Back to Blood

A Novel

By: Tom Wolfe

Narrated by: Lou Diamond Phillips

Length: 20 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A big, panoramic story of the new America, as told by our master chronicler of the way we live now.

As a police launch speeds across Miami's Biscayne Bay - with officer Nestor Camacho on board - Tom Wolfe is off and running. Into the feverous landscape of the city, he introduces the Cuban mayor; the black police chief; a wanna-go-muckraking young journalist and his Yale-marinated editor; an Anglo sex-addiction psychiatrist and his Latina nurse by day, loin lock by night - until lately, the love of Nestor's life; a refined, and oh-so-light-skinned young woman from Haiti and her Creole-spouting, black-gang-banger-stylin' little brother; a billionaire porn addict; crack dealers in the 'hoods; "de-skilled" conceptual artists at the Miami Art Basel Fair; "spectators" at the annual Biscayne Bay regatta looking only for that night's orgy; yenta-heavy ex-New Yorkers at an "Active Adult" condo; and a nest of shady Russians.

Based on the same sort of detailed, on-scene, high-energy reporting that powered Tom Wolfe's previous best-selling novels, Back to Blood is another brilliant, spot-on, scrupulous, and often hilarious reckoning with our times.

©2012 Tom Wolfe (P)2012 Hachette

Cubans and Russians and Sex, oh my!

Would you consider the audio edition of Back to Blood to be better than the print version?

I didn't read the print version, but Lou Diamond Phillips was magnificent and I can't wait to listen to other audiobooks he's narrated.

What other book might you compare Back to Blood to and why?

Bonfire of the Vanities for big character creation

Have you listened to any of Lou Diamond Phillips’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I certainly will from here on!

Any additional comments?

This book introduced me to the complexity of the Cuban community in Miami which in my own ignorance, I had thought of as fairly one-dimensional. I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the community and its issues.

I get that sex and pornography were major themes in the book and in our culture, but there was a little too much of the bump, bump, grind, grind. I get it.

I agree with one other reviewer who said the end felt rushed and unresolved and I think I was looking for something out of the Haitian family's character development that never quite materialized.

Having said that, this is the kind of book I look to Tom Wolfe for - a big send-up of American culture warts and all.

Bonfire of Miami

Any additional comments?

Way better than Charlotte Simmons, not so good as Man in Full. A terrific reading by Lou Diamond Phillips gets the flavor and pizzazz of Wolfe's idiosyncratic writing. Listening to Mr Phillips' energetic interpretation was BETTER than reading the print version.

Lou Diamond Phillips: A Gem of a Reader

This is one of my favorite audiobooks thanks to the narration by Lou Diamond Phillips. He gave each character a voice that truly made that character come to life, and, most importantly, his women characters actually sounded like women so there never was any distraction from the story. I still can't figure out how Tom Wolfe manages to create humor and tension at the same time in his stories. I'm laughing, but I'm on the edge of my seat listening to Back to Blood and Bonfire of the Vanities. I find Hector to be a lovable, quirky character who shows the pitfalls of stumbling on fame. There are deep messages hidden among the laughs and they always have to do with the abuse of power.

Disjointed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story was broken up into pieces and it was hard to follow the thread. When I got to the end, I really didn't care how it worked out.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Performance was okay, but there was lots of stuttering when characters talked or laughed. The laughter was ingenious.

Do you think Back to Blood needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Any additional comments?

Wasn't the worst book I ever read, but not the best either.

Old master breathes new life

Fabulously accurate portrayal of Miami's underbelly. Wolfe captures all the nuances of this "welding pot" metropolis. Rich characters. Good pacing. And satisfying ending. Like fine wine, Wolfe betters with age.

I was disappointed it ended. Loved the hero.

Wolfe is a master at irony and this book is just icing on the cake. I'm really glad I purchased it because Wolfe spins a funny, realistic yarn.

Lou Diamond Phillips is sterling always, but he was made for this story. His performance alone makes this a worthy purchase.

I didn't want the story to end, not only because I fell in love with the characters, but because I felt it is an unfinished work in progress. I feel he did a shoddy job at bringing the story to its conclusion. There are way too many loose ends. Still, I am pleased to recommend this one!

Fantastic—only one complaint…

Lou Diamond Phillips is the best narrator I’ve heard in the 700+ Audible books I’ve listen to—his range is amazing.
I loved the story and the writing style, and I’m going to listen to all Tom Work life’s books now. If he reads his own reviews, I do agree with others that the constant repeating of words really should have been edited out. I have no idea why such a great writer would repeat words like a grade school kid trying to make a minimum word count on an assignment by saying something was “…very, very, very, very, very red…”. But that is my only complaint. Great book!

Tedious Tale..and quite unbelievable

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I enjoyed Diamond Phillips reading...he is quite good. But the story was impossibly unbelieveable and not engaging at all. This story is definitely not one of Tom Wolfe's greatest efforts. I do not recommend.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

not likely that it would be made.

Any additional comments?

regrets on this one.

A Wolfe in wolf's clothing

If you could sum up Back to Blood in three words, what would they be?

Seductively irreverent satire

What did you like best about this story?

Engaging narrative envelops Wolfe's relentlessly intelligent allegory and perceptive wit as he enthusiastically dissects the revered, the iconic, the pretentious and the ugly.

What about Lou Diamond Phillips’s performance did you like?

Just as Wolfe endows each of his characters a unique voice, so is each unmistakably projected by Phillips.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The flow of internal monologue, throughout.

Any additional comments?

So very successful on so may levels, in a word, brilliant.

Interesting story, excellent writing, awful Spanish

Tom Wolfe is clearly a masterful writer. The story, with the details, pops off the page (or, in this case, out of the speakers). Lou Diamond Phillips provides a brilliant performance. The only, and major, issue I had with the book/performance is the Spanish. Whether it was butchered originally by Wolfe or in Diamond Phillips' performance of it, it was awful. One would think that SOMEONE would have proofread or sound edited to improve the grammar/language/accenting. Otherwise, it was quite entertaining and worth the listen. If you're a Spanish speaker, just be prepared to cringe.