Tom Wolfe’s “Bonfire of the Vanities” was one of those novels that, when I read it as a young leftist student, made me feel uncomfortable. I read it in one sitting. From “Mouse Utopia” to “Mao Maoing” to “Charlotte Simmons” he described what people meme today.
I used to wear a cream suit, trilby, and smoke cigarillos. Not to emulate Wolfe, that all came first. I imitate no one. But I respect a fellow with individuality.