Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

Wow! This is pretty much the reaction I had after finishing Revolutionary Road – I am still thinking about it and the impact it has had – because if this book has anything it is definitely impact!
Is the book depressing – kind of – but in a hopeful way if that can make any sense? Reading about the lives of the characters April and Frank Wheeler I actually feel pretty hopeful for my own life – things certainly aren’t as bad as they got for them!
This book is extremely powerful – the language, the scenes, the relationships and the choices the characters make, even the moments of silence and contemplation all hold you – you aren’t going anywhere once you have started this book.
Frank and April Wheeler have been married for 6 years after meeting at a party in New York shortly after the end of WW2. They are now living in the suburbs with 2 young children – Frank commuting into the city everyday to attend an office job he couldn’t really care less about (and only took in the first place because April fell pregnant) and April stays at the home and cares for the children, having dinner on the table and a martini in hand when Frank returns home at the end of the day.
The Wheeler’s despise the conformity that they see surrounding them in 1950’s America and they dream of a life in Europe where they can be free to explore “who it is they really are”. Or, at least April is dreaming of this for Frank – she feels that they have become trapped in an existence that neither one of them has asked for but she seems overly concerned with the impact this life is having on Frank – her extraordinary husband. It is only towards the end of the book that April begins to realise the impact their way of life is having on her – and it is then that choices have to be made.
Themes of identity, choices, conformity and isolation are all explored in Revolutionary Road – how do we know we are living our lives the way they were meant to be lived? Is this all there is? Should all of our expectations and dreams be met?
For me the book highlighted some of the dangers of indulging in too much introspection – I felt some of the challenges faced by the characters in this book were because they over thought things! Now I am normally quite a thinking and reflective person but I think at some stage you just have to go with the flow! Does that mean blind acceptance and taking what life hands out – maybe a little?
As you can tell – this book (despite what I have said just above) has me thinking – one thing I am definitely sure of is that Yates is an amazing and incredible writer and I can’t wait to get my hands on the rest of his work.