Richard Yates
The movie "Revolutionary Road," which reunites Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, is bringing a new spate of attention to Richard Yates, the author of the 1962 novel. Yates' first comeback occurred about five years ago, following an appreciation of his work by Stuart O'Nan, Blake Bailey's biography and the publication of Yates' "Collected Stories."
A haunted alcoholic with a range of health problems, Yates died in 1992, one of the long list of writers who dies believing himself a failure, but then his work reaches posthumous classic status. The prototype of course is John Keats, and the roster includes Melville and Fitzgerald.
"Revolutionary Road" is an outstanding novel, holding its own against its fellow National Book Award nominees of 1962, Walker Percy's "The Moviegoer" and Joseph Heller's "Catch 22." Yates' book is quieter than the others, more traditional in some ways, yes, less "revolutionary." But its quiet authority, memorable characters, subtle writing, well-calibrated plot give it lasting value.
Although the novel achieves masterpiece quality, Yates, like John Cheever, was more of a short-story writer. His haunting stories show the despair, heartbreak and spiritual neediness behind the postwar optimism. Perhaps the movie's popularity will lead more to the writer's work. Or, as is more likely, he'll remain on the shelf for all but a few, one of those "writer's writers" whose work is fated to more lauded by other writers than read by ordinary readers.
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