Page 227, said by Martha Croker: Here I am at fifty-three, trying to start over as a woman--in this ludicrous factory for boys with breasts!

Page 259, said by Harry Zale: Lenin had it easy. He didn't have to clean after a shithead like Charlie Croker. ( )

El mundo de Charlie Croker se desmorona: en la cima del mayor imperio inmobiliario de Atlanta, solicita en un arranque de megalomanía un crédito bancario que no puede pagar. Además, con 60 años recién cumplidos -y una segunda esposa de apenas 28- este hombre, hecho a sí mismo, empieza a detectar los primeros signos de la vejez. Perseguido por la entidad bancaria que antes lo adulaba y que ahora empieza a acosarle, Croker deberá recorrer un largo calvario.

This the first Tom Wolfe novel I have read and while it had good moments, especially several of the Conrad chapters, I felt that it ended like an unfinished thought. The epilogue was a weak way to settle the story and I would have preferred to hear final thoughts from the individual characters. The balance between staging, narrative and resolution was inadequate. The story began to fall down at the point where Charlie and Conrad arrived at Turpemtine which, in itself, lacked explanation and credibility. I am not sure what happened that caused Wolfe to truncate all of the story arcs at that point.

Other minor details bothered me. The location of the Croaker foods in El Cerrito is impossible–at best the warehouse would have been in the Richmond annex but probably north in Richmond. Wolfe clearly had little idea of bay area geography and locality. It is disappointing to see incorrect details about an area you know because it leads to to suspect the accuracy of other details that are less familiar. ( )

I was enamored with this book when I first read it, largely because it took place in Atlanta, and Wolfe got so many details down so solidly. But, in retrospect, the book didn't hold up as much as "Bonfire" - and I eventually decided I was more of an Updike guy than a Wolfe guy. (Apparently, sides must be chosen...)

This book did introduce me to Epictetus, the stoic philosopher, and it allowed me to meet Wolfe during his book tour, which started here in Atlanta. And the book made me want to write, so it must've been more inspiring than my three stars give it credit for! ( )

I first read this book about 25 years ago, and remembered it as being outstanding. So much so, that I purchased it again after having loaned it out and thus losing it forever.

While I remembered the basic premise (a wealthy, peckerwood Atlanta real estate developer goes bankrupt and gets drawn into a racial firestorm), it is the details that make this novel so entertaining.

I’ve read some of the criticisms, and while I concede that some have merit, the simple fact is, this novel is, at times, uproaringly funny, and at other times simply engrossing. The characters are almost Dickens-like in their appeal, from the mid-level loan officer, Ray Peepgas (is that not a Dickens name) to the Black attorney Roger White II, nicknamed Roger Too White to the chief protagonist, Charley Croker (the Sixty Minute Man), Wolfe constantly crafts dialogue that is just too good to be believed.

I must admit I was not wild about the ending, which kind of ran out of steam, but for 600 plus pages, this story was a pleasure to consume for a second time. ( )