Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
I purchased this book a while ago and it's been in my TBR but have been reluctant to start it since it, however I started it two days ago and have been unable to put it down. Having read New York, New York, New York: Four Decades of Success, Excess, and Transformation by Thomas Dyja, who described the intense amount of money pouring into New York in the 80s, Bonfire of the Vanities gives life to that time. It's hilarious while at the same time portraying everything going on in New York at the time -- minority groups organizing political power (to be followed by Mayor Dinkins who Tom Wolfe almost predicted), mass amounts of money from a Wall Street bull run (all the while insulating themselves from the city), and a rapid decay of the urban core. It's really the best portrait of New York that I have ever read and it takes place all around the city. I love this book and can't talk about it enough but no spoilers since I'm 300 pages in and not done just yet. Has anyone else read it? What do you think?