10. Bonfire of the Vanities
I had not heard of this book before writing this list, but after a little research, I stumbled upon it. Written in 1987, "Bonfire of the Vanities" follows a black activist, a bond trader, a Jewish lawyer, and British journalist as they navigate through the greed and politics of 1980s New York. Author Tom Wolfe wanted the book to capture what life in 1980s New York really was like, from the societal differences to racial tensions. Like the rest of the books on the list, it was a critical success. The movie, however, was the complete opposite. Released in 1990, the film was a failure across the board. Directed by Brian De Palma, who three years before gave us "The Untouchables," the film was critiqued largely for its pacing issues and for focusing too much on Tom Hanks' character rather than the story itself. Even De Palma later admitted that it had been a mistake to place so much emphasis on Hanks' character. Another problem was that the movie had a more comedic tone compared to the book's dark narrative. But hey, the movie was popular in Eastern Europe for a while. That has to be worth something. Right?