DISQUS

DISQUS Hello! newcritics is using DISQUS, a powerful comment system, to manage its comments. Learn more.

Community Page

newcritics

the best in web criticism
Jump to original thread »
Author

Grand Old Man of the New Journalism

Started by tomwatson · 1 year ago

At 78, Tom Wolfe is being immortalized with the reissue of ten of his books in covers “designed to appeal to a new generation.”

But before he is embalmed as a writer of satirical novels like “Bonfire of the Vanities,” someone should remind readers how he helped change the face of American journalism and, in no […] ... Continue reading »

6 comments

  • LanceMannion

    1 year ago

    Man oh man, how I used to love Wolfe's write stuff. But Bonfire of the Vanities soured me a bit, and not because of its politics, but because it was so hamhanded in its characterizations. And then I learned that my favorite of his non-fiction books, The Right Stuff, included a fair amount of fiction. Now I'm no longer sure what I think, unless I'm actually reading something by him. Then I tend to think, Wow can this man tell a really fine lie!
    reply
  • tomwatson

    1 year ago

    My view on Bonfire came from working as a political reporter in the Bronx at the time - and yes, it was incredibly ham-handed, no nuance at all. Even the Al Sharpton character was the merest of caricatures....
    reply
  • tomwatson

    1 year ago

    Bob - he is indeed a fascinating figure. It's funny, because he was praised so lavishly for Bonfire of the Vanities - yet he got it so damned wrong! Or rather, he got a one-dimensional cartoonish view from a single source (a law-and-order Bronx judge who was his pal) - yet it's considered a a true journal of 80s New York!
    reply
  • Kevin Wolf

    1 year ago

    The Right Stuff, whatever its faults as accurate journalism, is a helluva good read, perhaps because the view Wolfe took of the space program was such a contrast to the Life Magazine publicity machine's output.

    But I agree with Tom (Watson, not Wolfe) on the tendency toward a one-dimensional view of whatever subject is at hand. Reading Wolfe on modern art and architecture (particularly The Painted Word but also From Bauhaus to Our House) can be annoying as hell if you know anything at all about art. He certainly did not convince me, despite its excesses and methods, that the entire project of Modern Art -- which occupied so many people and had such an impact in the 20th Century -- was complete bullshit, though he certainly tried.
    reply
  • Campaspe

    1 year ago

    Wolfe is a fine writer, but I always thought Leonard Bernstein (full disclosure: my favorite conductor) got a raw deal from him.
    reply
  • RalphDeMarco

    1 year ago

    I have only read the 'kool-aid acid test' and a few essays. I was really knocked out by 'acid-test'. He reveals many unspoken truths about our culture with elegant prose and wit -- but to me there's a patronizing tone. Perhaps I need to take another look since he's so adored.
    reply
Please login to comment.
Returning? Login