Wolfe aims for social realism—the detailed reporting of "character, language, milieu, and manners" within the format of a novel. He has said that the lack of social realism in the modern novel has robbed it of its vitality much as understated modernist architecture has deadened our physical environment. His depiction of American life in A Man in Full consists of bigger-thanlife dramatic scenes, minutely-detailed descriptions, long introspective dialogues, and the lyrics of rap music, all linked by a minimum of historical narrative. He uses dialogue, especially inner dialogue, to develop character. Wolfe strings together huge rambunctious filmic scenes throughout the book. They are outrageous, hilarious masterpieces.

: The settings range from Atlanta, Chamblee, and Baker County, Georgia, to the San Francisco Bay area and even the Bahamas. All of this moving around gives Wolfe opportunity to describe the current state of affairs in American society at different...