Thanks, Dawn, for the recommendation... what a fabulous read, enhanced further by my enjoyment of much of it in the great outdoors.
Richard Yates, sadly deceased, was brilliant in his impeccable use of our glorious language. The black and white of people, places and things is always evident... it's the gray that holds intrigue, and he imparted in prose that gray, deeply exploring the minds of his characters. This reader came to anticipate and appreciate the why or how each arrived at his or her often-poor decisions.
Frank and April Wheeler were miserable after they abandoned hopes of pursuing artistic, bohemian lifestyles. What began as perceived love and excitement became the doldrums, tinged with disappointment and gloom, this after they settled into a typically-50's, middle class neighborhood. History repeated itself when Frank neglected his family, as did his father before him. Both he and April lived in idealistic fantasy-lands-of-the-mind, unable to accept the tangibles of real life. Throughout the pages, one could sense pending doom. Each was as guilty as the other for failing to work realistically towards common, satisfactory goals.
When the character, Mrs. Givings, ended the story with her misguided perception of what friendship was or could have been, I thought it analogous to the the tale's beginning and April's acting endeavors, with the Laurel Players. If one word describes the lives of Revolutionary Road's ill-fated residents, it would be phony. Phony love, phony friends, phony ambitions... phony, phony, phony... play-acting through life.
Perhaps we all entertain occasional thoughts of what more we coulda, woulda, shoulda done... but realistically speaking, we have to know when to be happy. Compromise factors in. Like Mr. Givings who often turned off his hearing aid, maybe it's a matter of shutting out the babble of negativity, in order to achieve peaceful coexistence?
Now, it's on to the movie with Leo, Kate and Kathy Bates. It can't possibly be as thought-provoking as the book; but still, I must see it.
