Synopsis
Intrigued by the idea of what happens to radically tattooed skinheads when they get older, Francine Prose created the character of neo-Nazi Vincent Nolan, age 32, who "repents," goes to work for a foundation, and finds himself becoming famous as a do-gooder who wants to "keep guys like me from becoming guys like me." Not only Vincent, but the people around him (the Holocaust survivor who runs the foundation, his assistant who becomes infatuated with Vincent, and her surprisingly clear-eyed teenage son) are changed in the process. As she did in BLUE ANGEL, Francine Prose looks at some of the absurdities of contemporary life with a satiric eye--but also with a compassionate understanding of each of her characters' ambiguities and contradictions.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 2005-03-01 | | Narrated by: | Eric Conger | | Edition Description: | Unabridged |
| Size | | Height: | 5.8 in | | Width: | 5.3 in | | Thickness: | 2.0 in | | Weight: | 13.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Vincent Nolan, a young neo-Nazi, 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 says that his mission is to save guys like him from becoming guys like him? As he gradually changes, Vincent also transforms those around him; including Maslow; Bonnie Kalen, a devoted believer in Maslow's crusade against intolerance and injustice; and her teenage son, Danny. Masterfully plotted, darkly comic, A Changed Man illuminates the everyday transactions in our lives, exposing what remains invisible in plain sight. 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? The fearless intelligence, wit, and humanity that inform this novel make it Francine Prose's most accomplished yet. Performed by Eric Conger
Industry Reviews
"Prose doesn't shy away from exposing the vanities and banalities behind the drive to do good. Fortunately, her characters are sturdy enough to bear the weight of the baggage she piles on them. Her lively skewering of a whole cross-section of society ensures that this take hits comic high notes even as it probes serious issues."
Publishers Weekly (12/20/2004)
"An edgy, riveting tale, one of Prose's most interesting."
Kirkus (01/01/2005)
"...Prose never fails to entertain....If at times she's been compared to Jonathan Swift, her mien is in fact less cutting, more gentle. In the end, she's a mensch, and it's a measure of both her guts and her optimism that she's able to pull off what surely must be that strangest of literary feats: a tale about a Nazi skinhead that warms the heart."
Bookforum - Karen Karbo
"[P]owerful, funny, and exquisitely nuanced....[E]ven decades ago..., Prose's tools were impressively sharp. Yet A CHANGED MAN represents a departure: unlike her other books, which illuminate relationships among small circles..., this story has a continental sweep....But...the novel isn't a sermon or a lecture. Prose doesn't sit in judgment; instead, she holds a mirror up to her characters, reflecting both their imperfections and their charms."
New York Times Book Review - Liesl Schillinger (03/27/2005)
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