Supposed to be a great book by an unfairly ignored author, for me it fell somewhat flat. Frank Galiani would delet...moreSomewhat of a disappointment, this.
Supposed to be a great book by an unfairly ignored author, for me it fell somewhat flat. Frank Galiani would delete "somewhat" as a weasel word, but I intend to weasel. I finished the book without effort, but my zeal in doing so was quite dilute. Rather than being a page turner, it was a "how many pages until the end?" book.
None of the characters gained a sympathetic response from me. Not nice people -- sometimes pitiful, but not appealing. I didn't much care what happened to them, curious I was,but not caring. Also, I found a lack of motivation in both the main characters, a husband and wife, for some of their choices and actions.
This book is hyped as a window into the '50s. It is not. It is the story of a dysfunctional family that could have happened at any time, in any place. This is in contrast, for example, to Sloan Wilson's, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" and TV's "Mad Men." Those are the '50s. Just having characters smoke bushels of cigarettes and drink strong spirits by the bucketful is not enough.
When I added my name to the reserve list for "Revolutionary Road" at the public library, I did so with the desire to read the book before I saw the film, but now I'm not even interested in seeing the film. Surely, that says it all. (less)
Loading...
