Tom Wolfe Dies

[Brainster]

Possibly the most influential writer of his generation:

The paeans to Tom Wolfe, who died on Monday at the age of 88, inevitably extol his colorfully inventive use of language across his decades of fiction and nonfiction writing. As the New York Times obituary observes, “He had a pitiless eye and a penchant for spotting trends and then giving them names, some of which—like ‘Radical Chic’ and ‘the Me Decade’—became American idioms.”

I remember reading Radical Chic way back in sophomore year in high school in New York Magazine, and having trouble controlling my laughter in the library. I was a big-time young liberal at that point in my life and yet I could see a lot of the adult liberals I knew in that piece, and Wolfe skewered them neatly. A year or so later, Roy Thomas did a very clever parody of Radical Chic. Believe it or not, a bunch of socialites decided to adopt the Hulk as a cause, and invited them to a dinner party at their home. It's absolutely on my list of the ten greatest comics stories of all time (and served as the origin story for the original Valkyrie).

Back to Wolfe; I loved the Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, and would rate Bonfire of the Vanities easily in my top 100 novels.

 

[BStrong]

One of the greatest.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

The Electric Kool-aid Acid Trip has special meaning for me. Mike Hagen (one of the Merry Pranksters) was my roommate for a while when I was in Eugene going to college. Actually it was more like I was his roommate. My bedroom was a little shack in the backyard of his house.

I met Ken Kesey a few times when he came to Mike's house. I saw the bus, 'Further', at Kesey's farm. And I went to a Grateful Dead concert in Eugene with a back stage pass, Mike's brother was one of their roadies.

Great times.

I know, I know, I have posted this stuff before.


I should add, Mike told me the book was quite accurate. The crazy people on the bus were just as described.

 

[Brainster]

The Electric Kool-aid Acid Trip has special meaning for me. Mike Hagen (one of the Merry Pranksters) was my roommate for a while when I was in Eugene going to college. Actually it was more like I was his roommate. My bedroom was a little shack in the backyard of his house.

I met Ken Kesey a few times when he came to Mike's house. I saw the bus, 'Further', at Kesey's farm. And I went to a Grateful Dead concert in Eugene with a back stage pass, Mike's brother was one of their roadies.

Great times.

I know, I know, I have posted this stuff before.


I should add, Mike told me the book was quite accurate. The crazy people on the bus were just as described.

I always assumed it was so--those were crazy times. And BTW, I would put Sometimes a Great Notion up in my top 100 novels as well, maybe even in the top 10. It was definitely a book that influenced my view on individuals like no other.