Miami the focus of newest Wolfe novel

MIAMI, Jan. 20 (UPI) -- The city of Miami serves as the backdrop for the newest novel from popular author Tom Wolfe.

The Miami Herald said Sunday that in Wolfe's new work, "Back to Blood," the Florida city is the site for a drama involving such themes as race, class, sex and immigration.

Publisher Michael Pietsch said the "A Man in Full" author should do a great job capturing the themes most prevalent in the current Miami scene.

''It's Tom Wolfe writing the kind of novel that only Tom Wolfe, among the living American writers, can do,'' the Little, Brown and Co. publisher said. "He's looking at a society in huge flux, and the combinations of ambition and class, and all the different human drives that make cities fascinating places.''

Pietsch's company reportedly has purchased the publishing rights for "Blood" for $7 million in hopes Wolfe will meet with success similar to that of "The Bonfire of the Vanities."