What do you think?
Rate this book
Tony
Tony is very hard to label. You can call him a rat fink or a heel, but then, he is devilishly charming and very sexy. Of course, he is an awful scoundrel, and certainly a liar, but he's hilariously funny. So what is one to do with Tony" If you're Auntie Mame's favorite nephew, you're a master story teller, and so what you do with Tony is write his saga down and sit back to watch the fireworks. That's what Patrick Dennid did with Auntie Mame, and he's done it again with Tony, made him an outrageous legend!
- GenresFiction
239 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1966
About the author
Patrick Dennis
39 books151 followersEdward Everett Tanner III spent the last years of his life as a butler, in spite of having been one of the most popular novelists of the 1950s and 1960s. A bisexual, he had a wife and family, but also pursued relationships with men on the side.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 7, 2012
All the usual targets of Patrick Dennis' vicious satire are lined up like clay ducks in his 1966 novel, Tony. Written in episodic form, like Auntie Mame, and featuring an immoral antihero like Leander Starr of Genius, Tony aims for and shoots down social climbers, Southern gentility, camp gay men, noxious boarding schools, pretentious graspers of all strata, and saves a special lead shot-packed salvo for the entire state of Connecticut.
However, it may be that modern readers might not warm to Dennis' rambling tale of Tony Vandenberg and his hunger for social elevation at any expense, nor of his decades-long friendship—if it can be called that—with the book's nameless narrator. Although readers cheer for another of Dennis' amoral creations, Leander Starr in the similarly-themed Genius, it's because Starr, despite his human frailties and abundant flaws, despite his willingness to tromp over friends and family alike in his quest to film the perfect movie, manages to create something bigger and better than himself. Tony Vandenberg never does, and what's more, never cares to; instead he leaves a wake of destruction throughout his life. The chilly and judgmental narrator is scarcely better—he's too flawed to keep his distance from Tony, but not enough of a friend either to help him in his schemes, or to betray him for his own good.
Still, Tony is on point when it comes to the skewering of its targets. Trenchant in tone and compulsively readable, its depiction of an at-times charming sociopath is perhaps more extreme than any other single novel Dennis wrote, but it also contains one of his most pitiable and outrageous fictional depictions. The novel leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth, but it's also a well-written read that's more affecting in spots than the majority of Dennis' work.
However, it may be that modern readers might not warm to Dennis' rambling tale of Tony Vandenberg and his hunger for social elevation at any expense, nor of his decades-long friendship—if it can be called that—with the book's nameless narrator. Although readers cheer for another of Dennis' amoral creations, Leander Starr in the similarly-themed Genius, it's because Starr, despite his human frailties and abundant flaws, despite his willingness to tromp over friends and family alike in his quest to film the perfect movie, manages to create something bigger and better than himself. Tony Vandenberg never does, and what's more, never cares to; instead he leaves a wake of destruction throughout his life. The chilly and judgmental narrator is scarcely better—he's too flawed to keep his distance from Tony, but not enough of a friend either to help him in his schemes, or to betray him for his own good.
Still, Tony is on point when it comes to the skewering of its targets. Trenchant in tone and compulsively readable, its depiction of an at-times charming sociopath is perhaps more extreme than any other single novel Dennis wrote, but it also contains one of his most pitiable and outrageous fictional depictions. The novel leaves a bitter taste in one's mouth, but it's also a well-written read that's more affecting in spots than the majority of Dennis' work.
Read
December 14, 2019ok so, not a laff riot like genius (calling tangier "canarsie with minarets" being a notable exception), but an extended sketch of the narrator's sociopathic boarding school roommate as he chews thru assorted social circles like a termite. like the horrible extroverts in christina stead's novels tony bends space-time around him by dint of glibness & manages to snooker the narrator 7-8x in increasingly sinister ways before he finally wises up. in terms of quibbles i'd call out the colorlessness of that narrator char, which i get (he's there for straight man & reportage purposes), but his listless reaction when tony steals a romantic interest of his doesn't rly ring true. that aside, a v cool novel about a v uncool dude
December 31, 2024
It was an interesting read, although a bit wordy, which is common for books from this time period. The pace drags at times, but I must admit I was curious about the mischief that might befall Tony next.
April 3, 2022
Fun and enjoyable book. I really like The way Patrick Dennis writes and tells a story. Just as in Auntie Mame the characters in this book are addictive and fun, even when you do not like them.
November 12, 2012
With the exception of the two "Auntie Mame" books, this may be Patrick Dennis's best-written novel. Covering a 25-year span, its narrator is the story's conscience; the title character ("J. Anthony Vandenberg") is a kid he meets during his senior year of high school and who's already embarked upon a lifelong career of opportunism, social climbing, pathological lying, and pretending to be a member of an upper class that wouldn't have him even if it existed any more--which it doesn't.
Dennis skewers the shallow ambitions of the pretentious in his usual drily observant style (remember Bunny Bixler and the ping-pong ball in "Auntie Mame"), and the results are never less than you'd expect from him. One caveat here: The five-star rating pertains to the quality of the writing and the irresistibility of the story and its style. However, as the antagonist, Tony may be pitiable and often inadvertently funny in his attempts to climb into a world of which he desperately longs to be a part--but he's not someone you'd ever want to get closer to than the opposite side of the street in case you ever saw him coming your way. The carelessness with which he tramples people's lives (and, in two cases, actually destroys them), is pretty unsettling. So if you have a low tolerance for meanness, it may be a little wince-inducing at times.
Dennis skewers the shallow ambitions of the pretentious in his usual drily observant style (remember Bunny Bixler and the ping-pong ball in "Auntie Mame"), and the results are never less than you'd expect from him. One caveat here: The five-star rating pertains to the quality of the writing and the irresistibility of the story and its style. However, as the antagonist, Tony may be pitiable and often inadvertently funny in his attempts to climb into a world of which he desperately longs to be a part--but he's not someone you'd ever want to get closer to than the opposite side of the street in case you ever saw him coming your way. The carelessness with which he tramples people's lives (and, in two cases, actually destroys them), is pretty unsettling. So if you have a low tolerance for meanness, it may be a little wince-inducing at times.
January 27, 2013
I just had a re-reading spree including Patrick Dennis. You never know how these things will go. Books you loved years ago often lose their shine. However, this one hadn't. It's beautifully drawn character sketch of the anti-hero, Tony - J Anthony Vandenberg (Jackie to his mother) - from school days, through college, wartime, business, TV career and more to the final sighting in Algiers. Told episodically, as are all the P Dennis books I've read, it works very well. The characters come to life. The 'I' of the story comes off the page well, too; a rounded character, not just a backdrop for the rest of the cast supporting Tony. I loved it years ago. I loved it now. A great read.
Sadly, I couldn't say the same for Auntie Mame: written to a similar structure, I found it dated, the 'I' character almost incidental, not really integrated into the story. Saying that, there were passages of real genius and no-one can do accents like Patrick Dennis - neither incomprehensible nor intrusive, he catches voices perfectly. I'm no fan of eye-dialect, but I make an exception for Mr Dennis. I'm not going to review Auntie Mame separately because I remember how much I enjoyed it first time round. I would have given in 5 stars then, so I won't presume to put anyone off by giving it fewer now.
Sadly, I couldn't say the same for Auntie Mame: written to a similar structure, I found it dated, the 'I' character almost incidental, not really integrated into the story. Saying that, there were passages of real genius and no-one can do accents like Patrick Dennis - neither incomprehensible nor intrusive, he catches voices perfectly. I'm no fan of eye-dialect, but I make an exception for Mr Dennis. I'm not going to review Auntie Mame separately because I remember how much I enjoyed it first time round. I would have given in 5 stars then, so I won't presume to put anyone off by giving it fewer now.
May 24, 2016
Still moved at a good clip, and a funny moment here and there, but not one of my favorite works by this author. Tony is audacious, but lacks the heart that makes laughing at his antics safe to laugh at. He's not so much funny as dangerous, and perhaps that's the point.
November 18, 2016
Interesting only if you can stomach snobbish characters looking down on and doing snotty things to each other all through their tired, predictable self-centered existences in the New York of the forties, fifties, and sixties. Only a couple of honest moments.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews