The Bonfire of the Vanities (Magill Book Reviews)
At a glance:
- Author: Tom Wolfe
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Social realism
- Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Journalism or journalists, Class conflict, New York City, 1980’s, Poverty or poor people, Greed, Corruption, Newspapers, Wealth, Reporting or reporters, Wall Street
- Locales: New York, NY
With such books as THE ELECTRIC KOOL-AID ACID TEST and THE RIGHT STUFF, Wolfe demonstrated that nonfiction can be as artful as fiction, and even more urgent. With THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES, a richly textured, exuberant tale of New York, Wolfe establishes himself as the leading candidate for the title of the Balzac of contemporary America.
Abe Weiss, a cunning district attorney, refers to his turf as “the Laboratory of Human Relations,” and Wolfe’s novel depicts an urban melting pot that has become an immiscible stew of rival classes and ethnic groups. A social satirist...
[The entire page is 703 words long]
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