A Man in Full
by Tom Wolfe (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
Failure is fascinating - especially other people's. Tom Wolfe understands this disquieting truth and this is one of the reasons A Man in Full is such a guilty pleasure as well as an absorbing read.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The novel's central character, Charlie Croker, property developer and the head of a vast business empire, cuts a massive figure, both physically and as a high-profile titan in Georgia society. Thus, his downward spiral into bankruptcy, ignominy, and physical decrepitude is all the more spectacular.
Wolfe is determined to humble Croker, and Croker's last desperate thrashings - those of a mortally wounded beast - make any comeback seem impossible. Will Croker learn humility and save himself or will he drown in the syrup of his own ill-gotten success? That is the question that gives A Man in Full its urgency.
Biblical in scale and showcasing the extraordinary scope of Wolfe's reportage-style story-telling, there's a great deal going in these 742 pages. Elaborate set-pieces - high society parties, press conferences and jailbreaks - dovetail into complex sub-plots, as 60-year-old Croker tries to regain control of his life from the bank, the bailiffs, his foxy high-maintenance trophy wife, and, above all, father time.