Bad Manners

The title of this book intrigued me, and I anticipated a light-hearted, clever, irreverent approach, with possibly, a dash of health consciousness. I’m sad to report the cleverness is limited to inserting “fuck” into every title, caption, and sentence. “Shit,” “motherfucker,” and other risqué expressions also make appearances.

The words used by an author are analogous to spices. It would be challenging to create a memorable dish without including carefully selected spices. The skillful use of this vernacular can be just the kick needed to lift the text above the ordinary. But the unimaginative language in Thug Kitchen is equivalent to dumping an entire spice bottle into the recipe.

Thug Kitchen is, however, a book of recipes, and readers might be willing to overlook the cheesy vocabulary if the selection of recipes is worthwhile. Unfortunately, that, too, is a disappointment.… (mere)