A Man in Full

Rating:
Summary: NOTHING BUT A CROCK
Review: HOW MUCH MONEY? I'M SORRY, BUT I DON'T GET IT! TOM WOLFE SPENDS TEN YEARS WRITING THIS THING AND THIS IS WHAT HE COMES UP WITH, AN OVERLONG CONVOLUTED MISH-MOSH CONCERNING RACE, WEALTH, POWER AND THE STOICS? AND THEN, AFTER 700 PAGES HE RUNS OUT OF GAS AND LEAVES US WITH AN EPILOGUE TO SUM UP THE STORY. SORRY TOM, BUT SPEND LESS TIME DECRIBING WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE WEARING AND HOW THEY ARE LIVING, AND MORE TIME ON CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. GIVE ME A REASON TO UNDERSTAND CHARLIE AND HIS RABBLE. GIVE ME MORE INDEPTH INSIGHT INTO CONRAD'S SPIRITIAL METAMORPOSIS AND LESS TIME SPOTLIGHTING HIS IMMENSE FOREARMS. ( I UNDERSTOOD IT THE FIRST TIME) IT SEEMS TO ME THAT OLD TOM TOOK THE MONEY AND RAN. WELL, KEEP ON RUNNING UNTIL YOU CAN COME UP WITH THE ENERGY TO WRITE AGAIN.

Rating:
Summary: An absorbing, entertaining, and humorous time killer.
Review: Let's make this short and sweet. A Man in Full was a great read up to a point. When it came time for Charlie Croker's big scene at the press conference, didn't it seem to be remarkably similar to the climactic press conference with John Galt in Ayn Rand's superior novel Atlas Shrugged? Just a coincidence?

Rating:
Summary: Much ado about nothing.
Review: Fortunately this book was a gift because I would have been very perturbed had I spent my own money for it. Character development is very good but you constantly are waiting for things to happen to the characters that will get a rise out of your emotions. I just found it to be a boring book with a nonsensical ending.

Rating:
Summary: lacks the spark of longevity
Review: wolfe has created a world which drifts in and out of my understanding. he trys to tackle the racial undercurrents in atlanta, but at the same time he pokes fun at the black experience, the stoic parody is amusing ,but i find it unsatisfying and brings the novel to an artifically abrupt ending. surprising after 700 odd pages ! i guess the editor was putting the pressure on ! how long will woolfe survive on the dinner circuit with this effort ? its no bonfire for sure.

Rating:
Summary: The book is tedious. Tedious. TEDIOUS!
Review: Wolfe has lost the comedic touch which fueled his early works. This is an overblown, overhyped, disappointment.

Rating:
Summary: Not in the same class as Bonfire ...
Review: I've laughed out loud when I read anything else by Tom Wolfe, so I looked forward to reading his latest with great anticipation. He still writes well and develops a wonderful story, but this one took a long time to develop, and simply wasn't as funny on the way there. And after 700 pages to bring the main characters together, you're expecting some wild ending, but it all just sort of stops - very anticlimatic and disapointing. C'mon Tom, I know you've got another Bonfire in you !

Rating:
Summary: I'd prefer to give this book zero stars -- it's that bad.
Review: Talk about the emperor's new clothing! -- one of the most nihlistic books writen in the last fifty years, with absolutely nothing good to be said about anything. An absurd plot with comic book quality characters, each more of an insult to the reader's intelligence than the last. Boooooo!

Rating:
Summary: Highly overrated
Review: Nobody would say nice things about this book if it wasn't written by Tom Wolfe. It would be considered mediocre at best, with a contrived plot, writing style dropped half way through as though a different writer finished it, a roll-your-eyes and groan ending, and little if any meaning. Overall, a waste of valuable reading time.

Rating:
Summary: False hope
Review: This is the best door stop I have ever bought. By weight and volume it is unsurpassed. However, as enjoyable reading it is fleeting at best. Mr. Wolfe has his moments - 742 pages can't be all bad - but in general the book is an incredibly disappointment. My only hope is they don't make a movie of this dribble.

Rating:
Summary: entertaining
Review: Tom Wolfe intertwines three story lines in a way I have never seen anyone do it before. He keeps you from getting bored. All of the charactors seem to have a personality of their own. I really enjoyed this book.