A Man in Full

Rating:
Summary: 742 pages of disappointment...
Review: As a current resident of Atlanta, I both loved and hated the detailed description Wolfe gave of my city, its culture and politics. He dug deep to see the beauty and ugliness of my home, which, while often on target, made me uncomfortable at times. That's one reason why I like to read Wolfe's work. BUT, I have to say reading this book was an arduous task. Too much character development, not enough story. I was determined to finish all 742 pages, only to feel cheated at the end, wondering why in the world I wasted my time. My anticipation will surely be tempered for his next piece of work.

Rating:
Summary: Why are readers criticising the ending?
Review: I have just finished this book which I read in less than a week. It had me hooked from beginning to end. I had read some of the reviews here before I read the book so was prepared to be disappointed by the end, but thought it was a great ending for such an absorbing book. Not being an American may have made a difference, but I enjoyed all Wolfe's caricatures of contemporary American manhood - the real estate developer, upand coming Black lawyer, aspiring politician, jailbird, arrogant athlete, failed middle management banker, etc etc, even Croker's tramsformation into an inspirational speaker at the end - all these are real, albeit exaggerated, examples of America today. Great book; even better than Bonfire of the Vanities.

Rating:
Summary: I should have at least waited for the Paperback
Review: I've been waiting ten years for another Tom Wolfe novel. Bonfire Of The Vanities was my favorite book of the '80s. I loved everything about it. So after ten years of waiting my expectations were pretty high. Unfortunately, I was disapointed. The story was long and tedious. Characters were just as ridiculous as in Bonfire but not nearly as juicy. It just didn't work this time. Nevertheless, I kept reading, sure that Wolfe was going to tie everything together in one brilliant ending that would make the whole effort worthwhile. I never would have expected the ending to be the worst part of the whole book. Oh well. Wolfe is still a good enough writer to keep me entertained, so I guess all was not lost.

Rating:
Summary: Wolf quits @ the end!
Review: Great writing, full of detail and interesting ancedotes on Atlanta and it history and culture, (very Michneresque) About 3/4 of the way through I think Toms, Mom called in in for dinner so the ending was rushed, light and totally unfulfilling. This could have been a great novel and someone should finish it properly.

Rating:
Summary: brilliant observer of American scene, but...
Review: Tom Wolfe has nailed America's end of the century culture and, in the course of that, has raised some intriguing issues in his competing models of masculinity. But it's a epic that dug a hole for itself in the end. Since none of his models of manliness work, he left me no choice but to resign from the gender and to wonder how a book so compelling for 99% of its muscular bulk could have left me begging for any kind of a ending just to put me out of my misery.

Rating:
Summary: Read the last 10 pages first
Review: Simply: The book's ending leaves you wishing you hadn't read the book at all. While the book is quite interesting most of the way through, the conclusion was boring, unbelievable and clearly lazy on Wolfe's part. Like Billy Crystal's character in When Harry Met Sally, read the ending first - you won't bother reading the rest.

Rating:
Summary: Very realistic and absorbing until the big press conference.
Review: Having grown up in Atlanta, graduating from Georgia Tech about the time Charlie Croker fictionally did, I found it getting very real. The names and places were those I also knew. I too got the book for Christmas and saved it to read sitting in air terminals. I've known developers in Atlanta and Georgia. Men who had to fight or possibly connive to build such an empire. Some lost it all, but none went out with a whimper. Maybe Wolfe should have sent the last chapter out for potential readers to review with a multiple choice ending. I was expecting much more.

Rating:
Summary: 700 pages of magic destroyed by 10 pages of junk ending
Review: I am admittedly a lifelong Wolfe fan. However, I really felt cheated with the slipshod ending of this epic novel. He dismisses the two protagonists in less than a paragraph each and spends 10 pages outlining the future for lesser characters. If he got tired of the project, the least he could have done is set it aside until he could contrive an ending worthy of the rest of the work.

Rating:
Summary: A great read despite the weak conclusion.
Review: Wolfe has done it again! No contemporary writer of fiction can get the reader so engaged. The character development, the situations and settings, as well as the overall social comment makes this Wolfe's best effort. A marvelous, marvelous read. Nevertheless, the conclusion is so weak, one suspects Wolfe ran out of gas. Let's hope the screen play has a stronger and believable ending.

Rating:
Summary: the usual wolfe treatment--but thats ok with me.
Review: I understand Norman Mailer has written a review of A Man in Full--but I have been unable to find this. Can anyone help me here?