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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn't ring true -- strange to see how an older generation viewed a younger. And an unenlightening view, at that.
Each third of A Man in Full had me feeling a little bit differently. At the beginning, I felt a bit disconnected. It took me some time to relate to the characters and to care about the story. In the middle, I was completely engaged. I was rooting for some characters, against others, and I wanted to push forward to find out what was going to happen. At the end, my interested waned as the plot and characters foundered rather than coalescing into a satisfying finish. On the whole, the book was ok, but it wasn't terrific.
A Man in Full follows five characters. The biggest (physically and story-wise) is Charlie Croker. Charlie is a famously successful real estate developer in the Atlanta area and owns a national food supply chain. Unfortunately, due to some overly ambitious decisions, Charlie is in extreme debt, and the bank has come calling for its share of debts. They've started to repossess Charlie's most valued possessions, and Charlie isn't sure what to do, as he's so tied to those possessions.
Martha Croker is Charlie's ex-wife. Her story doesn't cover much of the book, which is a shame, because I thought she was a pretty interesting character. Martha feels cast off by Charlie, who divorced her in order to marry a much younger woman. Martha also feels completely abandoned by the people she thought were her friends, and feels isolated from the high Atlanta society she used to belong in.
Martha ends up meeting and courting Ray Peepgas. Ray is a diminutive employee of the bank owning much of Charlie's debt. Peepgas is only a middling employee, though. He hopes to raise his stakes by 1) marrying Martha Croker, a former debutante, and 2) completing a scheme to essentially buy then sell, at a significant gain, some of Charlie's forfeited property. This is all a big jump for Ray: he's never attempted something so grand in his life.
Then we have a young guy named Conrad Hensley living in California. His plot takes a while to connect with the other characters, but his sections are probably some of the most engaging in the book. Conrad works for one of Charlie's warehouses hauling frozen goods. But he gets laid off one day (when Charlie tries to cut costs) and, through a rough sequence of events, ends up getting arrested and put in prison for assaulting some people at an impound lot.
Finally, we have Roger White, and the larger plot of the book. Roger is a lawyer who represents a very famous and talented Georgia Tech running back named Fareek Fannon. Fannon has been accused of rape by the daughter of one of the richest people in Atlanta. Fannon is black, while the daughter is white, creating some racial dynamics in a city already tense about the subject. Roger doesn't have a lot of experience with these sorts of trials, but he does have connections to the Mayor of Atlanta, and tries to help defend Fannon and prevent Atlanta from devolving into race riots.
There's a lot here. It's a long book, and it kind of feels long without really getting to a strong conclusion. We spend a lot of time with Charlie, and during that time he's pretty unlikeable. He's a bigot, he doesn't really seem to care about other people, and he's obsessed with his possessions above all else. Conrad and Martha were probably the most interesting and likable to me, but they aren't really featured all that often in the book.
One thing that I loved about the book was all of the talk of Stoicism. In fact, that's the biggest reason I wanted to read the book. It makes me want to explore that topic even more. Stoicism is a philosophy that helps Conrad to get through prison. As far as I can tell, it involves not compromising your integrity for anything and realizing that all of your possessions, including your body, are rented, not owned. You can live without them and, almost assuredly, eventually you will lose them. The only thing you really have to yourself is your will and character, so work those as much as you can.
When I finished the book, I felt disappointed. It was just... missing a little something in the plot, the build-up, and the characters. Still, most of the book was attention-grabbing. Wolfe just does a great job of writing and getting inside of characters' heads. I'd probably recommend other Wolfe books - at least the one other one I've read, Bonfire of the Vanities - over this one. Still, if you read it, you'll probably enjoy it.
A Man in Full follows five characters. The biggest (physically and story-wise) is Charlie Croker. Charlie is a famously successful real estate developer in the Atlanta area and owns a national food supply chain. Unfortunately, due to some overly ambitious decisions, Charlie is in extreme debt, and the bank has come calling for its share of debts. They've started to repossess Charlie's most valued possessions, and Charlie isn't sure what to do, as he's so tied to those possessions.
Martha Croker is Charlie's ex-wife. Her story doesn't cover much of the book, which is a shame, because I thought she was a pretty interesting character. Martha feels cast off by Charlie, who divorced her in order to marry a much younger woman. Martha also feels completely abandoned by the people she thought were her friends, and feels isolated from the high Atlanta society she used to belong in.
Martha ends up meeting and courting Ray Peepgas. Ray is a diminutive employee of the bank owning much of Charlie's debt. Peepgas is only a middling employee, though. He hopes to raise his stakes by 1) marrying Martha Croker, a former debutante, and 2) completing a scheme to essentially buy then sell, at a significant gain, some of Charlie's forfeited property. This is all a big jump for Ray: he's never attempted something so grand in his life.
Then we have a young guy named Conrad Hensley living in California. His plot takes a while to connect with the other characters, but his sections are probably some of the most engaging in the book. Conrad works for one of Charlie's warehouses hauling frozen goods. But he gets laid off one day (when Charlie tries to cut costs) and, through a rough sequence of events, ends up getting arrested and put in prison for assaulting some people at an impound lot.
Finally, we have Roger White, and the larger plot of the book. Roger is a lawyer who represents a very famous and talented Georgia Tech running back named Fareek Fannon. Fannon has been accused of rape by the daughter of one of the richest people in Atlanta. Fannon is black, while the daughter is white, creating some racial dynamics in a city already tense about the subject. Roger doesn't have a lot of experience with these sorts of trials, but he does have connections to the Mayor of Atlanta, and tries to help defend Fannon and prevent Atlanta from devolving into race riots.
There's a lot here. It's a long book, and it kind of feels long without really getting to a strong conclusion. We spend a lot of time with Charlie, and during that time he's pretty unlikeable. He's a bigot, he doesn't really seem to care about other people, and he's obsessed with his possessions above all else. Conrad and Martha were probably the most interesting and likable to me, but they aren't really featured all that often in the book.
One thing that I loved about the book was all of the talk of Stoicism. In fact, that's the biggest reason I wanted to read the book. It makes me want to explore that topic even more. Stoicism is a philosophy that helps Conrad to get through prison. As far as I can tell, it involves not compromising your integrity for anything and realizing that all of your possessions, including your body, are rented, not owned. You can live without them and, almost assuredly, eventually you will lose them. The only thing you really have to yourself is your will and character, so work those as much as you can.
When I finished the book, I felt disappointed. It was just... missing a little something in the plot, the build-up, and the characters. Still, most of the book was attention-grabbing. Wolfe just does a great job of writing and getting inside of characters' heads. I'd probably recommend other Wolfe books - at least the one other one I've read, Bonfire of the Vanities - over this one. Still, if you read it, you'll probably enjoy it.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't recall the last time I was 90% into a book and didn't know where it was going. At the same time, I can't recall the last time I wanted to sit and spend 4 hours reading a book, avoiding my family. This book just sucks you in and alternates between galloping and sashaying along. The writing, the prose, the characters and the overall plot are very very enjoyable. Is it the Right Stuff, nope, but it is better than Bonfire.
I was enamored with this book when I first read it, largely because it took place in Atlanta, and Wolfe got so many details down so solidly. But, in retrospect, the book didn't hold up as much as "Bonfire" - and I eventually decided I was more of an Updike guy than a Wolfe guy. (Apparently, sides must be chosen...)
This book did introduce me to Epictetus, the stoic philosopher, and it allowed me to meet Wolfe during his book tour, which started here in Atlanta. And the book made me want to write, so it must've been more inspiring than my three stars give it credit for!
This book did introduce me to Epictetus, the stoic philosopher, and it allowed me to meet Wolfe during his book tour, which started here in Atlanta. And the book made me want to write, so it must've been more inspiring than my three stars give it credit for!
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes