Find all the books, read about the author, and more. "An excellent book by a genius”, said Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., of this now-classic exploration of the 1960s from the founder of New Journalism and author of such influential works as The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Bonfire of the Vanities. Why of all possible endings did he choose this one?! Thank you amazon for making this classic read available to the e book family. A book so boring it could lull hummingbirds into a deep restful sleep, Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2019. Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018. What makes the novel so enjoyable is the interspersing of satire and humor throughout. Endless minutiae which goes nowhere. Author and journalist Tom Wolfe was one of the most conspicuous voices in American letters, credited with phrases as "radical chic", "me-decade" and "the right stuff". The under belly Wolfe exposes runs the gambit from the justice-free judicial system to corrupt civil rights activists, and the hipocracy of upper middle class elitism. Thank you amazon for making this classic read available to the e book family. I find the long descriptive passages covering characters and scenes too much and find I’m skimming these paragraphs. Feels like he rushed the ending. This author has a remarkable ability to create vivid images of people and places. Finally, I consider use of the "F" word the author's admission that he lacked the imagination to come up with something better. Taking a page from Charles Dickens, one of his favorite writers, Wolfe pounded out The Bonfire of the Vanities as a serial for Rolling Stone in 1984 and 1985. $200.00. I took one star off for the racial stereotypes. Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018. Finally, I consider use of the "F" word the author's admission that he lacked the imagination to come up with something better. Only beef. He has written twelve works of nonfiction and three novels to date, including the bestselling Bonfire of the Vanities(1987), a crackling satire of New York society in the 1980s. Brilliant high comedy.” (The New Republic) He lived in New York City. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The under belly Wolfe exposes runs the gambit from the justice-free judicial system to corrupt civil rights activists, and the hipocracy of upper middle class elitism. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. Please try again. Although Wolfe's talent for observation and thick description had served him well as a nonfiction writer, he had yet to make the jump to fiction. I wanted to reread it in light of what is happening in today’s society. The book was a commercial and critical success, spending weeks on bestseller lists and earning praise from the very literary establishment on which Wolfe had long heaped scorn. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Please try again. . Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. And he wishes to express his deep appreciation to BURT ROBERTS who first showed the way Contents Prologue Mutt on Fire 3 1 He uses it so much in that play (It's in nearly every sentence at least once) that he reveals the word's true vacuousness, it's real utter emptiness of meaning. Bonfire of the Vanities, so aptly named, scorches the network of lies, deceit, and hubris that we dare to call "society." There's a problem loading this menu right now. Nonsense. I read this book many years ago. Something went wrong. If the Coen and Marx brothers together dramatized The Great Gatsby, Wolfe's Bonfire would probably be funnier. This author has a remarkable ability to create vivid images of people and places. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2019. Then there is the completely unbelievable bit about him being trapped in his bedroom one morning by such a fierce erection that would be impossible to hide from the help. I don't consider myself a student of literature, but I'd be surprised if this book wasn't required reading for literature majors, or perhaps social studies and first year law students . at Washington and Lee University, graduating cum laude, and a Ph.D. in American studies at Yale. In the book, the details actually distract from whatever is supposed to be going on. I was not disappointed. I don’t know why this book is considered ‘a classic’. David Mamet, in his play Glengary Glenross is the only successful use of the "F" word I have ever seen. You might find a bit of yourself in this classic. The Bonfire Of The Vanities: A Conversation With Preet Bharara And Tom Wolfe An enjoyable evening with a prominent prosecutor and one of … Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers. . I’m lucky to read 2/3 books per week, of various genres. Sherman McCoy, a farcically arrogant investment banker (dubbed a "Master of the Universe," Wolfe's brilliant metaphorical co-opting of a then-important toy for boys), hits a black guy in the Bronx with his Mercedes and runs--right into a nightmare peopled by vicious mistresses, thin wives like "social x-rays," slime-bag politicos, tabloid hacks, and Dantesque denizens of the "justice" system. The egos and dark flaws of its characters are on display for the world to read. I’d like the story to unfold more rapidly to hold my interest. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2019. If my review seems needlessly and gratuitously sexual it is because the book is so. Wolfe is writing as though he’s giving descriptions for movie scenes. The book is a reflection of the greedy yuppie eighties set in New York set amidst racism and wannabes and the ultra rich a bit like the JR and Dallas days and how the mighty fall if you purchase this Tom Woolf classic I hope you won’t be disappointed. As a reporter, he wrote articles for The Washington Post, the New York Herald Tribune, Esquire, and New York magazine, and is credited with coining the term, “The Me Decade.”Among his many honors, Tom was awarded the National Book Award, the John Dos Passos Award, the Washington Irving Medal for Literary Excellence, the National Humanities Medal, and National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.A native of Richmond, Virginia, he earned his B.A. Perhaps, with this in mind, Wolfe wishes to present in his novel the eighties as he sees them, through a journalist's jaundiced eye. What makes the novel so enjoyable is the interspersing of satire and humor throughout. 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