfortable more than once, but I definitely enjoyed the novel and would recommend “Henry First” to readers who enjoy smartly written contemporary fiction that has a point to make but entertains while doing so.