The Bonfire of the Vanities Summary
Tom Wolfe

The Bonfire of the Vanities Summary

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a sweeping saga set in 1980's New York, a decade that was popularly known as a greedy, materialistic era. Author Tom Wolfe's satirical treatment of this avarice ranges from the mean streets of Harlem to the privileged isolation of Park Avenue. Wolfe's darkly humorous drama invokes the tension of race and socio-economic relations in New York City during a decade when the haves and the have-nots were separated by a chasm too wide to be bridged. The novel's events center on a hit-and-run accident that takes place in a run-down area of the Bronx. Rich socialite, Sherman McCoy, and his mistress, Maria Ruskin, take a wrong turn on their way home from the airport one night and find themselves the victims of an apparent car-jacking attempt on a highway entrance ramp. They manage to escape, but wind up mowing down Henry Lamb, an African-American... View more of the The Bonfire of the Vanities Summary