A Man in Full - Tom Wolfe

Advantages: well-written, entertaining
Disadvantages: not as good as bonfire of the vanities, slightly silly ending

...again massive, and written in a similar style to Bonfire of the Vanities. It is a tale of Charlie Croker, a millionaire property developer whose universe is falling down around him, Roger White, a lawyer, his client, a coloured atheltic star with a bad attitude, Raymond Peepgass, a bank official with money problems and Conrad Hensley, an honest, hardworking man who ends up in prison by a series of unfortunate events. Note how none of the main chracters ...
...Sherman in 'Bonfire' he is a bit of a megalomaniac: self-absorbed and out for himself. This book is a tale of how such disparate characters can have a major impact on each others lives, and about how people can rise and fall in the social scene. The ending is truly daft, and there are some spiritual connotations within the book that perhaps don't sit so well with Tom Wolfe's style of nitty-gritty writing. However, this is an entertaining read, despite ... Read review

Advantages: readable, entertaining
Disadvantages: not as good as Bonfire

...like Grisham - too stagey with functional rather than interesting characters. Its better than a Grisham but a greater compliment would be to declare it as good as a Wolfe, which it is not. Take it on a flight - you'll forget the journey, but you won't remember the book. ... Read review

Advantages: good development of the characters, complex story
Disadvantages: disapointing end

...the rise and fall of a property speculator in the southern USA. Just as in "Bonfire of the vanities", Wolfe creates the most different characters and throughout the book they interact and their character studies remain fascinating. The people he talks about lose their two-dimensionality right from the start and are portrayed as very real. There are not too many coincidences that could make the story trivial and the storyline is clear throughout. ... Read review

Advantages: Vividly descriptive
Disadvantages: Sometimes painfully so

...Before writing about this book, I'd like to tell you about a different book. It's a work of nonfiction, 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' by Tom Wolfe ('A Man In Full', 'The Right Stuff'), and I don't think I exaggerate when I say it compelled me to read Ken Kesey's novel. In 1959, Kesey volunteered to take part in a series of scientific experiments with a new drug whose properties were powerful, strange and hard to understand. The drug was D-lysergic acid diethylamide - LSD or acid - and it wasn't long before private individuals were synthesizing and distributing it. 'The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test' describes Kesey's voyages up and down the country in a dayglo painted bus, destination 'Furthur', with a motley crew known as the Merry Pranksters, and the experiments they carried out with acid far from any research laboratory... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Fantastic adventure written in awe-inspiring language
Disadvantages: Author occasionally feels disconnected from his story

...and Bruce Willis. Tom Wolfe has continued to write his controversial, articles, books and essays. In his time as a journalist and author, Wolfe has gained the respect and critical acclaim of a great number of his contemporaries as well as literary critics worldwide. *Other books by Tom Wolfe* The Right tuff Bonfire of the Vanities A Man in Full I am Charlotte Simmons The Purple Decade The Painted Word And several more… ***What is it all about*** There is a saying about the 60's along the lines of "if you remember the 60's, you weren't there." Perhaps this is true because most of the legends of the 60's seem to have faded away now without having had their stories properly told. Tom Wolfe however, was certainly there and in this book he takes the (albeit Walt Disney, vanilla flavoured version) journey with Ken Kesey and his... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful