Another reviewer Wolfe cites is Andrew Ferguson, the conservative essayist for the Weekly Standard. One is underwhelmed by all of this. Wolfe makes the argument that people are seeking out movies instead of books because celluloid offers better realism than prose. This is a dubious argument at best. Current box office reports are dominated by an unidentifiable green creature and a trio of luscious women who fight crime in miniskirts and stiletto heels.
Audiences crave realism, right.
No, one could more convincingly argue that people are staying away from bookstores because there is not much worth reading these days. Judging from this book by Tom Wolfe, I might be right. However, Tom Wolfe cannot be dismissed as an unimportant writer. The fact that he sells tons of books, coupled with prominent writers like Mailer, Updike, Kurt Vonnegut, and Maureen Dowd being assigned to review his books speaks to his deserved place in literary pantheon. Chris Burlingame is an associate editor of Spintech .