Tom Wolfe’s The Bonfire of The Vanities is an American classic. It is an epic portrait of New York City in the late 1980s, in the tradition of Charles Dickens’ portraits of 19th century London. The story revolves around Sherman McCoy, a Wall Street financier who, along with his mistress, is involved in a hit and run accident in the Bronx which ends up injuring a Black youth. This accident is soon picked up by the tabloid journals and becomes a political cause celebre used by the Bronx District Attorney’s office to demonstrate that Black lives matter just as much as White one’s. The District Attorney reasons that a well-publicized arrest and trial of a wealthy White man will show the mostly Black and Latino citizens of the Bronx that he is on their side and will help him win re-election. Another person who uses the case for his own vested interests is the fiery Harlem preacher, Reverend Bacon. Wolfe meticulously describes how Sherman is taken down by the collusion of the tabloid media and the political class. While Sherman is by no means innocent– leaving the scene of an accident is a crime in itself– he is not given a fair trial. The optics of the case clearly prejudice the D.A.’s office against him. They are out to deem him guilty, whatever the truth of the matter may be, so that they can gain political advantage.
Race is an important theme of the novel. Wolfe depicts the New York City of more than three decades ago, in which White Manhattanites were terrified of going to Harlem and the Bronx. When Sherman and Maria initially get lost in the Bronx on the way back from JFK Airport, they are both terrified of the Black youths they encounter on the highway. They later justify leaving the scene of the accident by likening it to a “fight in the jungle”. While this is clearly a racist and problematic attitude, it is an accurate description of the way that many White people felt at the time. Even today, though many of these neighborhoods have now gentrified, White people are reluctant to visit them.
The other major way in which race becomes important in the novel is the way that the District Attorney’s office comes under political pressure to show that they care about Black lives. The tabloid journalists turn the accident victim, Henry Lamb, into an “honor student” and depict him as a great success despite growing up on a housing project. This narrative is intended to build pressure to punish Sherman to the maximum extent. Meanwhile, Sherman and his lawyer put forth the narrative that he was escaping from an attempted robbery and that the two Black youths were criminals. This war of narratives is unfortunately still relevant today, as the “Black Lives Matter” protests of 2020 demonstrated.
The Bonfire of the Vanities is an epic satire of 1980s New York City. It will especially appeal to those who are familiar with New York City and to those who enjoy sweeping portraits of the city in the tradition of the 19th century novel.
Thoughts Of A Bibliophile 