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4.5 Stars
R- 3.5 ish
Language
"A deft, ironic, beautiful novel that deserves to be a classic."-- William Styron
I agree, actually. Which surprised me. I'll be honest, I wasn't really expecting to like this one.
The Wheelers are not likeable people. They're just not. They live in a state of existential angst-- the kind that one encounters in high school and college. You know what I mean, the philosophical, coffeehouse intellectual snobs that can talk all day without saying a thing. And you know, if the Wheelers were kids, I'd be fine with that.
That whole feel reminds me of my Humanities classes. And hey, I think there can be a time and place for some of those philosophies and discussions.
But eventually, we must grow up. In one way or another, we have to move on. Either to acting on those philosophies or to withdrawing to a more even-keeled life. Or some combination of the two.
About half-way through the book, you start to feel like they've figured this out-- April wants to move to Europe so that Frank can "find himself" like he should have years ago. (Not what I would consider a sensible plan, but crazy things like that work fine for some people.) When this falls through, Frank wants to be "mature" and take a higher paying job, even if it is still dull, and settle into a "mature" life.
The irony is that the more they desperately try to be painfully honest, the more amazingly deceitful they become.
And Frank's "maturity"? What a crock.
Anyway, I liked Revolutionary Road. It does carry a high risqueity rating, but I enjoyed the book.
(On a completely unrelated note-- we're off to the dentist later. Aren't you jealous?)
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