Good Books

[Field]

"The Bonfire of the Vanities" By Tom Wolfe

Here's what Wikipedia has to say:

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1987 novel by Tom Wolfe. The story is a drama about ambition, racism, class politics, and greed in 1980s New York City, and centers on three main characters: the successful, arrogant, and very self-conscious bond trader Sherman McCoy, Jewish Assistant District Attorney Larry Kramer, and British expatriate journalist Peter Fallow.

The Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Bonfire-Vanities- ... 0553275976

Although the premise seems rather serious, it is also has a lot of humor in it. Wolfe really get's into the heads of the main characters. And, as you'll quickly find out, Sherman McCoy is a classic. He refers to himself as the Master of the Universe, complete with a "Yale Chin".

It's a classic 20th century novel, I think you'll enjoy it. It is a tad long, 600-700 pages in paper-back.

[soxfan364]

Re: Bonfire of the Vanities, a great book but a terrible movie.

The Kite Runner is a great book:

Hosseini's stunning debut novel starts as an eloquent Afghan version of the American immigrant experience in the late 20th century, but betrayal and redemption come to the forefront when the narrator, a writer, returns to his ravaged homeland to rescue the son of his childhood friend after the boy's parents are shot during the Taliban takeover in the mid '90s. Amir, the son of a well-to-do Kabul merchant, is the first-person narrator, who marries, moves to California and becomes a successful novelist. But he remains haunted by a childhood incident in which he betrayed the trust of his best friend, a Hazara boy named Hassan.


Shadow Divers, a great nonfiction story about deep sea divers seeking out the remains of a mysterious German sub off the coast of New Jersey.

[pope]

To name a few...

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
Ham on Rye by Charles Bukowski
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr.