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A Man in Full

A Man in Full

List Price: $39.95
Your Price: $26.37
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the best of Wolfe
Review: I'm a big fan of Wolfe and The Bonfire of the Vanities was easily one of the best books I've read. The problem I had with A Man in Full was that it seemed to be a variation on a theme of Bonfire. Despite the fact that his style, observations, metaphors and similies are absoutely brilliant, basically Wolfe is poking another sharp stick in the eye of the rich and doesn't show much more than what we saw in Bonfire. Although I will say his chapters of life in prison was compelling and utterly terrifying. Unfortunately, the last chapter absoutely guillotined the story -- amost to a point where I was wondering if my book was missing some pages. I gave this book three stars for his ability to write, but subtracted two for a very disappointing ending. Read this book if someone gave it to you as a gift. Otherwise if you're interested in reading Wolf, read The Bonfire and The Right Stuff.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best novel in a decade
Review: Despite the fact that the last 20 pages of this nearly 800 page novel just fizzle out, you should not, by any means, deny yourself the pleasure of reading this, a major novel of our times. Tom Wolfe reveals himself to be an extraordinary novelist, perhaps the greatest living novelist, in my opinion. This novel surveys every strata of American society with wit, astounding clarity and analysis, and remarkable talent skill. I found the book to be one of the most pleasurable, and at the same time, most harrowing reads I have ever had. Everything from the wealthiest lives of our most extravagantly and absurdly rich citizens to the lowest and most frightening population of a prison are detailed here with the unflinching eye of the reporter, satirist and artist. Nearly every chapter reads like a well crafted set piece. This novel is about money, power, America, manhood, redemption. It is the last theme that is not as convincingly explored as I would have wished. The flaw lies in those troublesome final pages where it almost seems as if the author could not wait to get the thing finsihed and out of his way. If only he had given a few weeks more to it!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Starts with a bang, ends with a whimper
Review: This book started out and continued at break-neck speed and was difficult to put down because of the way it pulled you into the lives of the characters. However, as seems to be the problem with all authors these days, it appears that Mr. Wolfe got tired of writing it and threw together a slap dash ending that seemed to have been written in three seconds. While the ending was admirable in that it tied up the loose ends, it really left you feeling like you'd been ridden hard and put up wet.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth Your Time
Review: Don't let the fact that this book is extremely long discourage you. It is definitely worth taking the time to read it. I haven't read any of Wolfe's other books to compare it to, but I did enjoy this book and plan on reading more by him because of it. The ending, however, was mildly dissapointing. I think it ended to quickly. Wolfe could have written more, but his story just suddenly stopped. Despite that I enjoyed the book.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: coool
Review: it's so great! i read it straight for 2 days! all during Finals week! the characters were so funny! n even if it was long it wasn't boring. all though i tended to skip over the "descriptive" parts, thank god there weren't a lot of that. MORE action (fast too), more talk. yeah baby

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Strangely distant...
Review: Well... I do not know how I got through the 780 pages - except for Conrad Hensley, I cannot remember one single character that I found interesting. Okay, some passages were quite well-written: the horse-breeding, Peepgass' paternal suit, White's insecurity, among others. However, what's left after having read the book? Not a lot, I'm afraid. Joyce once said that if Dublin got destroyed, people should be able to rebuild it just by reading Ulysses. The same is true for Wolfe's novel concerning Atlanta. The story is about well-dressed and rich snobs in huih places playing with power they should not possess, and about naïve Conrad Hensley, for whom I really cared. He was the only one who did not deserve such a weak ending of the book. Pseudo-sectarianism - give me a break!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Worth the Time
Review: I read this book when it first came out and topped the bestseller list...I carried it around everywhere I went and simply could not put it down. Admittedly, the ending leaves something to be desired but as a whole this book is hilarious, comtemplative, and just plain interesting. Tom Wolfe has a lot to say in this book, and it is fascinating.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: He got tired of writing and threw together a sorry ending
Review: Its not worth your time. None of the characters are admirable.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: The traffic report was more interesting
Review: I ordered this book on audiotape for the daily commute. Like others I anticipated an interesting story based on The Bonfire of the Vanities. After several tapes I kept flipping it off for the radio. I struggled on through a few more but finally gave up. The characters are so damn boring and stupid. Charlie Crocker the man who has built this huge empire is totally clueless. His wife, son, financial adviser, bankers all have to give him direction. The other main plot line built around Conrad story was a playback of The Bonfire of the Vanities but this time with a dirt-poor protagonist rather than a rich and powerful one.

Nothing in this book is interesting. Usually if you don't like the characters you can find some enjoyment in the construction or the background material but this just grinds on with endless boredom.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A Man in Full
Review: Tom Wolfe's new novel, A Man in Full, is a slight disapointment. The first 700 pages were great, but the end of the book was a bore. The explicit detail through the entire book kept you interested constantly, making it hard to put down. The book takes you through the crazy lives of many people such as Charlie Croker and Roger White II, otherwise known as Roger Too White. The book's intricate descriptions of scenes make it almost real-life. The end of the book seemed like the author just got lazy and didn't want to write anymore. Although this book was very interesting, it doesn't live up to the Wolfe classics like The Bonfire of the Vanities or The Electric Kool-aid Acid Test.


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