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)

Amazing performance

The writing and performnce make for a memorable Audible book. I had forgotten how much I loved Tom Wolf's writing.

Incredible book and fabulous narrator

I read this book many years ago and always loved it.

Recently I downloaded it again and the narrator Joe Barrett made a marvelous experience.

One of the better books I’ve read this year

Certainly, there is nothing I can add that hasn’t already so been said about this wonderful book. I highly recommend it. I am certain if you enjoyed the confederacy of dunces by John Kennedy Toole you will enjoy this book.

Stellar reading of a captivating book

Joe Barrett’s transporting reading of Tom Wolfe’s eloquent novel have kept addictively captivated for more, more, MORE! I had never imagined a reader could personify a universe of personalities and accents. He brought Tom Wolfe’s vivid world to life, and I held onto every plot twist as if I were riding on a magical roller coaster.

Enjoyable every step of the way

Loved this story and the excellent voices. If I had a credit left I would buy it.

Like a movie in your mind

This book is written in such detailed, visualizing it in your mind as if you are watching a movie, a story tangled together by all seemingly unrelated people who in the end collide into the brutal reality that is the ending. Loved it for beginning to end all the characters raw, real, and ugly

Great Book

Of course it's a great book, everybody knows that. I really enjoyed it.

This review is mostly for the narrator Joe Barrett. I consider him to be the best narrator I have heard. Voice, pacing, inflection - all so good. I have listened to several of his works and when I search for a new book, I look for books read by him.

I don’t get it

I’ve never left such a bad review for a book but for all the fuss over this book, I’m beyond disappointed. The ending made no sense and was dissatisfying in every way. I never saw the movie but fully understand why it bombed.

Excellent all the way around

Where does The Bonfire of the Vanities rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would rank it in the top ten, among Atlas Shrugged, Unbroken, East of Eden, Grapes of Wrath, Fall of Giants, Gone with the Wind, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's hard to find a favorite character. There weren't many admirable people.

What about Joe Barrett’s performance did you like?

The way he changed his voice, evoking classes and prejudices.

If you could rename The Bonfire of the Vanities, what would you call it?

A Perfect Storm of Classes

Any additional comments?

It was interesting to see some of the characters recognize their own faults, only to be unable to do anything about them.

The Great American Novel of the 1980s

Wolfe's journalistic eye for detail is fully on display in this brilliant novel. While the writing is admittedly long-winded at times, the patient listener is led on a fascinating journey through high society and the American judicial system. All of the social interactions so deftly described provide illumination into the motivations of the major characters in the novel, which fully brings to life the blazing bonfire of vanities, of so many people's vanities, in the novel's stunning finale. While the novel is set in the New York of the early to mid-1980s, I'm afraid it could easily describe the New York of today. In fact, Wolfe's New York might be a bit tame and naive by today's standards. The reading is equally brilliant. I enjoyed every minute, and I'm looking forward to reading (or listening to) another Wolfe novel soon.