Frank has to pretend he wants one thing to be the person he's built himself up to be to everyone around him, but the real Frank actually wants 1) the adoration and sexual attention of his wife, and 2) to relax at the end of a work day in his nice house without having to think too hard. It also dealt a lot with the idea and expectation to be "special" or "better than" and how that was actually extremely limiting to the characters to find happiness, as you point out, especially with the character of Frank. I think he was being satirical about the concept of suburban malaise, the human tendency to blame your problems on anything but yourself. I think reading it purely through the lens of suburban malaise is limiting and not what the author was trying to do. Is it just a critique of a certain stratum of postwar American society and their delusions? Or does something more go into your interpretation of the text?Įxactly, it's the psychological perception that the book has that makes it special. While I appreciated the novel's humour, and found it easy to read and with many memorable moments, I was wondering whether I am missing something. Though I did enjoy the way that abortion was a major topic, as I've not seen it treated in literature before and it did make me reconsider my understanding of it. April, with her own complexes, is no better. In the story he just lurches from masculinity crisis to masculinity crisis. Frank's whole life as a family man seems to be overshadowed by his military days - the one period of his life when everything was clear and organised and he was undeniably a Man. The experience of the Second World War has left its mark on many of the men. Everyone thinks they are better than others, and there is a high level of atomisation in the society. People drink a lot, smoke a lot, and have a lot of affairs. The story depicts the identity crisis of suburban Americans in the 1950s. I picked up Yates because a couple of people on the subreddit had praised him, but I am not quite sure what I am looking at. I am not quite sure what to make of Revolutionary Road, Yates' first novel. Instead, feel free to promote these in the Monday weekly thread. Don't promote other subreddit read-alongs. If you're going to do something of the sort, you must participate in the comment discussion. Don't just post a link to your website or Youtube video review. Limit Two Link Posts and One Personal Post Per Day Publisher press releases, online bookstore referrals, or other forms of advertising.Amusing videos vaguely related to literature.Sharing unpublished fiction or non-fiction you've written.Requesting help on homework assignments or creating a curriculum.who are your favorite contemporary authors). "What do you think of X" posts, unless you provide your own in-depth original thoughts.Strive for at least 300 words (~7 sentences). Do not simply ask a question and expect an answer. For general posting, ensure that you pose your own opinion as well. No racism, sexism, or other forms of bigotry.Įnsure All Posts Are of High Quality. All discussion must be related to literature.īigotry is Forbidden. Better resources for recommendations are: Our Thursday or Monday weekly threads, r/SuggestMeABook, r/booksuggestions, and r/bookrecommendations Please do not ask for book recommendations. If you enjoy the conversation, join our official Discord server! ( ) Rules Clear, polite and well-written responses should be upvoted opinions should not be downvoted. We want to encourage and support in-depth, intellectual discussion. If you're interested in "written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit," then you're in the right place. The premier place on reddit for discussing books and literature, both fictional and non-fictional alike.
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