A Man in Full

I first read this book about 25 years ago, and remembered it as being outstanding. So much so, that I purchased it again after having loaned it out and thus losing it forever.

While I remembered the basic premise (a wealthy, peckerwood Atlanta real estate developer goes bankrupt and gets drawn into a racial firestorm), it is the details that make this novel so entertaining.

Ive read some of the criticisms, and while I concede that some have merit, the simple fact is, this novel is, at times, uproaringly funny, and at other times simply engrossing. The characters are almost Dickens-like in their appeal, from the mid-level loan officer, Ray Peepgas (is that not a Dickens name) to the Black attorney Roger White II, nicknamed Roger Too White to the chief protagonist, Charley Croker (the Sixty Minute Man), Wolfe constantly crafts dialogue that is just too good to be believed.

I must admit I was not wild about the ending, which kind of ran out of steam, but for 600 plus pages, this story was a pleasure to consume for a second time.

9.5/10

A man converted to stoicism while in prison in Alameda County escapes during an earthquake which flattens the prison and proceeds to travel to Atlanta on the lam, where he in turn converts a bankrupt legendary real estate developer to stoicism as well. Said real estate developer is on the sidelines of a race riot in Atlanta (during the mayoral campaign) caused by a date rape accusation lodged against Georgia Tech’s black All-American running back by the daughter of another legendary real estate developer. Stoicism in prison and in the boardroom, the timeless wisdom of Epictetus for all of us dispossessed slaves. Tom Wolfe does it again: I just wish he could have worked some Marcus Aurelius in.

Recommended to anyone interested in philosophy, business, prison, or race. I don’t know how Tom Wolfe gets this stuff by the censors.

Tom Wolfe simply had no competition. He was also the late 20th centuries’ greatest critic. He knew who had talent, and who was overrated when it came to art. He was primarily a non-fiction writer, but when his first novel, Bonfire of the Vanities, was a huge hit, he continued to write fiction. This novel reportedly took him over a decade to complete. The characters are unforgettable and it’s a highly entertaining read. This is what sets Wolf apart: while there is and has always been no shortage of writers trying to write the next great American novel, Wolfe understands his primary job is to entertain. You don’t get 800 pages of abstract pontificating. He travels and lives in the cities in which his novels are set. He brings in the local culture-not just the architecture and physical environment but the types of people as well. But it wouldn’t be enough if that was all he did. Wolfe had a keen, fearless mind and was our greatest observer and commentator on contemporary culture. These observations and critiques suffuse his works making them not only fun to read but something you learn a lot from as well.

I got this book for $1 at a Church Bazaar sale. Since I’d enjoyed Bonfire of the Vanities, I thought I’d give this a try. I postponed reading it because of its massive size. But when I finally dug in, it was hard to put the book down. This book was a LOT of fun to read! One of the two main characters was writ LARGE, because that fit his LARGE lifestyle. The other main character was subtle and intriguing, because that was HIS way of being.

The way these two characters came to be together, and the result of that relationship is absolutely hilarious (if not altogether believable). I finish the book being very glad I’d invested the time to read it.

Its been sometime between my last Tom Wolfe experience (hint-generally an on the bus person). This book makes me wonder if Ive been off the bus far too long.
Great summer read with memorable characters, adequate mysticism, interpersonal (and personal) conflicts set within the social and political flavor of the modern South, in a tale that only Tom Wolfe can fashion to make interesting for 700+ pages.

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