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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
3.5 stars
One of my goals for the New Year is to try new things. I’m trying to apply this resolution to every aspect of my life, including books. Typically, I am pretty open to just about any genre of book, but this book would have never crossed my to read list. Not because I wouldn’t want to read it, the summary was interesting, but it just seemed a little too serious and it was pretty long. However, in keeping with my resolution I checked it out from the library and began. For the most part, I’m glad I did.
A Man In Full follows the intertwining lives of Conrad, Charlie Croker, Harry Peepgrass, Martha Croker, and Roger White. Facing financial ruin and being pursued without stop to repay his bank loans by Peepgrass, Croker, a real estate developer and owner of several warehouses, must make some tough choices. One of those tough choices is a lay off in one of his warehouses where Conrad works, or at least he did until he receives his lay off notice. Finally, we have Roger White, lawyer, who has the ability to influence the entire city of Atlanta with his actions. The story weaves between their lives, showing how their individual stories all come together and how each person’s choices affect not only them, but everyone else as well.
The characters are what truly makes this novel fantastic. Each character is so human. I would go as far as saying I didn’t truly like any of them. Conrad was a nut and made way too many bad choices in my opinion. Croker is a vain, racist old man. Peepgrass reminds me of some snot nosed, suck up kid all grown up. Martha bored me. Roger was semi-likable. Despite all of this, I was still interested in what happened to each character. I wasn’t rooting for anyone in particular; I just wanted to see how it all panned out. Each character had a really distinct voice and perspective. Even though there were POV shifts in a chapter, I could always instantly tell who was narrating. I found the characters interesting and complex. They were based on stereotypes, but Wolfe did a great job making them more than just a cliché, he made them refreshing.
The plot was okay. There is a lot of build up. In fact I would say 80% of the novel is build up. The last few chapters are the climax, and really the only resolution we get is the epilogue. The reader is simply told in the epilogue what happened to all the characters in the span of a couple pages. I think it would have been nice to at least have the epilogue check in with each character and show what they are doing now. I didn’t find the plot to very predictable, as some reviewers have said, however I’ve not read anything else by Tom Wolfe or anything similar to this novel. I was shocked at some of the twists and I think there was a fair amount of suspense built up.
My biggest problem with this book was the writing. I hated the way Wolfe chose to write southern dialect. I love Southern Literature, I’m from the South, So I am very picky about how authors write a southern accent.
“This morning,” said Charlie, “I’m only gonna shoot the bobs.” Morning came out close to moanin’, just as something had come out sump’m.
I was always reminded that I was reading a book when Wolfe would clarify how the dialogue was supposed to sound. It pulled me from the story and truly didn’t enhance my reading experience at all. I think you should only write accents into dialogue if they enhance the reading experience. Otherwise, just specify that the character has an accent and move on.
There was also just too much detail at times. I’m all for setting the scene, especially in this situation. Charlie Croker is supposed to be one of the richest men in Georgia, his house and possessions are the best money can buy. So, I understand the author’s desire the set the lavish tone by describing the surroundings. However, there were pages, at times, of descriptions and I just couldn’t care. Even worse, sometimes there were endless details and descriptions that didn’t set the scene or even seem vaguely relevant to the events going on. I think a good 200 or so pages could have been cut from this book and nothing would be lost.
This novel would make a really great book club read. Wolfe tackles several social issues such as race, wealth, greed, justice system, and religion. There were several sections of the book that really made me pause and think. The end of one of the chapters, Chapter 8, actually gave me goosebumps. I think some really good discussions could come from reading this with other people.
Overall, this book was pretty good. I would have rated it 4 starts, but I couldn’t get past the superfluous details and the awful way Wolfe wrote accents. I don’t think this is a book for everyone. It’s long, it’s tedious, and it was a little bit depressing at times. However, if you’re trying to branch out or if you’re typically interested in books similar to this, I think you’ll enjoy it.
One of my goals for the New Year is to try new things. I’m trying to apply this resolution to every aspect of my life, including books. Typically, I am pretty open to just about any genre of book, but this book would have never crossed my to read list. Not because I wouldn’t want to read it, the summary was interesting, but it just seemed a little too serious and it was pretty long. However, in keeping with my resolution I checked it out from the library and began. For the most part, I’m glad I did.
A Man In Full follows the intertwining lives of Conrad, Charlie Croker, Harry Peepgrass, Martha Croker, and Roger White. Facing financial ruin and being pursued without stop to repay his bank loans by Peepgrass, Croker, a real estate developer and owner of several warehouses, must make some tough choices. One of those tough choices is a lay off in one of his warehouses where Conrad works, or at least he did until he receives his lay off notice. Finally, we have Roger White, lawyer, who has the ability to influence the entire city of Atlanta with his actions. The story weaves between their lives, showing how their individual stories all come together and how each person’s choices affect not only them, but everyone else as well.
The characters are what truly makes this novel fantastic. Each character is so human. I would go as far as saying I didn’t truly like any of them. Conrad was a nut and made way too many bad choices in my opinion. Croker is a vain, racist old man. Peepgrass reminds me of some snot nosed, suck up kid all grown up. Martha bored me. Roger was semi-likable. Despite all of this, I was still interested in what happened to each character. I wasn’t rooting for anyone in particular; I just wanted to see how it all panned out. Each character had a really distinct voice and perspective. Even though there were POV shifts in a chapter, I could always instantly tell who was narrating. I found the characters interesting and complex. They were based on stereotypes, but Wolfe did a great job making them more than just a cliché, he made them refreshing.
The plot was okay. There is a lot of build up. In fact I would say 80% of the novel is build up. The last few chapters are the climax, and really the only resolution we get is the epilogue. The reader is simply told in the epilogue what happened to all the characters in the span of a couple pages. I think it would have been nice to at least have the epilogue check in with each character and show what they are doing now. I didn’t find the plot to very predictable, as some reviewers have said, however I’ve not read anything else by Tom Wolfe or anything similar to this novel. I was shocked at some of the twists and I think there was a fair amount of suspense built up.
My biggest problem with this book was the writing. I hated the way Wolfe chose to write southern dialect. I love Southern Literature, I’m from the South, So I am very picky about how authors write a southern accent.
I was always reminded that I was reading a book when Wolfe would clarify how the dialogue was supposed to sound. It pulled me from the story and truly didn’t enhance my reading experience at all. I think you should only write accents into dialogue if they enhance the reading experience. Otherwise, just specify that the character has an accent and move on.
There was also just too much detail at times. I’m all for setting the scene, especially in this situation. Charlie Croker is supposed to be one of the richest men in Georgia, his house and possessions are the best money can buy. So, I understand the author’s desire the set the lavish tone by describing the surroundings. However, there were pages, at times, of descriptions and I just couldn’t care. Even worse, sometimes there were endless details and descriptions that didn’t set the scene or even seem vaguely relevant to the events going on. I think a good 200 or so pages could have been cut from this book and nothing would be lost.
This novel would make a really great book club read. Wolfe tackles several social issues such as race, wealth, greed, justice system, and religion. There were several sections of the book that really made me pause and think. The end of one of the chapters, Chapter 8, actually gave me goosebumps. I think some really good discussions could come from reading this with other people.
Overall, this book was pretty good. I would have rated it 4 starts, but I couldn’t get past the superfluous details and the awful way Wolfe wrote accents. I don’t think this is a book for everyone. It’s long, it’s tedious, and it was a little bit depressing at times. However, if you’re trying to branch out or if you’re typically interested in books similar to this, I think you’ll enjoy it.
A little much, but what Tom Wolfe work isn't? I enjoyed reading this so much due to living in Georgia....plus there's lots of food for thought in it.
funny
informative
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
found the book at a hostel, and surprisingly loved it- the ending and the inclusion of philosophy was unexpected and just so good!! love how nuanced the characters were too, no one is completely good nor bad. loses .25 because some descriptions were too long
Great book so far. A must read for anyone new to Atlanta and interested in Atlanta and Southern business and politics.
Charlie, Martha, Roger, and Peepgass’s storylines for the first 4/5 of the book are a solid 5 stars and great social commentary.
Conrad’s storyline is an unrealistic but fun 3 out of 5 stars. His initial chapter working in the freezer unit provides a great juxtaposition against Charlie’s flippant disregard for Croker Global Foods and his lavish lifestyle. If that had been Conrad’s only chapter this book would have been better, despite some of his adventures being fun to read.
The end of this book gets a 2 out of 5 stars. Without spoiling anything, characters stopped acting like themselves, characters got thrown together in unrealistic ways, and characters got undeserved redemption.
I do love Tom Wolfe’s writing style and social commentary and thoroughly enjoyed this book, but It comes nowhere close to the brilliance of Bonfire of the Vanities.
Conrad’s storyline is an unrealistic but fun 3 out of 5 stars. His initial chapter working in the freezer unit provides a great juxtaposition against Charlie’s flippant disregard for Croker Global Foods and his lavish lifestyle. If that had been Conrad’s only chapter this book would have been better, despite some of his adventures being fun to read.
The end of this book gets a 2 out of 5 stars. Without spoiling anything, characters stopped acting like themselves, characters got thrown together in unrealistic ways, and characters got undeserved redemption.
I do love Tom Wolfe’s writing style and social commentary and thoroughly enjoyed this book, but It comes nowhere close to the brilliance of Bonfire of the Vanities.
This overall story was good but it was INTENSE. Lots of language and description of prison violence that made it hard to listen to at times. The storyline was redeeming but not enough so that I would recommend reading.
I think the plot could have been summed up just as succinctly in 350 pages but Wolfe does specialize in crafting unique, colorful, egocentric, and often neurotic internal monologues that make turning the pages a breeze. The ending, while not predictable from the start, did wrap up neatly and make a statement about how power as the determining figure in modern networks.
Superbly entertaining. Consistently excellent prose and stupendous set pieces.