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A Man in Full

5 Sterne:		(210)
4 Sterne:		(177)
3 Sterne:		(138)
2 Sterne:		(93)
1 Sterne:		(107)

 

 

An ambitious undertaking, Tom Wolfe's novel starts by introducing several, very distinct characters, and expertly weaving their stories together. The complex storyline keeps you guessing, blending suspense and humor. Wolfe has populated a world with memorable characters (Cap'm Charlie Croker & his trophy wife, Serena, Conrad, Roger Too White, Ray Peepgass and so many others), that will live on in the reader's memory. Turpmtine Plantation feels like a very real place. Then, with the suddenness of a car wreck, the story lurches to an awkward and disappointing conclusion. It's a crying shame that Wolfe tries to wrap up an over 700-page novel in one chapter using a two-way Q&A conversation. A tremendous let-down...

What an accomplishment! To write a story that ties together: Charles Croker, a 60 y.o. Atlanta real estate broker who is in danger of losing his billion dollar fortune; Conrad Hensley, an idealistic, laid-off follower of the Stoic, Epicetus; Fareek Fanon, an Afro-American college football star alleged to have raped the daughter of Iman Armholster, a leader of the white community; and Roger Too White an Afro-American lawyer on the rise. Throw in a variety of other uniquely described stereotypical characters and you have the ingedients for a masterpiece. Read with enthusiasm and slow enough to savor the descriptions of people, places, things and situations, this book ranks right up there with the best. The teachings of Epicetus and the feelings of Charlie, who at 60 questions the meaning of his life were particularly relevant and powerful. I will often refer back to this story and read a page or two just to get a chuckle and see the beauty of the English language in the hands of a brilliant wordsmith. Postscript: If you have the opportunity to listen to the audio tape you won't be disappointed. Ralph Ogden Stiers does a brilliant job of capturing the essence of each character.

A Man in Full was the first Tom Wolfe novel I've every read, I'm embarassed to admit. He is obviously an extremely important American author. I see him as a sort of an urbane Steinbeck, very American, at least in this book. The book is said to be a Southern piece, but I think it has too wide a scope to fulfill that mission.

It's one of those books that keeps coming back in your memory. So many vivid scenes with outrageous characters. It's a book of ideas. Especially, the notion of two men from different life backgrounds, Charlie Croker the tycoon realestate broker and Conrad Hensley the down and out blue collar man, coming together over an obscure tome of ancient philosophy.

I believe Tom Wolfe expressed some concern in an interview that readers would not find sympathy for Charlie Croker. He needn't have feared that, in my mind. I thought Croker rather heroic, despite his foibles and excesses.

The range of Wolfe is amazing, from Stienbeckian views of the down and out family man to the power brokers of eastern society and business establishment, his charcters are well drawn and poignant.

This is a substatial novel, a book of substance. Definitely a must for your reading list.

As a person who has been physically removed from Atlanta for several years, I was asked to read Wolfe's book so I could comment on the validity of the scenario. I felt like I was riding in the limo with Wesley Dobbs Jordan and Roger Too White! I'm ready to go back and travel those streets myself! Wolfe is a fabulous researcher. I found myself so connected to the book that it was a letdown when I actually finished it. Never have I read a 750+ page book in such a short time. I also felt betrayed at the end because I did not want to see the characters end up the way they did. I have not read Bonfire of the Vanities, but I plan to read it right away! I recommend this book to all.

Having been living in Asia for the past year in a half, imagine my delight at finding out one of my literary heroes, Tom Wolfe, had another NY Times bestseller underway. Scrambling for a month or so I located a copy in Hong Kong and nestled that oh, so appreciably hefty volume happily in my hands. Living abroad one become ravenous to read one's native language and, in the past, who but Wolfe has handled it so nimbly and amusingly? But then imagine my disappointment where upon halfway through the book (after a brillant start), I realized that I was holding a botched effort. Wasn't there anyone with enough clout at the publishing house to recommended that Dapper Tom prune this meandering Southern vine? I nearly quit on the book twice, thrice and then finished it, in low spirits, very disappointed. There's an old movie axiom - discounting the role of the narrator in cinema - which says its better to show something than be told about it. After 700 plus pages, the fate of the characters are wrapped up in conversation - between two of the book's minor and most uninvolving characters. Terrible idea. It worked as news clippings in "The Bonfire of the Vanities," but here it is anquishing. On a bright note, the book's central character of multimillionaire real estate developer Charlie Crocker - "the man in full" - is wonderful. But Wolfe abandons him far too frequently to develop his secondary characters and kills any compelling narative the book might have had. Even more painfully, this "sprawling comic effort" - or whatever was the gist of the review The NY Times chose to on bestow - is, simply not very funny. Not even in the way the non-fiction "The Right Stuff" was. I suppose I should mention I have read all of Tom Wolfes' books (and even found "From Bauhaus To Our House" more amusing) and loved them all deeply - except this one. What a pity. What a disappointment. Especially so far away from home.

I'm not going to say anything different from any of the other reviews here, so i'm going to keep it short and sweet: The story gets four stars, the ending lowers it to three, but the prose is so entertaining I have to raise a star again. So there you have it. You do the math.

At least 4 great novels wrapped in one average novel. Average by standards of Tom Wolfe off course. After reading his other novel "Bonfire of the Vanities", you feel that Tom Wolfe could have done much better than this one. The most disturbing aspect of this book is, like I said before, that there are too many different stories going on and they have a not much of an influence on the main story. At least one of them, the story of the guy who was sacked from a company owned by the main character, has no relevance to the main story until the ending pages and even that link is very weak. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed when I finished this book. Not because it's lousy, no, it's not, but because I was expecting much more riveting thing from the author of "Bonfire of the Vanities". My recommendations: A must read and if you haven't read "Bonfire of the Vanities", read this book first.

700+ pages of intriguing character and story development. 50+ pages of fizzle! After finishing the book last night, I felt I had just endured the same letdown of Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil (the major difference is that Wolf's book was great, but he seemed to be lost for an ending, Midnight started painfully slow and never got better).

For an almost 800 page novel, it is a quick read with excellent character development, the right amount of detail (personal and environmental) and a multi-plot story that kept you involved right up to the end. The end. THE END. Therein lies the disappointment with this otherwise well designed piece of literature. My suggestion. Ignore the last 2 chapters and write your own ending. You will come away much more satisfied. If this book started like it ended, I wouldn't have made it past the first chapter. My only question is why would someone spend so much time developing detail and then throught the reader off a cliff? Are we part of the plot?

A Man In Full, after all it's bright moments, left me empty at the end.

While perusing the blurbs on the back of my copy of this book, I noticed someone mention that this was Wolfe's funniest book, which is absolutely true. Some scenes caused me to laugh aloud as I read them, and it seems that this may be the beginning of Wolfe taking himself less seriously. As always, Wolfe remains supremely readable. Even readers who don't like the subject matter can usually fly through a Wolfe novel. The ending seemed goofy and sensationalistic. While Croker was the main character, I found the social and economic comparisons between Roger and Conrad to be much more interesting. Perhaps with a different focus this novel might have presented more food for thought. Alas, in the form it now contains we must write it off as a novel by a journalist.

Yes, as so many other reviewers, the ending seemed a bit abrupt. However, the ending and the entire story, for that matter are only a cursory bit of narritive to what Wolfe's goals were in writing this brilliant novel: a characterization of 90's society and interaction of the American "salad bowl" cast of characters; from upwardly mobile Blacks, to Multimillionaire "Cracker" businessman, to low income Whites, to Asian immigrants. Set in the Southern but increasingly international city of Atlanta, the story acts as a mere canvas for the wonderfully painted characters Wolfe choses to express his commentary on contemporary American social life. Touching upon racism, racial identity, politics, celebrity, social elitism, Greek philosophy, divorce, and oh so much more, Wolfe captures the essence of the American social structure through the glorious illustrations of his characters. Cheers to Tom Wolfe on undertaking and succeeding at such an ambitious project!