Revolutionary Road

By: Richard Yates

Narrated by: Mark Bramhall

Length: 11 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • Frank and April Wheeler are a bright, beautiful, talented couple in the 1950s whose perfect suburban life is about to crumble in this "moving and absorbing story” (The Atlantic Monthly) from one of the most acclaimed writers of the twentieth century.

"The Great Gatsby of my time...one of the best books by a member of my generation." —Kurt Vonnegut, acclaimed author of Slaughterhouse-Five

Perhaps Frank and April Wheeler married too young and started a family too early. Maybe Frank's job is dull. And April never saw herself as a housewife. Yet they have always lived on the assumption that greatness is only just around the corner. But now that certainty is about to unravel. With heartbreaking compassion and remorseless clarity, Richard Yates shows how Frank and April mortgage their spiritual birthright, betraying not only each other, but their best selves.

In his introduction to this edition, novelist Richard Ford pays homage to the lasting influence and enduring power of Revolutionary Road.

©2000 Richard Yates (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“A powerful treatment of a characteristically American theme, which might be labeled ‘trapped.' ... A highly impressive performance. It is written with perception, force and awareness of complexity and ambiguity, and it tells a moving and absorbing story.” —The Atlantic Monthly

"The Great Gatsby of my time ... one of the best books by a member of my generation." —Kurt Vonnegut, acclaimed author of Slaughterhouse-Five

"Beautifully crafted ... a remarkable and deeply troubling book." —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Wow

Yates was doing suburban malaise decades before people were talking about the latest Mad Men episode (not to bash Mad Men... love that, too). His characters and dialogue are sharp and drip with subtext.
Excellent book and reader.

Honest

Revolutionary Road is honestly written. The writing is clean and to the point, and the characters seem real. Though the story is very serious, the book has lots of humor. Yates was a masterful author.

Superbly written, excellently narrated.

Without a doubt, one of the best books I've read. Richard Yates is a master of the written word. Some of the chapters of this book will stay with me forever.

Amazing Listen

Beautifully written and exquisitely narrated, this book is captivating. Though the story is not uplifting, the characters are real and their plight is familiar nearly 50 years after the story was written. While it would be easy for the listener to judge the Wheelers and the Campbells harshly, to do so would be to fall into the same trap that captured them.

Perfect audiobook

Brilliant performance, really loved the audiobook; the story is chilling and fascinating at the same time.

Great novel and narrator

The best novel about middle-class life and anxieties since Madame Bovary. The narration is great too: Mark Bramhall's rendition of the characters is completely spot-on (and often hilarious).

Our unfulfilled lives

This is a wonderful novel, one that beautifully captures the resignation, hopelessness, and cowardice that often comes with settling down. Yates is brilliant writer and Mark Bramhall's narration is truly first rate. Highly recommended. #Matrimony #MidLife #Tagsgiving #Sweepstakes

Haunting!

These characters are so fragile and damaged. It was painful at times.....so close to home! This 1960's "perfect" suburbia family crumbles right before your eyes. Each one is as "dysfuntional" as the other. I didn't like the ending but sadly it is very real and believable.

Beautiful, Ironic and timeless...

Although the plot is captivating and despite the fact the fine writing makes the book easily accessible - Revolutinary Road is not an "easy listen".
The book provides a painful "picture window" to the human soul trpped in it's search of normalcy and safety, while yearning for something different, and while alienating it's true needs and emotions.
From a literary point of view, this book is actually a modern, readable, American version of Decadence Movement literature, only less moralizing and much more reliable and touching.
It's not only thought provoking and highly relevant to the age of middle class to me it was and exciting read/listen.

Highly recommended along with "Things" (by Georges Perec), "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" (C.McCullers), Motion Picture: "Splendor in the Grass" and "American Pastoral" (by Philip Roth).

Great performance / below average story

The narrator gives a wonderful performance, this would be the only reason I would recommend this audiobook to anyone.