THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES

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by Tom Wolfe (1987)

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The Masters of the Universe work on Wall Street and make millions every year. It is a world in which extreme monetary wealth is derived from doing absolutely nothing useful or productive. Sherman McCoy is one of these rarefied Masters. Sherman is filthy rich and resides in an apartment on Park Avenue with his wife and daughter. All of which might seem to indicate a wondrous life to the casual observer, but Sherman is bored and dissatisfied. Sherman is carrying on with another woman. When the pair are driving through town one evening they take a wrong turn and get lost. Then the driver swipes a local kid with the car. But who was driving exactly? It is at this point that the world of Sherman McCoy begins to unravel, never to be put back together again. Try as he might to resurrect his life, he is countered at every turn either by people or by fate. In contrast to the film that is based on this book, there is no late save or escape from hell. Sherman simply trips once and falls forever. Fiction. 720 pages.

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DETAILS:

Title: The bonfire of the vanities

Year: 1987

Author: Tom Wolfe

Pages: 720

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Book review by Keith Salter