A Man in Full - Tom Wolfe > Reviews > So-so :S

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Yes
Story	Good
Characters	Outstanding
Listenability	Pretty compelling but not addictive
How does it compare to similar audio books?	Quite good
How does it compare to audio works by the same author?	Quite good

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

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is another epic tale from Tom Wolfe. The book is 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 are women: just like in Bonfire of the Vanities, women are incidental, used to progress the plot by their impact on men rather than as important in their own right.

The true anti-hero is Charlie, about whom the book is really centred. Just like 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 being a massive 742 pages long.

I do recommend this book, but if you don't like Tom Wolfe's style, or you aren't prepared for the ending to be truly incongruous then you might be best directed to avoid this book, or at least start with Bonfire of the Vanities.