Book Review
Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates, was for all purposes a good read. It's a tale of suburban ennui of the 50s which I didn't find to be any different from ennui in the 80s, 90s, or the 21st century. Our suburban couple, Frank and April Wheeler, are the center around which this tale is cast. The setting of this story is in the mid 50s on the east coast. (CT to be specific) Frank commutes daily into NYC to a job he hates and feels is beneath him while his wife, April, stays home with their two children. April isn't happy. April didn't want to have kids so soon in their relationship and when she discussed aborting their first child Frank went all caveman on her (because he thought she should, he didn't want kids yet either, but he played his role) and basically forced her to have the child. This is one of the themes in the novel, the importance of appearances and how one can become enslaved in them.
It isn't long into the book that we discover the Wheeler relationship is one big facade. If there ever was love between them it vacated a long time ago, yet Frank still strives to get April to show him she loves him. To the outside world the Wheelers are a happily married couple living the American Dream - - the white house, the two kids, community involvement - - but the dream isn't bringing them the happiness they thought they'd get. They essentially are empty people living empty lives. Sad.
So, of course, the usual things happen that land today's couples in divorce court. Divorce, however, is never mentioned, thought it is abundantly clear that Frank knows April doesn't love him. As April says in the climax of the story, "How can I love a stranger?".
There is an interesting side story going on with the son of the realtor who sold the Wheelers their home. This son resides in a mental hospital because he's "insane". He used to be a mathematician in his sane days and it's believed that it was the stressors of the job that pushed him over the edge. His appearances in the novel are short and too few in my opinion. He's clearly the sanest character in the novel and he's been locked up because he doesn't play to appearances; he calls it like it is and pays Cassandra's punishment. He has been aborted too by the end of the novel.
To me, this is a cautionary tale about what happens to people when they live a lie. This is definitely a downer. Hope does not rear her happy head for any significant time.
Grade B+
Side note: I saw the movie first and having now read the novel I can say that the movie adaptation stayed pretty true to its source. Kate Winslet's character, April Wheeler, was made a bit more sympathetic for the movie and that's not a shocker considering Kate wanted to do the movie and she was the one pushing the hardest to get it done. Add her husband as director and you've got the recipe for editing some unfavorable things out of her character. It was a hard story to watch, but I'm glad I read the novel because I was able to read many of the lines that DiCaprio muttered. That boy cannot act his way out of a paper bag I tell you.
Stay tuned for my next review: WINGNUTS How The Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America by John Avlon
It isn't long into the book that we discover the Wheeler relationship is one big facade. If there ever was love between them it vacated a long time ago, yet Frank still strives to get April to show him she loves him. To the outside world the Wheelers are a happily married couple living the American Dream - - the white house, the two kids, community involvement - - but the dream isn't bringing them the happiness they thought they'd get. They essentially are empty people living empty lives. Sad.
So, of course, the usual things happen that land today's couples in divorce court. Divorce, however, is never mentioned, thought it is abundantly clear that Frank knows April doesn't love him. As April says in the climax of the story, "How can I love a stranger?".
There is an interesting side story going on with the son of the realtor who sold the Wheelers their home. This son resides in a mental hospital because he's "insane". He used to be a mathematician in his sane days and it's believed that it was the stressors of the job that pushed him over the edge. His appearances in the novel are short and too few in my opinion. He's clearly the sanest character in the novel and he's been locked up because he doesn't play to appearances; he calls it like it is and pays Cassandra's punishment. He has been aborted too by the end of the novel.
To me, this is a cautionary tale about what happens to people when they live a lie. This is definitely a downer. Hope does not rear her happy head for any significant time.
Grade B+
Side note: I saw the movie first and having now read the novel I can say that the movie adaptation stayed pretty true to its source. Kate Winslet's character, April Wheeler, was made a bit more sympathetic for the movie and that's not a shocker considering Kate wanted to do the movie and she was the one pushing the hardest to get it done. Add her husband as director and you've got the recipe for editing some unfavorable things out of her character. It was a hard story to watch, but I'm glad I read the novel because I was able to read many of the lines that DiCaprio muttered. That boy cannot act his way out of a paper bag I tell you.
Stay tuned for my next review: WINGNUTS How The Lunatic Fringe Is Hijacking America by John Avlon