Revolutionary Road

Having watched (and not particularly liking) the film version of Revolutionary Road, I found myself in a strange position at the start of this book. I looked forward to a more thorough telling of Frank and April's story. In that regard, the book didn't disappoint.

I still find that I don't empathize or sympathize with a single character in the story. That comment is a compliment to the author. Yates developed the characters, even the bit players, such that I feel like I know someone that is similar to each one. I don't revile or “hate” list of the characters; they just aren't people with which I'd spend time.

It's worth noting the overtly male tone of the book. Frank Wheeler is a 1950s Everyman, at least as portrayed in the media. He hates his job until he starts to get recognition for it. He loves his family, but he is burdened by the responsibility of caring for it. He sees Maureen is a conquest and finds it astonishing that she would have any feelings of her own about their tryst. Shep is similar, and he feels no remorse for daydreaming about other women. He makes it a point to make the best of his marriage to Millie.

Even April's tale, with the exception of the abortion chapter, is told through male eyes. Is Revolutionary Road a product of its time? Or do we hold this against the author?

The theme of ‘expectation' runs through the entire narrative. Frank and April rail against the expectations of suburbia while ensuring they achieve them. They feel they are above the other characters that simply are what they are. Situating Mrs. Givings as a realtor was genius. Her job is to sell that expectation. When her husband reminds her of her affinity for the Wheelers at the end of the book, she conveniently talks them down because they don't fit the expectation. Similarly, I found strong themes of acceptance.

I read that Yates wrote the book as an indictment of 1950s America and the conformity everyone was seeking. The text can almost be read as the opposite: a longing for conformity given the sometimes radical individualism and selfishness that later generations would come to celebrate