Rating: 
Summary: Great Epictetians
Review: The first 772 pages of this novel may rank among some of the best American mainstream fiction ever written. Wolfe certainly took his time in creating his opus maximus and his work ethic is worthy of great respect. I had the sense that Wolfe immersed himself in Atlanta society as the settings and characters seemed incredibly true to life. Wolfe's ear for American dialect showed great range and seemed unfailing in its ability to ring true. The leitmotifs to Epictetus added substance to the work. However, Wolfe went too far in the Epilogue and appears guilty of hubris in asking his devoted readers to succumb to the willing suspension of disbelief that he had laid at their feet. How can we accept the destinies Wolfe has shaped for the great Charlie Croker and Conrad? The essence of the message of Charlie Croker is wise and meaningful and truly American in the denouement. But he strains our credibility which was so wonderfully created in Wolfe's art up to the Epilogue. It would perhaps be the ultimate irony if the author in crafting his novel were guilty of the same hubris of his protagonist. Perhaps, if that's true, it only reinforces the verity of the tale and its wisdom. While I have great respect for the writing of Tom Wolfe, sometimes I just think he's too full of himself for words. Nevertheless, this is a great American tale which I shall always remember. Wolfe is a great American mainstream novelist.
Rating: 
Summary: Fullsh**
Review: HHHHHHuuuuuuuuuhhhhnnnnggggghhhhhhhh! Here's what the publishers should have done: slap the color photo of Wolfe's preening mug on the back of a dust jacket, and print "The Follow-up to The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel" on the front. Wrap said dust jacket around a bookshaped block of wood. Prop result on bookstore shelves and add a price tag. The result would be the same as what we've got now. (PS: And to think I actually enjoyed The Right Stuff. Sigh.)
Rating:
Summary: Side-Ache Satire & Sobering Truth.
Review: Charlie Croker is one pig-headed cracker from the old-South. Charlie raises horses, fearlessly handles snakes, shoots quail, runs his own fleet of jets, is married to a younger, beautiful women, and is in general a good ole boy -- even owns an honest ta gawd plantation where all the helpin' folk are black. Charlie is also a man in prime need of a humbling experience. Charlie is a real estate developer and his most serious problems develop as a result of a wide-body ego coupled with backward planning -- desire it, act on it, followed by, plan for it, pay for it. Croker becomes overextended on a real estate deal for a development that is largely a monument to himself, even named it The Croker Concourse. This leads to a "workout session" at Planners Bank, where Charlie is given a most unpleasant reception. Wolfe describes the scene in vintage style, casting a rheumy eye on corporate America and its ugly military efficiency and total bottom line orientation. It is at this point where you will realize that you have come to like Charlie Croker, that you are pulling for this humus head from south of the gnat line, that Croker, raw and crude as he is, contains a genuine spirit and optimism that has been bleached out of the rest of us. Politics and money drive the entire story. Wolfe shows how saturated Americans are with these two Noble Truths. (Even Conrad-the-stoic's actions, the spiritual soul of this 787 page journey, were brought about by the frustrations of not being an economically viable member of society.) A Man in Full is a snort fest, (I read this while bus commuting and couldn't contain my laughter, despite the worried stares) Wolfe's satire is as biting as a side ache, unfortunately, the truth running beneath the humor is a sobering one. This is the kind of book our grand kids will read and when they finish it, they will close the book and exclaim, "My god, were you people ever messed up!" I especially liked the chapters dealing with Atlanta's black mayor. He is like an inverted Oreo, posing publicly as white for the "money" constituents from the wealthy white neighborhoods, and posing privately as black for the less economically powerful, but more numerous black voters. The tribal art collection ebbs and flows through his office in accordance with the political tide! Wolfe brings the mayor, Croker and Planners Bank together on an issue that threatens to explode the entire city in racial tension. Fareek Fanon, a black football star is accused of raping a white woman from one of Atlanta's most influential families. If Croker, (a former football great) speaks out on Fareek's behalf, maybe the mayor can help him with all his debts to Planners Bank? And maybe someone high up in Planners Bank will be owed a valuable gift in return for forgiving Crokers debt? And if the mayor quells the coming riots, maybe he will reclaim the straying voters needed for his reelection? Everyone is itching and planning for the scratch. A simple premise, but greed and political chess playing enter the equation, creating a centrifugal force that sucks some characters into the melee and spins others off into ruin. Ruthless and wicked writing from a man who portrays American society with a magnifying glass held over the warts and moles.
Rating:
Summary: A Dog!
Review: I normally read a novel in one or two days. I have tried to read this book over the past six months borrowing from two library systems and our next door neighbor....still only 2/3 done. It has absolutely NOTHING TO SAY! James H. Evans Belleair, Florida
Rating:
Summary: I 'll forgive the ending for sequel with Charlie and Conrad
Review: In some ways I feel I am still reading this book that I never wanted to end. I can't help but compare it to every other book I read. Now when a writer hangs a Chekhovian gun on the wall for later plot use, I'm still wondering what type of wood the stock is, what does the metal look like, is the gun clean or used looking, what kind of wall does it hang on, etc. I, too, found Wolfe's maximulist style a big much at first, but realizing what an extremely materialistic time we live in (and that he's writing about) I decided to just ride the waves and now I miss them. I found the prison dialogue to be extremely realistic. Have you been to jail or prison? If you had, you'd know that he is right on in stating the first word you absolutely cannot stand to hear one more time. I think he really knows how to brandish his Ph.D. in American Studies. Name another contemporary writer that defines our culture, complete with its materialism, lack of values, lack of integrity, racism, sexism, etc. as well as he does. I love the theme of this huge novel which I think can be summed up as man's absolute necessity for a spirituality (not necessarily organized religion) that works,if he is to survive. I am awed with the way he tied the novel together with Jung's synchronicity. And, yes, the ending seemed a disappointing, hurried wrap-up. My other criticism would be that he can't write full female characters--only full-fleshed women. Thank you Mr. Wolfe for the most fun I've had reading in years.
Rating: 
Summary: Where's the rest of the book?
Review: Reading this novel is like spending three incredible days on a challenging, technical mountain climb -- only to fall off a cliff 10 feet below the summit. Where is the last half of this book? Did Wolfe lose interest? Did the publishers balk at a 1,500-page novel? Did the printers forget to bind the final five chapters? For an author who spends 15 pages describing in excruciating detail two horses breeding to end this complex novel with a three page "conclusion," "Uh... and everything worked out for everyone and life was good. The end." is simply baffling. This novel ends with more loose ends than your granny's shawl. That said, the journey to this unfortunate end was an enjoyable one -- I couldn't put the book down. Sure, the characters may have been a bit cliched and two-dimensional, but they were quite entertaining and, like it or not, probably a lot closer to reality than most of us would care to admit. A few quibbles: While he tried valiantly, Mr. Wolfe is obviously not in touch with youth culture, and his attempts at prison dialogue and "rap" lyrics were often downright excruciating. A rapper named Doctor Rammer Doc Doc? Pu-lease! And if I heard the term "peel yo cap," "jookin'" or worse, "shanks akimbo," one more time, this thing would been forced down the shredder post-haste. All in all, a compelling, entertaining and detailed look at contemporary American society and the male animal with a criminally terse conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: Okay, but not great
Review: Loved Bonfire. . .thought it was one of the best contemporary novels. I'll have to agree with the other reviews here, and say that the ending was quite a cop-out! I expected more from the New Journalism Poster Boy! One other reviewer says that the male characters in the novel are merely components of the whole--the Man in Full. An interesting thought, but I still contend that the entire sub-plot about Conrad was extraneous and superfluous. Charlie could have had his epiphany sans the help of the big armed one. Many of the descriptions of people were, in typical Wolfe fashion, very amusing. AND, if you work in the corporate world, there are times that you will guffaw at the inanity of such things as "paradigm shifting"!
Rating: 
Summary: A man in full try's the patience and the sensibilities
Review: please, someone, anyone explain to me what this book is trying to say. please help me understand why wolfe uses 120 words to say what could be said in only 50. please help me understand why sick, vicious profanity and poorly crafted racial stereotypes is hip. please help me understand how i can indentify, revile or at least give a hoot what happens to his thinly crafted characters. and please, oh please, help me find the passages as "beautiful as any ever written" this book is a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: Page after page...it only got worse...what ending?
Review: I thought Bonfire was a terrific novel but what a hugggggeaaarrrrgghhh disapointment this is. The characters are two- dimensional, the story is shhalllowwwpppllloddddiiiinnng. After 700 pages I can only ask WWWhhhyyyyyy? Wolfe is the one who seems full of himself, as he overreaches so badly in what appears to be a mighty attempt to impress the reader with his writing skills. It leaves me with the view that the author had several independent story ideas but decided to scramble them together into a single bowl and hope for a good outcome. How does it taste? To use the author's device for sensory description...UUHHGGGHHHOWWWWWNNNOOOplllssssNoooo.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly disappointing
Review: Can you say John Grisham? This book foists a contrived plot chock full of stale, uninspired characters on you, page after miserable page. ("His name was Bonneville (or something equally lame), but everyone called him Bonnie.") Who cares. Not even airplane reading.
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