71–80 of 116 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What did you like about Charlotte Simmons?
I'm genuinely curious myself. What little I've read of it made it seem like a sensationalized account of how young women in college are imagined to behave, as per an out-of-touch old man.
I’m with Hunter S. Thompson on Wolfe: https://dangerousminds.net/comments/you_thieving_pile_of_alb... “thieving pile or albino warts”
I have to admit, I've never read a Tom Wolfe book. Does anyone have some good recommendations?
I remember discovering "The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" in my high school library. I eventually stole it by taking out the plastic-encased metal security dingy and devoured it more. I read it over and over until the paperback fell apart. It introduced me to a world so foreign and sparkly and rusty dangerous and yet so real. RIP Tom Wolfe for bringing us into your worlds of observation and intrigue.
You denied other's the chance to do the same. You need to make amends.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Mike Judge has it covered.
Journalists and satirists have a very different definition of 'interesting'.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I might start with 'The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby' which is a collection of his essays. The first chapter of 'The Right Stuff' is worth reading by itself. The rest of the book is fascinating but drags on a bit in the last third. My favorite is 'The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test'. I haven't gotten around to reading 'Bonfire of the Vanities' however so I can't really comment on that.
Radical Chic and Mau-Mauing the Flak Cacthers
I disliked "Bonfire of the Vanities" because it was clear to me that Wolfe had fallen into self-plagiarism. It felt to me that the same fate befell Hunter Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut. It didn't take away the pleasure of reading their earlier works, but prompted me to look for different voices.
I have to admit, I've never read a Tom Wolfe book. Does anyone have some good recommendations?
I'd immediately recommend Bonfire of the Vanities. It perfectly captures NYC in the 80s: the racial divides, the wealth inequality, and the many ways individuals cross race and class lines. And his vivid description of how bond traders make insane amounts of money (for the time) is unforgettable. Frankly, Bonfire is worth reading just for unforgettable lines like this one: "If a conservative is a liberal who's been m…
I have to admit, I've never read a Tom Wolfe book. Does anyone have some good recommendations?
'A Man in Full' and 'I am Charolette Simmons' are two of my favorites. I picked up 'Kingdom of Speech' last year, but couldn't get into it. The other two though will keep you up at night. Great writing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't speak to either the movie or the book, but I've found it interesting that whenever I see a movie before reading the source, I'm pretty happy with the movie, but rarely am I satisfied with the movie when I've read the book first. The subtle nuances and key moments that I love are rarely translated to the screen. It's perfectly understandable, because they're two very different forms of fiction and the movie ra…
I had the experience. When I see the movie first, it is alright, but when I have read the novel first, the movie is usually disappointing. (So far, I have had one exception: No Country For Old Men - I think the movie captures the book just perfectly.)