A Changed Man: Summary and book reviews of A Changed Man by Francine Prose, plus links to an excerpt from A Changed Man and a biography of Francine Prose.

On an unseasonably warm spring afternoon, a young neo-Nazi named Vincent Nolan walks into the Manhattan office of World Brotherhood Watch, a human rights foundation headed by a charismatic Holocaust survivor, Meyer Maslow. Vincent announces that he wants to make a radical change in his life. But what is Maslow to make of this rough-looking stranger who claims to have read Maslow's books, who has Waffen-SS tattoos under his shirtsleeves, and who says that his mission is to save guys like him from becoming guys like him? As he gradually turns into the sort of person who might actually be able to do that, Vincent also transforms those around him: Maslow, who fears that heroism has become a desk job; Bonnie Kalen, the foundation's fund-raiser, a divorced single mother and a devoted believer in Maslow's crusade against intolerance and injustice; and Bonnie's teenage son, Danny, whose take on the world around him is at once openhearted, sharp-eyed, and as fundamentally decent as his mother's. Masterfully plotted, darkly comic, A Changed Man illuminates the everyday transactions in our lives, exposing what remains invisible in plain sight in our drug-addled and media-driven culture. Remarkable for the author's tender sympathy for her characters, A Changed Man poses the essential questions: What constitutes a life worth living? Is it possible to change? What does it mean to be a moral human being? The fearless intelligence, wit, and humanity that inform this novel make it Francine Prose's most accomplished yet.

BookBrowse

If you think you'd enjoy a 'comedy of manners' which fairly gently skewers the middle-classes then this might be one for you; but if you're anticipating a book that digs deep you might be disappointed.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Full Review (506 words).

Media Reviews

Harper's Bazaar Francine Prose is back with a powerful new novel about the possibility of starting over.   Newsday This book has it all great characters, dark humor, a racing plot and important themes.   Los Angeles Times Book Review - Richard Eder A novel of ideas, and provocative ones. Class--the dirty American secret--is no secret to Prose.   Entertainment Weekly [An] artfully structured novel . . . [with] a selection of showstopping literary set pieces.   Miami Herald [A] brilliant new comic novel . . . Prose's sense of humor is as keen as ever.   Library Journal - Jim Coan Bonnie is well portrayed and lifelike, but Vincent is not - he's more a construct than a character. As a result, the novel feels sidetracked, and though any new work by the award-winning Prose will attract readers, this one is frankly not all that interesting.   Kirkus Reviews An edgy, riveting tale, one of Prose's most interesting.   From Booklist - Joanne Wilkinson Starred review. Like novelist Richard Russo, Prose uses humor to light up key social issues, to skewer smugness, and to create characters whose flaws only add to their depth and richness. This may well be Prose's best novel to date.   Publishers Weekly Starred review. Her lively skewering of a whole cross-section of society ensures that this tale hits comic high notes even as it probes serious issues.

Recent Reader Reviews

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