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The Bonfire of the Vanities

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The Bonfire of the Vanities

By: Tom Wolfe
Narrated by: Todd Boyce
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An exhilarating satire of Eighties excess that captures the effervescent spirit of New York, from one of the greatest writers of modern American prose

Sherman McCoy is a WASP, bond trader and self-appointed 'Master of the Universe'. He has a fashionable wife, a Park Avenue apartment and a Southern mistress. His spectacular fall begins the moment he is involved in a hit-and-run accident in the Bronx. Prosecutors, newspaper hacks, politicians and clergy close in on him, determined to bring him down.

Exuberant, scandalous and exceptionally discerning, The Bonfire of the Vanities was Tom Wolfe's first venture into fiction and cemented his reputation as the foremost chronicler of his age.

‘The air of New York crackles with an energy that causes the adrenalin to pump… The feeling is perfectly reproduced in Wolfe's novel… Electric'–Sunday Times

‘The quintessential novel of The Eighties'–The Guardian

©1987 Tom Wolfe (P)2024 W. F. Howes Ltd City Life Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Urban World Literature Scary Witty New York
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This was a gripping story - the attention to character and location detail added depth and poignancy. The characters were mostly well drawn though the female characters acted as mainly syphons to the male characters.

The oversexualised description of most of the female characters dates the book and distracts from the meat and bones of the story though I get that it was from the point of view of the lascivious male characters.
The ending was abrupt and incongruous with the painstaking detailed tone and tempo of the rest of the book I thought, but still a thoroughly enjoyable listen.

The performance was excellent- his different character voices were very impressive and really added to the text.

Sadly, still relevant today

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Love this very long audible book, the story is gripping and depicts a 1980's New York with real authenticity.
Excellent narrator brought all the different characters to life.
Yes, it's a long one but we'll worth the listen.

Captivating drama

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Loved everything - had read the book and seen the film but enjoyed Audible version even more - totally compelling

Narration was superb!!

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I read this book many years ago a couple of times.

Then and now it was a sharp social insight as well as a well told drama. The original is full of sharp characterisation and brilliant narrative.

The audio version does not disappoint.

Genius work

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A book from an author at the peak of his literary powers, performed by a man who not only can brilliantly recreate 50 different shades of New York accent (as well as a wide variety of others), but reads this book like he wrote it himself, I cannot recommend this book highly enough for anyone wishing to understand the nature of modern America. Although this book was written in the 1980s, its themes have never been more timely than now, and remind readers that the problems plaguing America back then have only gotten worse. But this book is far from a political treatise, rather it is a sharply observed, fast moving, entertaining tome that pulls no punches on the dark side of human nature.

A redpill masterpiece, magnificently performed

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