‘Revolutionary Road’ by Richard Yates tells the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a married couple in their late twenties living in Connecticut on the Revolutionary Hill Estates with their two young children in 1955. Frank commutes to New York City but finds his job at Knox Business Machines very dull with few long-term prospects while April had dreamed of becoming an actress before marriage and motherhood led her to be a housewife. They long to escape their life in suburbia which they see as stifling and unfulfilling but their circumstances change when April discovers that she is pregnant again.
‘Revolutionary Road’ addresses dissatisfaction and disillusionment with careers, relationships and family life, and shows that “fear of missing out” isn’t a new phenomenon which only applies to the millennial generation today. Frank and April feel as though life is passing them by for different reasons, eventually leading to increasing resentment on both sides with neither appearing to be capable of making the other happy. The opening scene in which Frank fails to comfort April after the disastrous performance of a play put on by her community theatre group followed by their vague plans to move to France so that April could be the breadwinner while Frank finds his true passion in life are early indicators that things will not end well for the Wheelers.
In many ways, ‘Revolutionary Road’ is reminiscent of Stoner by John Williams. Both novels were “rediscovered” by readers decades after they were first published in 1961 and 1965 respectively, and they are similarly understated and realistic in style. Yates’ exposure of Frank and April’s hypocrisy and the idealisation of everyday life in the post-war era may seem harsh and unflattering but he is also very perceptive in his portrayal of their self-deception and their justifications for their actions which for me was the most unsettling aspect of the book. Frank and April constantly compare their lives with those of their neighbours and believe the banality and tedium of life in the suburbs is beneath them – the irony being that they soon become rather tedious themselves.
Yates is entirely unsentimental about nostalgia surrounding the concept of the American Dream and the successful film adaptation released in 2009 starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will ensure that the novel won’t fade into obscurity again. It’s easy to see why ‘Revolutionary Road’ continues to resonate with a 21st century audience and has cemented its status as a timeless modern American classic.
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Lovely review. This is a book I’ve been meaning to read for so long!
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Same – glad I finally got round to it!
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It’s a fine novel. I found his short stories less satisfying
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I haven’t read any of his other books but I will bear this in mind.
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Read this several years ago, so I don’t remember too many specifics, but was interested in your comparison to Stoner. I would never have equated the two, but as I’ve thought about your review, I’m rethinking that. Thanks for the thought-provoking review!
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Thanks! The central characters are very different but the style is similar in some ways.
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I really enjoyed this book – the way the author got inside the minds and frustrations of both the couple, and the way it reflected bigger issues within American society. I enjoyed it more than Stoner, which I found more narrow both in terms of range of characters and emotions, and larger issues.
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I enjoyed both but I agree that Revolutionary Road is broader in scope.
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I agree with your assessment. Beyond being “rediscovered” I didn’t think these books had much to do with one another. Revolutionary Road is an insanely great book imo. Stoner is solid, but so much less adventurous than what Yates was up to.
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Revolutionary Road, which I just finished a couple of days ago, absolutely blew my mind. What an amazing novel! I loved every second of it. I agree with you in your picking out of Yates’ insightful portrayal of the main character’s self-deceptions was one of the more impressive attributes of the story. Oh to write a novel like that!
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Yes, it’s definitely a classic!
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I read this book a few years ago and really enjoyed reading a novel where both of the main protagonists are unlikable. I wanted The Wheelers to fulfill their dreams, but I didn’t actively root for them. I haven’t read Stoner, but to me Revolutionary Road reminded me of Fitzgerald’s The Beautiful and Damned.
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Yes, I had a similar reaction to the Wheelers. I haven’t read the Fitzgerald book but would definitely consider it.
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