Revolutionary Road

I kept reading about what an amazing book Revolutionary Road was until I decided that I needed to read it. I was not disappointed (with the book, that is; I must admit being sad to reach the last page.) I loved the the characters, the story, the feel of the novel, and the prose style of author Richard Yates.

The story focuses on the Wheelers, a young suburban couple in the 1950's. The novel opens with the end of a community theater production, one in which April Wheeler starred in, one that was a flop. April and her husband Frank get into an argument after the play and that night changes things for the couple. They both grapple with the state of their marriage, their lives, and what brought them to this point. April soon comes up with a plan to change everything and that is the novel's turning point and what steers the plot to its heartbreaking conclusion.

I saw there was a movie made a couple years ago based on the novel, but I'm afraid it will taint my memory of this book. I did see the preview and wasn't impressed, so I can't say whether the movie does a good job representing the novel. But the prose is so great--seems so effortlessly simple and clear--that those who saw the film may want to also check out the book. Though I read that nothing else Richard Yates wrote was so well received as Revolutionary Road, I am interested in reading some of his other work as I so thoroughly enjoyed this novel.