I read ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'' straight through, in two sessions on two consecutive days, and enjoyed it enormously. Phrases, (HIS FIRST NOVEL!), detailed description of people's clothing, hyperbole, interior monologue whenever he feels like it, and various other New Journalism devices he is apparently too fond of to give up. Wolfe's strategy is to somehow batter the reader into submission, using an incantatory repetition of certain emblematic As in much of his other work, such as ''The Right Stuff,'' Mr. NOW comes Tom Wolfe, aging enfant terrible, with his first novel, (his first novel!), six hundred and fifty-nine pages of raw energy about New York City and various of its inhabitants - a big, bitter, funny, craftily plotted book that grabs you by the THE BONFIRE OF THE VANITIES By Tom Wolfe. Section 7, Column 1 Book Review Deskīy FRANK CONROY Frank Conroy is the author of ''Stop-Time,'' an autobiography, and ''Midair,'' a collection of stories. November 1, 1987, Sunday, Late City Final Edition
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