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)

A great work, great narrator, but very long!

I enjoyed this book once it really got going! The characters are wonderfully done and there is such witty humor in between them and their perceptions of themselves. I find it interesting that this book is seen as an iconic 1980s novel, because I felt, reading it, like it could easily be about the present day. The excess of capitalistic Wall Street, the race tensions, the media's ravenous bad taste - it's all there!

Wolfe- the 20th century Dickens

Wolfe is a master story teller. This brilliantly structured, researched and written novel bursts with believable characters who act out a socially conscious drama. Comedy and tragedy, drive a suspenseful and riveting story that at 26 hours still ends too soon. Fabulous performance. One of the most entertaining books I’ve listened to on Audible.

Do you like the movie Airplane! ?

What made the experience of listening to The Bonfire of the Vanities the most enjoyable?

The book is well written and the story has depth and is engrossing. The narrator can do so many voices it is unbelievable.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Joe Barrett?

Probably not

If you could take any character from The Bonfire of the Vanities out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Actually none of them. But I still liked the story.

Any additional comments?

Yeah... the narrator... He is obviously so talented in his ability to do so many voices but when it comes to any sort of minority it reminds me of Airplane! (the movie) Except that Airplane! was made in 1980 and is meant to be egregiously overt in its stereotyping. If you can sit through Airplane! without feeling uncomfortable you might not mind this reading. But, being that this was created in this decade... you have to think twice about this Audible.

Great storytelling by both author and reader

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

Yes

What did you like best about this story?

The stripped down and somewhat cruel look at human weaknesses

What does Joe Barrett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Amazing voices characterization

If you could take any character from The Bonfire of the Vanities out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Tom Killian. I bet he has the best stories.

Any additional comments?

I have never seen the movie, so my take on the novel wasn't influenced by pre-set characters from the big screen. Loved the story, and although I was sad to see it end, I truly enjoyed the journey.

Very enjoyable ride

Wolfe and Barrett created a terrific ride from the black hole of wealthy self absorption to the release of penniless self realization. Well developed characters that I could care about along with a story line that was engaging even in it's predictability. Proof that moralizing can occasionally be entertaining as well as edifying.

The Naked Truth of Politics in a Work of Fiction

I am not normally a lover of fiction, but this volume breathes beautiful life into the group fissures that drive today's politics in the US. Because it draws on and was written in another time, it allows us to drop our programmed partisan responses and to see with fresh eyes the issues of race and class. While today's media organization inevitably present their teammates as saints, Wolfe exposes the dirty underbelly of all involved. The elite? Sleeping around and privileged with access to high-priced lawyers. High-priced lawyers? Able to pull strings not available to all. Elected district attorneys and judges? Bend to political pressure or face being thrown out---regardless of the facts of the case. The general public? Out for blood in politicized cases, and happy to maul any victim thrown their way. Never have I seen the naked truth told so purely in a work of fiction.

Outstanding narrative

The versatility of the narrator is amazing, The story and description of the characters and there psyche kept me interested throughout. Interaction among the different cultures and ethnicity fascinating

Great story!

It was a great story and it shows a lot about life in the 1970s and 1980s. however, it was marred by a narrator that didn't know how to do women's voices as well, since he's a man.

Overall, it was a good story and I'm glad I bought the book to read as well as person to it, and I recommend it to others to listen to as an audiobook and perhaps to even buy the paperback.

awesome

incredible performance and story. very relevant even today. 27 hours went by very fast...over a 2 week 0eriod

A Liberal is a Conservative Who Has Been Arrested

Tom Wolfe’s blistering takedown of the excesses of 1980s New York still echoes with authority today—just add a few zeroes to the dollar amounts.

There are crooked cops, sleazy journalists, airhead socialites, Bronx delinquents, self-serving activists, and especially the rapacious traders of Wall Street, for whom a million-dollar salary isn’t nearly enough to cover the basic costs of living well. Even the protagonist’s sweet young daughter is obviously headed for a future of privilege and snobbery.

Upon reflection, there isn’t a single noble character in the entire book. Some are classier than others, but only superficially.

It’s amazing how much trouble people who have everything can create for themselves. But they are brilliantly terrible, thanks to Wolfe. There is never a dull moment in his breathlessly paced work.

The narrator, Joe Barrett, delivers a masterpiece in his portrayal of dozens of characters in polyglot New York. His interpretation of the pompous laughter at a mega-pretentious high society dinner party (what Wolfe calls “the hive”) is alone worth hearing, and that soiree is a brilliant indictment of the book’s target of well-heeled scoundrels.

Barrett’s work here is the best I’ve heard since he voiced “A Prayer for Owen Meany.” He is the perfect conduit for Tom Wolfe’s vocabulary, characters, storyline, dialogue, and caustic caricature.

Buried in the middle of the book is an ominous reference to Poe’s short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” in which a prince named Prospero (of all things) seals his eminent guests in a castle for a masked ball, to protect them while the Plague rages outside. It doesn’t work.

Reap the whirlwind.