Here are some customer reviews of
Revolutionary Road (Vintage Contemporaries)
: I'm not sure how many members of my generation have read this book (I'm 21), but I have a feeling that many would relate to the themes of suburban angst, "finding" oneself, etc. I truly love Yates's prose style: funny, terse, biting. I think, however, that Yates ends up taking a cheap shot at suburbia as a whole, in much the same way that the film American Beauty does. Not one adult character is likable, or even happy. The Bohemian within suburbia is terminally unhappy (Frank and April), as is the "typical" suburbanite (Mrs. Givings). I was looking for a glimmer of hope, but didn't find one. Maybe that was Yates's intention. A thoroughly enjoyable read, however.
With no belief system (philosophical, religious or otherwise) the characters in this novel flounder about helplessly looking for personal gratification, and come up empty. Convinced that they are, (or should be), superior to everyone else, they cannot find happiness or fulfillment in "ordinary life". When they see (as they inevitably must) that they are human and have flaws, they cannot face them. Instead they are plunged into self-loathing and despair, and the resulting behavior makes the situation much worse. These characters need to grow up, look outside of themselves and try to give to others, but they are too neurotic and self-absorbed. Thus, I was left feeling numb and sad. The writing is excellent, and rings true because so many in our society (both today, and in the 1950's when this was written) share this unfortunate perspective. Thought provoking reading...
 This is one of my favorite books and it's a shame it should be a known classic for it is surely a masterpiece. A tragedy of 50's America. It's kind of a struggle to go through the whole book. I heard it was one of the best books ever made and questioned it until I got to the last 40 pages. Surprising how it was written during the 50's for its messages still apply today.
You don't have to be a writer to read Richard Yates. Revolutionary Road can still stun after all these years, revealing the truths and fears that we all have first as young adults and then as aging misanthropes. (After experiencing such failures of young adulthood what else could we become?) Every word in this book rings with sharp clarity. It's actually frightening. The laughter we may utter from time to time while reading is a gutteral knowing laugh, both hideous and satyr like. We laugh from the pain--the heart ripping, gut twisting turn of events. No one deserves to live out these terrible "truths," but unfortunately we often do. And Yates presents it all casually in simple language and very straight forward. . .I think it was Swift who said satire is a glass in which everyone sees everyone but himself. And though I wouldn't definitiively call this book satire, it comes close except one can't help but see him/herself, mucking around in this detritus. . . Read the book. It's still an experience.
It was absolutely by chance that I discovered Richard Yates for myself. I was of the strong persuasion that nothing that was worth reading was written after the 1920's. Since then I have read all of his works. He is a writer who should be studied in schools. We cannot afford to neglect such brilliancy, it just doesn't come around too often in our day and age. He is a genius and if our time still manages to produce someone like Richard Yates, all is not lost.
|
