A Man in Full

Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Not as good as Bonfire - there, that's said. But I really enjoyed it. The prose is beautiful, the characters richly realized, and the depiction of the East Bay ("the wrong side of San Francisco Bay") is wonderful. I live in Pleasanton and love the lampoon. This is a marvelous novel, entertaining, thoughtful, and thought provoking.

Rating:
Summary: tom clancy with feeling
Review: many criticize clancy's books because they are too long and too detailed. I read and love clancy's books. I am patient and love the detail. Tom Wolfe's book is long and detailed but the detail is descriptive rather than "clinical" and it is really pleasurable. I really enjoyed this book. it is simple, elegant, and meaningful. you know something neat is going to happen and you want to get to the end so you can see what happens. It is one of those few books where you don't want to read too fast because you will have to finish it. It is not a mystery story. Not a suspense thriller. and yet you want to just keep going to see what happens. a great read.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliance incarnate!
Review: A Man in Full is far and away one of the greatest American novels ever written. Tom Wolfe is the unquestioned master of the English language, and this epic tome is more proof (like any was really needed) that Wolfe is the best writer (of fiction and non-fiction) in the world.

The characters in this book are truly unique and fleshed out. They vividly come to life under the unflinching microscope of Wolfe's insight and wit. Charlie, Conrad and Roger are all terrificly well-written, real people. Fareek could not have been more right-on. All of the supporting players are original and interesting.

There are very few books that one will ever read that offer this much joy and pleasure from one turn of phrase, sentence, paragraph or passage to another, and most of those that are are also written by Tom Wolfe.

Unequaled brilliance!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Ambitious, but muddled
Review: I wanted to enjoy this book far more than I actually did: Wolfe clearly undertook a massive feat with "A Man in Full," attempting to weave together characters from a variety of racial and social backgrounds. And yet, beyond that, I was not certain what else Wolfe intended his novel to be: a profound commentary on social and cultural mores? A social satire? A lasting work of literature? Or just a hefty piece of popular fiction? This identity crisis plagues Wolfe throughout the book. There are moments of true brilliance--Charlie Croker himself is a masterpiece; were the book as a whole as inspired, as beautifully layered, Wolfe would have added a major character to the American literary scene. But the supporting cast--indeed, the whole of "A Man in Full"--just doesn't merit much attention. It's not profound or complex enough to be social commentary; and despite occasionally glints of brilliance, it's not funny or scathing enough to be social satire (which is disappointing; Wolfe clearly has a great sense of humor and a keen intellect--this book could have been as hilarious, as scalding, as unconventional as anything by Joseph Heller or Kurt Vonnegut, but Wolfe seems almost hesitant to try.) There are also problems when one tries to characterize "A Man in Full" as a deeply profound comment on society: Wolfe so often resorts to shallow, foolish plot tricks to move his characters forward, much of the plot seems cheap and contrived. A convenient earthquake halfway through the novel is the first straw; the abrupt, Zeus-inspired resolution of the novel is the last. Wolfe has been unfairly criticized by the American literati for his view of the novel as a large, complex, socially-motivated work of art. But whatever criticism he may have received for "A Man in Full" in particular is probably well-deserved. Wolfe is clearly a talented writer: I think he's capable of much better.

Rating:
Summary: Well the first was good...
Review: The first three quarters of this book are excellent. The characters are well crafted and their stories are really interesting. However, without giving anything away I'll just say that the ending was downright stupid. Tom Wolfe has always been a master storyteller which is why I was so surprised that he would take such a wonderful book and give it such a horrible ending. That said, I enjoyed the rest of the book so much that I didn't feel that I had wasted my time reading it. If you love Tom Wolfe I'd recommend getting this book, but don't keep your expectations too high, this is no "Bonfire of the Vanities".

Rating:
Summary: Just Fantastic!
Review: I bought this book about a year ago when it first came out in paperback, and I found myself continually putting off reading it. I felt it was more of an obligation than a recreation. Wow, was I ever wrong. This is a big book, and at almost 800 small-print pages, it has plenty of room for flaws as well as greatness, but the greatness truly dominates. Wolfe's tale of an aging, failing real-estate developer in Atlanta is packed with vivid characters, fascinating social vignettes, tense situations, and hilarious social commentary. I found myself hurrying home so that I could get back to reading this book, which was as page-turning an experience as I've had in some time.

Wolfe is not without his flaws as a writer. He wants to include a broad spectrum of contemporary culture, but sometimes he has a tin ear, and things fall flat. His music lyrics (country metal!?) are always unbelievable, and his effort to represent hip hop is frankly laughable (the rapper he keeps talking about, Doctor Rammer Doc Doc has a name that seems remarkably stupid to anyone with the most distant understanding of hip hop culture). As he did in Bonfire of the Vanities, Wolfe liked to create character through the construction of catch phrases, and he frequently beats them to death. In one chapter, a woman in her fifties observes that the attractive women today look less like women and more like "boys with breasts." Sure it is amusing, but he then proceeds to use the term "boys with breasts" about 25 more times in the chapter. Know when to say when.

Whatever weakness he has a novelist, however, are more than trivialized buy the big successes of this book -- far better than "Bonfire," by the way, which was interesting but full of clunky writing. I am truly in awe of the scope of his accomplishment here. Even the much-maligned final third, with its emphasis on 1st century stoicism, worked beautifully for me. This book may have gotten some bad press because it was designed to be a blockbuster, because Wolfe clearly did not allow himself to be edited (at a craftily edited 500 - 600 pages, this book could have been a fighting-trim bit of perfection), and because what is more fun at taking a swipe at a cultural icon? Frankly, I don't care whether or not Wolfe is a writer for the ages or if he is the Dickens of our generation. Right now, at this point in time, "A Man in Full" is one of the most entertaining and satisfying novelistic experiences around.

Rating:
Summary: Ambitious but imperfect; Wolfe entertains
Review: Wolfe changes the scenery from New York to Atlanta, and the rich "masters of the universe" become the super-rich Southern plantation owners (anybody who is anybody has their own Leer Jet), but many of the elements of this sprawling novel will be familiar to fans of "Bonfire of the Vanities".

A Man in Full is a fun novel - ambitious, sometimes silly, always audacious. Did I mention that it was a fun novel to read? It easily kept my attention through its 700+ pages.

The conclusion is just somewhat far fetched as Wolfe struggles to bring this wild ride to a close. The mix of philosophical musing (thinly spread) and anti-greed in the conclusion is a bit hard to swallow; the reader finds himself saying "wait just a minute, who is this rich white-suited haberdasher Tom Wolfe to be lecturing *me* on the vice of greed?"

But these comments notwithstanding A Man In Full was a novel that I enjoyed. This is storytelling at it's best, sprinkled with social commentary with which the reader is free to agree or disagree. Looking for spiritually whole characters to give you some wise insight on how to live your life? Then you should probably look elsewhere, you won't find role models here. My favorite character is Raymond Peepgas, a Harvard MBA stuck in middle management who can't quite manage to make ends meet on his six figure salary.

Wolfe impresses as a courageous writer who isn't bashful about sticking his neck out; the breadth of characters and scenery is almost ridiculous. We're taken from a frozen foods warehouse to a prison to grand plantations of the Old South to Atlanta's freaknick of the New South. This novel has its detractors (who have made some valid points) but at the end of the day this novel entertains. And according to Wolfe's philosophy on novels, that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Rating:
Summary: Bonfire of Atlanta-ties
Review: If you have substantial time to kill and don't care much how you spend it, this is the read for you. Wolfe does have the ability to spin out a yarn and draw one in with the hope of a satisfying resolution of multiple story lines involving a myriad of characters. WRONG!! The reader is bludgeoned over and over again with ham-handed caricatures of the main characters long after we get the point (Charlie Croker is a nedneck cracker. Roger White has difficulty resolving his ethnic identity as an African-American with his position in a white shoe law firm. Etc, etc., etc.) The descriptions of black culture and life are of the mortifying, limousine-liberal, "white- man's-burden" variety. (In the Freaknic scene, one can almost imagine Josephine Baker dancing in a banana skirt to the sound of tom-toms.) The string of coincidences that "tie together" the various plot lines is absurd. The philosophy is of the Cliff Notes variety. The ending has the principal characters (and the judicial system) completely reversing everything they have done or said for the previous 700 pages or so, all for no apparent reason. The subplot involving Croker's ex-wife adds nothing. Mr. Wolfe is an author whose production is prodigious but whose skills and insights are disappointingly superficial. I wanted to like this book but, as you can tell, found that impossible. Like "Bonfire of the Vanities" before it, the fix is in. Unfortunately, the joke is on us.

Rating:
Summary: Almost a great novel...
Review: A very interesting book from a great author. Not only will you get a good story but you will learn a lot about the state of Georgia. This is one of the better novels I have read. It is sure to be big movie material. Though this is a fat book (about 750 pages), it is a quick read (took me two weeks) and is a real page turner.

The problem with the book is that it has a really disappointing ending -- the last 50 pages seemed really rushed and make little sense. This could have been one of the best period books of the 1990's but instead it leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

Rating:
Summary: A Man in Full: whatever...
Review: Painful. That's the first word that comes to mind when I think about the time I wasted on this ... thing. I cringed whenever I sensed some more of the so-called "rap" music or prison slang was approaching. The raps were reminiscent of early old school hip-hop from someone you never heard of, rhymes that even Vanilla Ice would have been embarrassed to perform. The slang used in the jailhouse scenes had me imagining Mr. Wolfe watching prison movies from the 70's, and deleting all the "Sucka's!" and "right on's". I felt especially sorry for the Hawaiian guy, Five-o (how clever!). Even a fictional character shouldn't have to recite the, well, goofy dialogue this poor schmuck delivers. Even if there is a variety of pidgin like that, do you really have to translate even the bits that aren't loopy sounding gibberish? At least that would have been a few less words to have to force one's self through. I tried to finish this ... thing, I honestly did, but there comes a time when you have to know when to cut your losses.Trust me, I'm almost fully recovered from my encounter with "The Book That Won't go Away!" Do yourself a favor, take your money you would have spent on this ... thing, throw it in the air and go for a walk. You'll be much better off.