Following the success of 'Bonfire of the Vanities', Tom Wolfe returns with his epic novel 'A Man in Full.' Set in Atlanta, Georgia, the novel follows the lives of various characters and their relationship in a city brewing with politics, racial tensions, wealth and injustice. The main characters are Charles (Charlie) Croker, a wealthy real estate developer and former Georgia Tech football player, who is so deep south, he owns a plantation and finds himself sometimes thrown back to an era when blacks were slaves to their masters. He's seen as pompous and arrogrant, so self assured in his invincibility that when all comes crashing down around him, he struggles to find a balance between saving his name and reputation or going to the dogs.
There is Roger Too White, an African-American lawyer, so called because of his near fair features and his mannerisms. He prefers to associate himself with the white establishment (at first) but eventually comes to terms with being with his own race and their appreciation of what he does regarding a case against a famous black athelete.
The third main character is Conrad Hensley, a former worker at one of Croker's food plants in California. Fate has thrown him a difficult curve, but he somehow manages to pull out of it with a staunch belief in the teachings of the Stoics.
All three main characters and their supporting cast intertwine in the city of Atlanta by the end of the story with tales of redemption and the need for acceptance at the end of the day.

Readers of high drama, politics, the wealthy and fans of Tom Wolfe.

The way all the characters lives come together at the end. It almost seems impossible that such a thing could happen, but Wolfe manages to tie up the loose ends, by showing how one life can inadvertently affect another.

Wolfe's knack of architectural descriptions - especially in the beginning of the story. It seemed to drag on forever with no end in sight. The ending of the story, despite tying all lose ends, seemed a bit too quick and slightly unrealistic - this in regards to what happened to Croker at the end.

Find another Tom Wolfe book to read.

This book made me feel slightly frustrated at the end, but a bit satisfied at the way some storylines were resolved.

Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe manages to make the city of Atlanta an entity in itself. And as a person who actually lives there, it brought a smile to my face to see all the famous landmarks and streets I've driven past being mentioned. He manages to show the different facets of a town that's as diverse as it is multi-cultural.

You might finish it feeling that there are a few things that could have been resolved much better.

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Created Jan 17, 2008 at 2:29pm • Submit your own review...