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The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel
 
 
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The Bonfire of the Vanities: A Novel (Paperback)

by Tom Wolfe (Author) "At that very moment, in the very sort of Park Avenue co-op apartment that so obsessed the Mayor . . . twelve-foot ceilings . ...." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
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After Tom Wolfe defined the '60s in The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers and the cultural U-turn at the turn of the '80s in The Right Stuff, nobody thought he could ever top himself again. In 1987, when The Bonfire of the Vanities arrived, the literati called Wolfe an "aging enfant terrible."

He wasn't aging; he was growing up. Bonfire's pyrotechnic satire of 1980s New York wasn't just Wolfe's best book, it was the best bestselling fiction debut of the decade, a miraculously realistic study of an unbelievably status-mad society, from the fiery combatants of the South Bronx to the bubbling scum at the top of Wall Street. Sherman McCoy, a farcically arrogant investment banker (dubbed a "Master of the Universe," Wolfe's brilliant metaphorical co-opting of a then-important toy for boys), hits a black guy in the Bronx with his Mercedes and runs--right into a nightmare peopled by vicious mistresses, thin wives like "social x-rays," slime-bag politicos, tabloid hacks, and Dantesque denizens of the "justice" system. If the Coen and Marx brothers together dramatized The Great Gatsby, Wolfe's Bonfire would probably be funnier. Many think his second novel, A Man in Full, is deeper, but Bonfire will never die down.

You might find it interesting to compare the film The Bonfire of the Vanities, a fascinating calamity perpetrated by the geniuses Brian De Palma and Tom Hanks, with The Right Stuff, one of the very best films of the '80s. --Tim Appelo --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

In his spellbinding first novel, Wolfe proves that he has the right stuff to write propulsively engrossing fiction. Both his cynical irony and sense of the ridiculous are perfectly suited to his subject: the roiling, corrupt, savage, ethnic melting pot that is New York City. Ranging from the rarefied atmosphere of Park Avenue to the dingy courtrooms of the Bronx, this is a totally credible tale of how the communities uneasily coexist and what happens when they collide. On a clandestine date with his mistress one night, top Wall Street investment banker and snobbish WASP Sherman McCoy misses his turn on the thruway and gets lost in the South Bronx; his Mercedes hits and seriously injures a young black man. The incident is inflated by a manipulative black leader, a district attorney seeking reelection and a sleazy tabloid reporter into a full-blown scandal, a political football and a hokey morality play. Wolfe adroitly swings his focus from one to another of the people involved: the protagonist McCoy; Kramer, the assistant D.A.; two detectivesone Irish, the other Jewish; a slimy, alcoholic British journalist; an outraged judge, etc. He has an infallible, mocking ear for New York voices, rendering with equal precision the defense lawyer's "gedoutdahere," the deliberate bad grammar ("that don't help matters") of the wily "reverend" and the clenched-teeth WASP locution ('howjado"). His reporter's eye has seized every gritty detail of the criminal justice system, and he is also acute in rendering the hierarchy at a society party. He convincingly equates the jungles of Wall Street and the Bronx: in both places men casually use the same four-letter expletives and, no matter what their standing on the social ladder, find that power kindles their lust for nubile young women. Erupting from the first line with noise, color, tension and immediacy, this immensely entertaining novel accurately mirrors a system that has broken down: from the social code of basic good manners to the fair practices of the law. It is safe to predict that the book will stand as a brilliant evocation of New York's class, racial and political structure in the 1980s. 200,000 first printing; $200,000 ad/promo; Literary Guild dual main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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At that very moment, in the very sort of Park Avenue co-op apartment that so obsessed the Mayor . . . twelve-foot ceilings . . . two wings, one for the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants who own the place and one for the help . . . Sherman McCoy was kneeling in his front hall trying to put a leash on a dachshund. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

124 Reviews
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (124 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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4.0 out of 5 stars All fired up and no place to go, Feb 11 2005
By J.Jones - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Paperback)
It's not often that you could say that a book changed your life, but Tom Wolfe's BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES did just that for me. No, it's not life changing in the way that McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD is, with its glorious food for thought, hysterical passages, and extreme messages, but it did make me think on an entirely new level. I was a college drop-out doing nothing with my life and one day my sister gave me this book. I'm not a big reader but I could not put this book down. I became completely involved with the great characters in this book, young attorney, Larry Kramer, writer Peter Fallow, Reverand Reginald Bacon, and of course, Sherman McCoy. Wolfe wrote in such terrific detail that you feel as if you'd known these characters all your life. I started talking about them in conversations like they were close friends of mine. The story itself is incredible, taking you through the highs and lows of four main characters with Sherman being the tie that binds them all. Now, as for the life-changing part, I knew very little about the stock market, but after seeing the high-life that Sherman led, the luxury car, the Park Ave. Co-Op, and of course his lovely ladies, wife Judy and mistress, Maria Ruskin, I knew thats what I wanted for myself(except for the mistress, of course). So, I took a couple of classes, read a few books and I passed my stockbroker exam on the first try. Wall Street has been great to me--I have a job I love, great friends and surroundings and I met my wife at my firm. In short, I have never been happier and I have Tom Wolfe and his tale of a wealthy financier to thank. Must also recommend the DOGWOOD book by McCrae and another called A MAN IN FULL by the author of BONFIRE.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing vain about this one, July 13 2004
By Dennis Marcato (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Paperback)
I re-read this book just recently and loved it even more the sedcond time. Bonfire of the Vanities is a marvelous achievement: By turns, it doubles you over with laughter, causes you to pause and linger over a sublimely-written paragraph and shocks you into confronting the realities of our modern day institutions. The language is not for the faint-hearted -- beware. But as social satire and commentary, you're likely to find few equals.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Watch out, NY!, July 3 2004
By Frikle - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Bonfire of the Vanities (Paperback)
The much-celebrated novel is a fairly unique one in the landscape of literature. Its 700+ pages and style are, as explicitly stated by Wolfe in the intro, an attempt to return to the grander realism works of the past. He specifically mentions Anna Karenina as the great example of the novel that portrays a cross section of a whole society. Only this is rarely done today, so what we have is one of the only major cross-sections of New York in the 80's.

However, this is a cross-section that is viciously sliced from the meaty flesh of New York society, leaving it gaping, bleeding and exposed, all in a highly satirical and humorous way.

The main story revolves around a high-powered broker and his mistress who are involved in a hit-and-run accident which leaves a young, black "youth" from the Bronx in a coma. The scandal sweeps the city as an epitomy of the racial, economic and cultural differences (and inequalities), as a mob builds up around the case. In terms of the actual plot, there's nothing complicated, rather, its the eye into the eschelons of high, middle and poor society New-York-style that makes this entertaining and enjoyable.

Wolfe exposes the massive slab of hypocrisy present in the society, from the DA who has idealistic tirades about his job (when it's really a vehicle for his extra-marital and political ambitions) to the British journalist who thumbs his nose down on all things American (while scurrying for his next free meal and alcoholic binge).

As mentioned by many reviewers, there's nothing essentially new in the book - as Wolfe said, some of it feels like it's been ripped from the headlines, but in reality much of it is art imitating life. What I liked about the book is its message of vanity and indulgence, and how quickly those superficial bubbles can be burst in a crisis to *make* a person "ordinary" again. True to an almost century-old tradition in books, there are no real heroes here. But still, despite all the horrible things the main character has done, I found myself feeling sorry for him and somewhat admiring him by the end.

Other complaints have been the superficial role of women in the book, but again, I think that's simply an extension of the superficiality of a section of society that spends more on a painting frame than a cop earns in 6 months.

Overall, a great book that speaks without being preachy and has a lot of very funny moments.

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 		 Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars uhh..?
This book is so incredibly overrated its sickening. its mainstream tripe for the philistine reader of our age. Read more
Published on July 17 2004

2.0 out of 5 stars 700+ pages of buncombe
i accidently entered the same review twice. I guess there's is no delete button.
Published on July 17 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Satire That Nails The 80's Down Flat!!!
I cannot believe that it has actually been over a decade since I read Tom Wolfe's THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES; it is a brilliant and hilarious entertaining work of satirical... Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Robert J. Schneider

5.0 out of 5 stars A true "social" novel
At some point in the 1980s, Tom Wolfe published an article in Harper's magazine promulgating the death of the social novel. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2004 by anonymous

3.0 out of 5 stars The Bonfire of Wolfe's Imagination
Yes, the plot drives itself.

Yes, the chracterizations are often vivid, entertaining, and thought-provoking. Read more

Published on Jun 12 2004 by Philip

5.0 out of 5 stars BOTV everywhere
Has anyone else noticed that in just about any movie made in the last 10 years, whenever there is a bookshelf in the background a paperback copy of BOTV is on the shelf? Read more
Published on May 18 2004 by Andrew N. Villwock

4.0 out of 5 stars Impressively Accurate and Gripping
I can understand how this book was such a milestone. True genius, in the journalistic style--for portraying so well the status and money-obsessed nature of New York, which still... Read more
Published on May 13 2004 by bkummer4

5.0 out of 5 stars An amazing romp
An amazing romp through 1980s New York, Wall Street, the court system, and the lives of the rich and aspiring to be rich. Read more
Published on April 11 2004 by J. Jacobs

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again relevant in the age of corporate greed
With the Martha Stewarts, the Tyco/Dennis Kozlowskis, the Enron/Jeffrey Skillings of the world grabbing every headline in the business world, this masterpiece by Tom Wolfe once... Read more
Published on April 4 2004 by efchay

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Cake!
Using Wolfe's cake analogy, this book is one hell of a serving of a multi-layered cake. It is funny, farcical, tragic, satiric and informative. Read more
Published on Mar 1 2004 by G. A. Readman

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