Pat D. (pat0814) reviewed on 10/27/2010 + 379 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

The sadness of this beautifully written book will stay with me for a long time. Frank and April Wheeler live the "American Dream" in a Connecticut suburb in 1955, a period of apparent optimism and striving for upward mobility in the United States. Although part of the community, they continue to denigrate it, seeing themselves as somehow apart from the cliched materialism and posturing of their neighbors. Sadly, their aspirations to set themselves apart are not compatible with their capabilities. Eventually their arguments escalate to an unbearable pitch, and the reader sees them plunge toward an inevitable disaster. I greatly admire Richard Yates' craftsmanship in this absorbing and sobering novel.

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