Revolutionary Road (Modern American Fiction) (Modern Fiction)

by Richard Yates

THIS ORANGE INHERITANCE EDITION OF Revolutionary Road IS PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE ORANGE PRIZE FOR FICTION

Books shape our lives and transform the way we see ourselves and each other. The best books are timeless and continue to be relevant generation after generation. Vintage Classics asked the winners of The Orange Prize for Fiction which books they would pass onto the next generation and why. Lionel Shriver chose Revolutionary Road.

This is the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple whose empty suburban life is held together by the dream that greatness is only just round the corner. With heartbreaking compassion and clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their hopes and ideals, betraying in the end not only each other, but their own best selves.

'I can't think of a better novel to hand on to readers growing up today than Revolutionary Road' Lionel Shriver

• ISBN10: 009956064X
• ISBN13: 9780099560647
• Publish Date: 7 April 2011 (first published 1 March 1971)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 18 January 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing
• Imprint: Vintage Classics
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

Revolutionary Road is a beautifully crafted debut novel by Richard Yates, which tells the story of Nick and April Wheeler trying to break out of their suburban rut. To me this novel is about the desire from something better, something exciting, something to break the boredom, but Yates once said that "If my work [Revolutionary Road] has a theme, I suspect it is a simple one: that most human beings are inescapably alone, and therein lies their tragedy."



Without giving anything away, this book is a small glimpse into the lives of a standard suburban family, looking for adventure, trying to save a marriage and the effects of their own lives. I started reading this book with no idea where this book would take me, but ended up really enjoying the journey. But I have to admit, if the ending was any different (if there was a Hollywood/happy ending) I would have ended up hating this book. Yates wrote this book with such skill that I was fully invested in this book, hoping that he would not destroy it in any way and worrying that it was heading for a fall but never actually falling.