The Bonfire of the Vanities
Cover of the first edition
|
|
| Author | Tom Wolfe |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Fred Marcellino |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Political novel |
| Publisher | Farrar Straus Giroux |
|
Publication date
|
October 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 690 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 213470814 |
| Followed by | A Man in Full |
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 three main characters: WASP bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish assistant district attorney Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow.
The novel was originally conceived as a serial in the style of Charles Dickens' writings; it ran in 27 installments in Rolling Stone starting in 1984. Wolfe heavily revised it before it was published in book form. The novel was a bestseller and a phenomenal success, even in comparison with Wolfe's other books. It has often been called the quintessential novel of the 1980s.
The title is a reference to the historical Bonfire of the Vanities, which happened in 1497 in Florence, Italy, when the city was under the rule of the Dominican priest Girolamo Savonarola. The book's title is evidently a reference to the vanities of New York City society of the 1980s and appears to also be influenced by Ecclesiastes: the phrase 'vanity of vanities, all is vanity' is from Ecclesiastes, 1:2. Both Ecclesiastes and The Bonfire of the Vanities have similar themes involving the lack of control anyone has over their lives regardless of their wealth, wisdom, or success.
Wolfe deliberately set out to make The Bonfire of the Vanities capture the essence of New York City in the 1980s. Wall Street in the 1980s was newly resurgent after most of the previous decade had been bad for stocks. The excesses of Wall Street were at the forefront of the popular imagination, captured in films like Oliver Stone's Wall Street, novels like American Psycho, and in non-fiction books like Liar's Poker, Den of Thieves, and Barbarians at the Gate.
...
Wikipedia