Virginia K. (Moo) - , reviewed on 3/19/2010 + 111 more book reviews

"I think the writing is first-rate. The plot avoids making melodramatic martyrs out of the characters. There is no portrayal of Frank and April has being these intrinsically Byronic repressed-artist types. The closest the book comes to that are April's vague thespian ambitions. What we have is more of a sense of unsettledness in the milieu of Eisenhower-era suburbia.

The interesting part of their characterization is the depiction of the events of their youths, April's loveless childhood and Frank's wanderlust and his vague sense that he was meant for something big. Thus, it isn't just the intrinsic qualities of suburbia but the Wheeler's ill-adaptedness to it.

At the risk of giving too much away, the shifting in the perspective of the story to the Campbells from the Wheelers was a deft choice. I have to think that having a mentally unbalanced character making the trenchant observations he makes in the book has a cliched feel to it (sort of like having a blind character be the most insightful).

I think that back in 1961, the idea of a dry rot lying inside 1950s suburbia was probably had more of an impact then it would now. This is largely because the Wheeler's of the 1960s and 1970s were, in fact, more daring in living out of the box then their 1950s predecessors. Likewise, the use of the consideration of abortion as a plot device would've carried more weight pre-Roe v. Wade"...http://books.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474977964287

I recommends this book; it maybe slow to read at frist, but it is more in detail than the movie. This story shows the lifestyle of the 50's and a deeply troubled couple.

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