Revolutionary Road

Richard Yates, 1961 Date Read: 7/30/22

From the moment of its publication in 1961, Revolutionary Road was hailed as a masterpiece of realistic fiction and as the move evocative portrayal of the opulent desolation of the American suburbs. It's the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple who has lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner, With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

That is the blub from the back of the Third Vintage Contemporaries Edition from May 2008. Unfortunately, those words do not actually say anything.

First of all, like so many other novels on this list, this is a book about terrible people. In fact, this is essentially a "modern" Madame Bovary. Like, almost point for point. And I thought she was a horrible person, too.

I could only relate to one character in the novel: John Givings, the paranoid schizophrenic. My son has paranoid schizoaffective disorder, and like John, he sometimes doesn't have a filter between his brain and his mouth.

"Hey, I'm glad of one thing, though," he said, stopping near the door and turning back, beginning to laugh again...he extended a long yellow-stained finger and pointed it at the slight mound of April's pregnancy. "You know what I'm glad of? I'm glad I'm not gonna be that kid."

That's literally something my son has said lol

I was very interested in the descriptions of computers and computer technology because my grandfather and my husband both worked with them from very early stages. My grandfather would have been using them at the time of the novel, set in 1955. My husband started working with them around 1968. Fascinating stuff.

It's not a bad novel, but again, it's been done before. People loved it because at the time of its publication, people were really caught up with finding themselves, living authentic lives, and so on. This was the generation that gave us the Sexual Revolution and the Second Wave Feminists.

There is no such thing as an "authentic life". You don't need to "find yourself'. You're already there. Go to therapy. Get a relaxing hobby. And just live your fucking life.

Also, to point out, if safe, legal abortions had been available, April Wheeler wouldn't have died.

As a child, my parents were often wrapped up in their own lives. They were young when they had my older sister and me. I felt for the kids in this novel who were essentially just annoying hazards and encumbrances to their parents. Not just the Wheelers, but everybody. I get now why the Boomers have so many issues.

Length:355 pages

ReReadability: it's really sad so nah

Classic: I mean. It's like Jane Austen's Emma and Clueless with Alicia Silverstone. Both tell the same story, but depending on your perspective, one might be easier to relate to. So I guess it's up to the individual if they'd prefer Revolutionary Road or Madame Bovary.

Note: I'm taking a short break from the list to read a non-fiction I've been recommended: The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD. So I will be posting the next entry in about a week.