The Bonfire of the Vanities

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Satirical novel on decay of 1980s New York.

Recommended for readers interested in social criticism. The book's unique feature lies in its satirical portrayal of the corrupt upper class and racial tensions in 1980s New York. It provides a scathing commentary on the societal decay of the era, making it a must-read for those who enjoy books that critique contemporary issues.

  • Ambassador Book Award for Fiction (1988)
  • National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (1987)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

The Bonfire of the Vanities

Regular price $19.73
Unit price
per
$17.76 Thryft Club Member Price
ISBN: 9780330296335
Authors: Tom Wolfe
Publisher: Picador
Date of Publication: 1997-01-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Literary Fiction, Contemporary
Goodreads rating: 3.9
(rated by 80424 readers)

Description

Sherman McCoy, the central figure of Tom Wolfe's first novel, is a young investment banker with a fourteen-room apartment in Manhattan. When he is involved in a freak accident in the Bronx, prosecutors, politicians, the press, the police, the clergy, and assorted hustlers high and low close in on him, licking their chops and giving us a gargantuan helping of the human comedy of New York in the last years of the twentieth century, a city boiling over with racial and ethnic hostilities and burning with the itch to Grab It Now. Wolfe's gallery ranges from Wall Street, where people in their thirties feel like small-fry if they're not yet making a million per, to the real streets, where the aim is lower but the itch is just as virulent.We see this feverish landscape through the eyes of McCoy's wife and his mistress; the young prosecutor for whom the McCoy case would be the answer to a prayer; the ne'er-do-well British journalist who needs such a case to save his career in America; the street-wise Irish lawyer who becomes McCoy's only ally; and Reverend Bacon of Harlem, a master manipulator of public opinion. Above all, we see what happens when the criminal justice system-gorged with "the chow," as the Bronx prosecutor calls the borough's usual black and Latin felons-considers the prospect of being banded a prime cut like Sherman McCoy of Park Avenue.
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Satirical novel on decay of 1980s New York.

Recommended for readers interested in social criticism. The book's unique feature lies in its satirical portrayal of the corrupt upper class and racial tensions in 1980s New York. It provides a scathing commentary on the societal decay of the era, making it a must-read for those who enjoy books that critique contemporary issues.

  • Ambassador Book Award for Fiction (1988)
  • National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee for Fiction (1987)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.