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A Special Providence (Vintage Contemporaries)
Robert Prentice has spent all his life attempting to escape his mother's stifling presence. His mother, Alice, for her part, struggles with her own demons as she attempts to realize her dreams of prosperity and success as a sculptor. As Robert goes off to fight in Europe, hoping to become his own man, Richard Yates portrays a soldier in the depths of war striving to live u...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
April 27th 2011
by Vintage
(first published 1969)
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Well, this was refreshing - apparently Yates does know a world outside the suburban malaise. Of course there is still the desperation of people yearning for something 'interesting' but the change of venue was appreciated.
With his usual elegance, Yates conveys the parallel struggle of a mother and her son, he battling the Germans as well as his inner demons and she battling reality. Alice, a divorcee, is a sculptress and seems to feel above work of any kind, and so she and her coddled son ...more
With his usual elegance, Yates conveys the parallel struggle of a mother and her son, he battling the Germans as well as his inner demons and she battling reality. Alice, a divorcee, is a sculptress and seems to feel above work of any kind, and so she and her coddled son ...more
Nice to see Yates leave the upper-middle class homes of the suburbs for the battlefields of world war II! All his usual preoccupations are here though: dilettante artists, men without any self-confidence to do what they want to, the stupidity and violence of most people. They're in a slightly different key to his better known books though. The key relationships here are between mother and son, or son and other men, rather than man and woman. It's a nice change actually. And makes me feel plenty ...more
Richard Yates understands people's pretensions and self-delusions better than any writer I've read. He gets that when people stomp out of a room, there's a small movie playing in their head in which a person stomps out of a room. He gets that, even in war, people are sometimes brave because they like the idea of being brave, not necessarily because they want to protect their country. In Revolutionary Road, this reality was profoundly depressing (but still a great read). In this novel, which alte...more
This book is both typical and atypical of Yate's work. It contained the same frustrated, depressed characters I have met elsewhere in his work, and a portion of the book is set in New York suburbia, a common setting, yet it also contains a long narrative set on the battlefields in World War II Europe. It did not surprise me to read that Yates himself served in the war, since the narrative successfully evokes the fear and confusion which Bobby feels. This is especially the case when he has pne...more
Another enjoyable novel by Yates. Many familiar elements, life in the 30s in New York and it's environs, etc. The plot I really enjoyed was that of the son--most of his story takes place in France during WWII. I'm not one to choose a book about combat, but it was really good, he put a very personal spin on how it must have been to be an unworldly, raw recruit thrust into action, but also surviving the dull daily slogging life of an army foot soldier.
"Revolutionary Road" made me notice this author - and I wonder why his work has gone fairly unnoticed. Special Providence dissects the problem-ridden life of mother and son - dysfunctional families seem to be THE topic for Yates. The story follows hte character´s thoughts and actions - observing and refraining from meddling comments he lets the story speak for itself. Neat and straight writing - creating and dissecting characters on the way.
Another masterpiece from Yates, who is quickly becoming one of my new (old) favorite writers. Watching these characters struggle mightily against a lifetime of adversity and bad decisions is simply captivating. Yates doesn't hate or pity these people, he just seems to really understand them, and shows great empathy to their struggle. His description of Robert's feverish trek through a bombed out German town left me floored and dizzy.
I wonder if I would have given this 4 stars had I not just finished Yates' Revolutionary Road. Perhaps this is a good solid novel but it just faded next to that one. His characters, as in RR, are certainly drawn with great sympathy and artistry.
Another genuine 5-starer, this novel talks of solitude, unflinching courage, self-doubt.... life.
A selfish mother who loves her son and yet cannot "get it together" for his sake; a son who is determined to grow and become a man despite her misgivings and desperate need to latch on. A war novel, with all the adventure of any, yet still primarily about humanity.
A selfish mother who loves her son and yet cannot "get it together" for his sake; a son who is determined to grow and become a man despite her misgivings and desperate need to latch on. A war novel, with all the adventure of any, yet still primarily about humanity.
I'm starting to feel that if you've read one book by Yates, you've kind of read them all. It seems as if he's only ever created two or three characters; each book they just find themselves in new situations with a slightly different back story. Somehow, though, I am not completely bored by them because Yates has rendered them so truly human.
The main problem with this book is that it is more like two novellas loosely and lazily tied together. The story of Bobby's time in WWII is go...more
The main problem with this book is that it is more like two novellas loosely and lazily tied together. The story of Bobby's time in WWII is go...more
I picked up this book based on the quality reading I experienced with Revolutionary Road. This novel didn't quite blow my mind the way RR did, but it was a fascinating read, nonetheless. I found myself reminiscing about the relationship I had with my own mother, and contemplating the parallels. Futhermore, it was a different side to the WWII genre from what I have previously read, which has been more directly heroic, or awe-inspiring.
Thus completes my reading of Yate's novels. Kind of sad that this one was the last to be read, wished I could have finished with one of his better works.
What's Yates got against the arts? This is the second book I've read by him where art comes off as a life choice for dilettantes.
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This is the best Yates novel I've read since Revolutionary Road.
Love it, love it, love it. Could reflect today's world.
Loved this. It's almost a happy ending (for one character) by Yates standards.
The story about Bobby Prentice- his mother (a divorced- wandering- overbearing mother)- and their lives together and apart. At Nineteen- Bobby finds himself in the army- and ultimately in the European theatre towards the end of WWII. Bobby struggles with becoming a man- at least in his vision of what a man should be and his mothers struggles with letting go of Bobby- which she ultimately does at a huge cost to her self.
I love Yates; everyone is always in a mid-life crisis and searching for meaning. Sometimes the people get a little self-centered, but the questions they ask apply to all of us.
Yates is an amazing writer, of course, but overall, I can't say I enjoyed it.
Becoming entranced in this novel took a while, but once it hooked me, I couldn't put it down. Yates manages to capture war, youth, aging, divorce, dreams, and disappointments without becoming overly sentimental or excessively cynical. The result is a beautifully crafted novel, one I'd read again.
As Yates always does, this book finds a way to be utterly depressing without you really realizing it.
This may deserve a better rating, but I can not help but compare any of his works to his masterpiece, Revolutionary Road. The novel is a solid one that really captures people and experiences in a true way.
What can I say? Something in Yates speaks to me. I've now read three novels and have about three to go to figure out what it is...
What, I'm gonna rate Yates less than EXCELLENT? Excellent.
Just finished--the last paragraph is devastating.
muthers...geesh
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Richard Yates, or Dickie, shone bright upon the publication of his first novel, Revolutionary Road, which was nominated for the National Book Award in 1961. It drew unbridled praise and branded Yates an important, new writer. Kurt Vonnegut claimed that Revolutionary Road was The Great Gatsby of his time. William Sytron described it as "A deft, ironic, beautiful novel that deserves to be a ...more
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