There's a fair amount of skepticism, if not outright irony, embedded in the title of Francine Prose's tough-minded novel A Changed Man, which examines the human potential for growth and charity, and finds it somewhat wanting. In telling the story of a young neo-Nazi who attempts radical reform by partnering with a human-rights organization, Prose ponders how far people can extend themselves beyond their own egos, and what truly motivates them to do good. Beyond nearly every noble gesture lies an equally powerful self-serving instinct, and not even a Holocaust survivor turned Elie Wiesel-like foundation head is entirely exempt. Prose is sympathetic to these characters; she wants readers to embrace them as the flawed but fascinating creatures that they are. There's something heroic in human nature, she implies, but locating it can take some effort.
Fresh off her National Book Award-nominated Blue Angel, a scathing indictment of sexual Puritanism on college campuses, Prose turns what sounds like a heartwarming concept into a similarly sharp assessment of political correctness. When Vincent Nolan, a young skinhead with a Waffen-SS tattoo on his shoulder, strolls into the Manhattan offices of Brotherhood Watch clasping a duffel bag, the receptionist fears for her life. As it turns out, the bag's contents—some clothes, a cache of prescription painkillers, and cash stolen from his racist cousin Raymond—are only slightly more reassuring than a firearm, but Vincent's mission surprises everyone. On the run from Raymond and his former cohorts at ARM—alternately known as the American Rights Movement or the Aryan Resistance Movement, depending on the occasion—Vincent seeks out Meyer Maslow, a Holocaust survivor and human-rights activist whose inspirational books helped inspire Vincent's transformation. Actually, Vincent's epiphany came during an Ecstasy-fueled rave, but this detail and others are elided when he comes to work for Brotherhood Watch, hoping he can "keep guys like me from becoming guys like me."
Since he has nowhere else to go, Meyer nudges his loyal assistant Bonnie Kalen, a beleaguered single mother with two teenage sons, to bring Vincent into her home. Always seeking to impress Meyer, whom she idolizes, Bonnie reluctantly accepts her new charge, even though she faces the immediate danger of exposing her kids to a neo-Nazi who can't yet be trusted, and the future danger of Raymond and his buddies tracking him down. But meanwhile, Vincent becomes a blessing for Brotherhood Watch, which immediately seizes on his willfulness and charisma to breathe new life into the organization's sagging fundraising efforts.
A Changed Man gets wonderfully sticky, as Prose tours through the glad-handing world of moneyed donors and lavish charity events, where Vincent's message gets hopelessly watered down by lawyers, publicists, and sycophantic journalists. Even Meyer, for all the decency and practical impact of his organization, seems overly concerned with the effect Vincent's presence will have on book sales. Though it's tempting to cast off A Changed Man as irredeemably pessimistic, Prose musters up a touching conclusion that scrapes away some of the title's irony, but not before human nature itself gets put under the microscope.