The Bonfire of the Vanities

By: Tom Wolfe

Narrated by: Joe Barrett

Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

This bitingly hilarious American satire will forever define late twentieth-century New York style.

Tom Wolfe’s bestselling modern classic tells the story of Sherman McCoy, an elite Wall Street bond trader who has it all: wealth, power, prestige, a Park Avenue apartment, a beautiful wife, and an even more beautiful mistress, until one wrong turn sends Sherman spiraling downward in a humiliating fall from grace.

A car accident in the Bronx involving Sherman, his girlfriend, and two young lower-class Black men sets a match to the incendiary racial and social tensions of 1980s New York City. Suddenly, Sherman finds himself embroiled in the most brutal, high-profile case of the year, as prosecutors, politicians, the press, the police, the clergy, and assorted hustlers rush in to further their own political and social agendas. With so many egos at stake, the last priority on anyone’s mind is truth or justice.

©1987 Tom Wolfe (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A big, bitter, funny, craftily plotted book that grabs you by the lapels and won't let go." ( New York Times Book Review)
"Sheer entertainment against a fabulous background....Often hilarious, and much, much more." ( Kirkus Reviews)
"Erupting from the first line with noise, color, tension and immediacy....brilliant." ( Publishers Weekly)

Best narrator ever!

This is a great one! The best narration I’ve heard to date. Its as if there was an actor for every single character.
Story is great, waaaay better than the movie so don’t judge the book if you’ve seen the movie first.
I’m now a Tom Wolfe fan for sure.

Long

Incredibly long! Racial tensions and the attitudes of the upper class are spot on. Interesting because of that interplay.

Wonderful reader!

The reader was superb! It really makes the book come alive when the reader uses different accents for the different characters!

Stunning

This is my first Tom Wolfe book. I’ll read them all now, I think. What a fabulous writer! I was so hooked I had to rewind and listen to parts over again. Didn’t want it to end. The reader is incredibly good. So many accents he manages! Even his pronunciation of foreign languages is excellent. What a performance of this riveting book.

Interesting

Some of this book is so long in parts of becomes boring! I almost deleted it because of that. I will say it shows all sides of racism. I'm all classes. I did enjoy the different New York dilectets. Was well read even the overly drawn out parts. I think I will try more books by Mr. Wolfe as he did keep me in the books for the most part

Wow

I listen to about 30 audiobooks a year and this is by far the best audiobook I've ever listened to.

Puts Tom Wolfe in an entire new light; he is surely one of our greatest authors.

A super performance by the narrator.

Loved the book, amazed by the performance.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. Masterful writing, dry humor, the hours flew by.

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

Joe Barrett gave an amazing performance. Not just a reading but a 6 star performance. I am going to look for more books narrated by him.

Any additional comments?

It is incredible how current events of the past 13 months mirror this story from nearly 30 years ago.

A classic depiction of NYC in the 80's

Joe Barrett does a phenomenal job narrating the varied characters I didn't want to turn it off.

great story and great performance!

The ending is a bit disappointing but the plot is very solid overall.

I really hated the British joirnalist's accent. Very caricatural, sounded like he was drunk all the time.

Bonfire of the Vanities — Again

Years ago I read this book and thoroughly enjoyed it, but was disappointed in the movie. On a whim I decided to buy the audio version. Couldn't have been more pleased.

The story is as good as ever, but Joe Barrett is a MASTER of delivery. Not only did his accents portray the various cultural levels and geographic areas, but the speech patterns were spot on. From the manipulating Reverend Bacon to the somewhat slurry speech of the British tabloid journalist, Peter Fallow to the Bronx vernacular of defense attorney Tommy Killian. And I'll never forget the thunderous voice of Judge Myron Kovitsky. The characters truly "came alive" as I listened.

Highly recommend this as a first read, or as I did: a re-read.