Revolutionary road
by Richard Yates · first published 1961
70% recommend30% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Sharp, unsparing portrait of a 1950s suburban marriage and the gap between self-image and reality; readers praise its emotional honesty and look at identity and purpose. Suits fans of mid-century American fiction.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"A deft, ironic, beautiful novel that deserves to be a classic." --William StyronFrom the moment of its publication in 1961, Revolutionary Road was hailed as a masterpiece of realistic fiction and as the most evocative portrayal of the opulent desolation of the American suburbs. It's the story of Frank and April Wheeler, a bright, beautiful, and talented couple who have lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each
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…edition. 3) The Odyssey. Iliad's a bit of a bore, but with a few incredible scenes that really stick with you. The Odyssey, though, is great. Screw the haters, even the "Telemachy" portion is good. 4) Revolutionary Road by Yates, for a certain kind of struggle with identity & purpose that I suspect will resonate and provide a useful mirror for lots of folks on here. 5) Woolf's To the Lighthouse is probably my favorite…
on “Ask HN: What are some must read books?” ↗…Moveable Feast (Ernest Hemingway) My personal favorite (along with his short stories, which I highly recommend), but if it's your first time reading Hemingway, might be better to go with The Sun Also Rises. Revolutionary Road (Richard Yates) On the Road (Jack Kerouac) *One of my personal favorites, but most people either love or hate it, so maybe save this towards the end. On my own reading list: Speedboat (Renata Adler)…
on “Ask HN: I have no commitments for the next 6 months – what books should I read?” ↗Read 34 books (and audiobooks, I guess that counts) so far this year. Best have been Fiction: - Revolutionary road by Richard Yates - Anathem by Neal Stephenson - Silence by Shusaku Endo Non fiction: - Atomic Habits by James Clear - Man’s search for Meaning by Viktor E Frankl
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best books you have read in 2022?” ↗…Gergen and Gregg Vanourek (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0787988626/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...) - applying and expanding the principles of entrepreneurship to your life as a whole, not just your business. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307454622/ref=ox_ya_oh_pro...) - I thought the movie was great, and this book is great too, in a different way. The writing is clean and evocative,…
on “Ask HN: Great books you read in 2009?” ↗Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road is an excellent exploration of a couple with aspirations that don't match reality and/or their willingness to work to achieve what they want. Great narrative voice that manages to be detached and matter-of-fact…
on “Positive Fantasies About the Future Predict Symptoms of Depression” ↗…http://slatestarcodex.com/2016/07/18/pushing-and-pulling-goa... It's becoming neglected at this point, but the archives are solid: http://thelastpsychiatrist.com Helps one cultivate a little perspective and introspection. Maybe read Yates' Revolutionary Road. TL;DR is that having a self image and/or dreams that don't match your actual ambition, commitment, and situation is fucking poisonous. Read the novel though, if you've got time. Think about how you…
on “Ask HN: When you feel stuck in life” ↗Try Richard Yates' Revolutionary Road (1961). It reads almost like it could have been written today. Definitely deserves to be more popular.
on “The Premium Mediocre Life of Maya Millenial” ↗"Revolutionary Road", by Richard Yates. Because it uncovers the greatest conspiracy of our time. Also "The Moviegoer" by Walker Percy, for the same reason. The real so called "mindfuck" comes when what you read unravels…
on “List of books that will induce a mindfuck” ↗1) Not new. 2) Not just for remote workers. Check out Revolutionary Road by Yates for someone writing about it in the context of a recognizably modern office environment of the late 50s / early 60s (book published in 1961). The whole work-side portion of that book revolves…
on “'Boreout' Is the New 'Burnout' for Remote Workers” ↗…last attempt, anyway. The Things they Carried by O'Brien is up next after Graeber, probably, on recommendation (and loan) from a friend. I haven't read it recently, but I feel compelled to recommend Revolutionary Road by Yates at every opportunity.
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days?” ↗Franny and Zooey -- Salinger Mostly by introducing me to the Stoics (Aurelius especially) and a variety of Eastern, especially Zen Buddhist, works. Revolutionary Road -- Yates Yay, mentioned that one in two threads today and it's not even noon yet! A History of Western Philosophy -- Russell Vonnegut in general. Bluebeard serves as a good overview of his major themes…
on “Ask HN: What are the books that changed the perspective of your life?” ↗Revolutionary Road[1] by Richard Yates, published 1961, prominently features passages about how useless most of the jobs in the protagonist's office are, including his. Aside from the specifics of how the office operates…
on “The Growth of Administrative Staff in Universities” ↗Nothing new. The protagonist of the 1961 novel Revolutionary Road[1] by Richard Yates works a job that's mostly just figuring out ways to send stuff from his INBOX to other people with the right kind of notes on it to either delay its coming back for another day or…
on “The Great Productivity Puzzle” ↗…place and say, Look. You can have my body and my nice college-boy smile for so many hours a day, in exchange for so many dollars, and beyond that we’ll leave each other strictly alone." - Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road, 1961 I don't wanna go dig through my copy to find it right now, but there's also a pretty long bit where he describes how most of the "work" that most of the "workers" at his (the character, Frank Wheeler's)…
on “Bitcoin has little shot at ever being a major global currency” ↗…"No," and some had been through the "File & Follow" cycle as many as three or four times; some, bearing notes like "Frank—might look into this," were the gifts of men who used him as he used Small — from Revolutionary Road, Richard Yates, any errors probably mine from transcription.
on “The Growth of Administrative Staff in Universities” ↗