A Man in Full
Encyclopedia
A Man in Full is a novel
by Tom Wolfe
, published in 1998 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. It is set primarily in Atlanta.
philosophy.
The novel begins with the characters learning of the rumored rape of a young white heiress by a black superstar athlete, Fareek "The Canon" Fanon. Though the incident itself is unimportant to the lives of the characters, the potential for the rumor to incite race riots in metropolitan Atlanta has a profound effect on all of their lives. Local politics and business interests become involved, including the president of the bank to which Croker is indebted, Roger Too White's former fraternity brother (now Mayor of Atlanta), and the entirety of 'respectable' Atlanta society.
A Man In Full is written much in the style of Wolfe's other fictions, such as Bonfire of the Vanities
and I Am Charlotte Simmons
.
, A Man in Full was widely anticipated; Wolfe was known to be working on the research for this follow-up effort for several years.
Most of the mainstream American newspapers and news magazines gave the book positive reviews. However, a second wave of reviews in more highbrow
literary outlets were more critical. Some of this more pointed criticism, mixed with praise for Wolfe's style, came from established American novelists, including John Updike
and Norman Mailer
. In addition, novelist John Irving
criticized Wolfe's novel during an interview on a Canadian television program. Wolfe countered this criticism in his book Hooking Up
, calling the three authors his "three stooges" who were actually shaken by the support he received. The novelists, he claimed, were threatened by the success of his technique - writing a novel based on reporting techniques - and were failing to engage the world around them. According to Mailer's review, the book had sold over 750,000 copies by December 1998.
The book was credited with allusion
s to, or the caricaturing of, some prominent members of contemporary Atlanta society.
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe
Thomas Kennerly "Tom" Wolfe, Jr. is a best-selling American author and journalist. He is one of the founders of the New Journalism movement of the 1960s and 1970s.-Early life and education:...
, published in 1998 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. It is set primarily in Atlanta.
Summary
As with Wolfe's other novels, A Man In Full features a number of point-of-view characters. These include Charles "Cap'm Charlie" Croker, a real estate mogul and member of Atlanta's high society who is suddenly facing bankruptcy; Martha Croker, his first wife, trying to maintain her social standing without her husband; Ray Peepgass, who is trying to illegally capitalize on Croker's fall; Roger "Too White" White II, a prominent black lawyer; and Conrad Hensley, a young man in prison who discovers StoicSTOIC
STOIC was a variant of Forth.It started out at the MIT and Harvard Biomedical Engineering Centre in Boston, and was written in the mid 1970s by Jonathan Sachs...
philosophy.
The novel begins with the characters learning of the rumored rape of a young white heiress by a black superstar athlete, Fareek "The Canon" Fanon. Though the incident itself is unimportant to the lives of the characters, the potential for the rumor to incite race riots in metropolitan Atlanta has a profound effect on all of their lives. Local politics and business interests become involved, including the president of the bank to which Croker is indebted, Roger Too White's former fraternity brother (now Mayor of Atlanta), and the entirety of 'respectable' Atlanta society.
A Man In Full is written much in the style of Wolfe's other fictions, such as Bonfire of the Vanities
Bonfire of the Vanities
Bonfire of the Vanities refers to the burning of objects that are deemed to be occasions of sin. The most infamous one took place on 7 February 1497, when supporters of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola collected and publicly burned thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in...
and I Am Charlotte Simmons
I Am Charlotte Simmons
I Am Charlotte Simmons is a 2004 novel by Tom Wolfe, concerning sexual and status relationships at the fictional Dupont University, closely modeled after Duke University, the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford University...
.
Reactions
Released eleven years after Wolfe's bestselling novel The Bonfire of the VanitiesThe Bonfire of the Vanities
The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, social class, politics, and greed in 1980s New York City and centers on four main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, British expatriate...
, A Man in Full was widely anticipated; Wolfe was known to be working on the research for this follow-up effort for several years.
Most of the mainstream American newspapers and news magazines gave the book positive reviews. However, a second wave of reviews in more highbrow
Highbrow
Used colloquially as a noun or adjective, highbrow is synonymous with intellectual; as an adjective, it also means elite, and generally carries a connotation of high culture. The word draws its metonymy from the pseudoscience of phrenology, and was originally simply a physical descriptor...
literary outlets were more critical. Some of this more pointed criticism, mixed with praise for Wolfe's style, came from established American novelists, including John Updike
John Updike
John Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
and Norman Mailer
Norman Mailer
Norman Kingsley Mailer was an American novelist, journalist, essayist, poet, playwright, screenwriter, and film director.Along with Truman Capote, Joan Didion, Hunter S...
. In addition, novelist John Irving
John Irving
John Winslow Irving is an American novelist and Academy Award-winning screenwriter.Irving achieved critical and popular acclaim after the international success of The World According to Garp in 1978...
criticized Wolfe's novel during an interview on a Canadian television program. Wolfe countered this criticism in his book Hooking Up
Hooking Up
Hooking Up is a collection of essays and short stories by American author Tom Wolfe, a number of which were earlier published in popular magazines....
, calling the three authors his "three stooges" who were actually shaken by the support he received. The novelists, he claimed, were threatened by the success of his technique - writing a novel based on reporting techniques - and were failing to engage the world around them. According to Mailer's review, the book had sold over 750,000 copies by December 1998.
The book was credited with allusion
Allusion
An allusion is a figure of speech that makes a reference to, or representation of, people, places, events, literary work, myths, or works of art, either directly or by implication. M. H...
s to, or the caricaturing of, some prominent members of contemporary Atlanta society.
Other media
The book on tape of A Man in Full, in both the abridged and unabridged version, is read by American actor David Ogden StiersDavid Ogden Stiers
David Ogden Stiers is an American actor, director, vocal actor, and musician, noted for his roles in Disney movies, as well as his performances in the television series M*A*S*H as Major Charles Emerson Winchester III and the science fiction drama The Dead Zone as Reverend Gene Purdy...
.