I was expecting more after hearing about the movie but was disappointed in this book. Not very entertaining. Sad, depressing and so slow. This was the case to the end. Will still view the movie to see how the book gets interpreted.

The writing is beautiful, but the passage of time has weakened the story. It was, without a doubt, a powerhouse when it was first published.

I listened to this book on CD. Not such a great reader which of course influenced mine perception of the whole story. Mostly, I could have done without this one.

I thought the overall writing was very good; the characters were well written; it was a sad narrative with little hope in the end but it rang true. Yates didn't try to give the reader a happy ending but a true ending.

I think we will have interesting dicussions as we analyze the characters and the choices they made. All we who did not live in that era have to see of it is the TV reruns, not an idyllic era and this book supports and destroys that idea.

A sad depressing story written beautifully.

Some have said that Richard Yates’ books is an indictment of marriage, suburbia, or both. Yates himself said in an interview that it is actually more about aborted dreams.

Frank and April are young and successful suburbanites with two children. Well, successful to others, but not to themselves. Frank hates his job and finds it excruciatingly boring. April hates the suburbs and finds her life as a wife and mother excruciatingly boring. When the couple (mostly April) devise a plan to get out of their present circumstances, they seem to relax and enjoy each other again — until a few glitches come their way.

My sisters and I read this together for our bookclub, and I have also seen the movie so it was interesting to compare the two. While the book was mostly from Frank’s and their neighbor Shep’s points of view, the movie had more of April and Mrs. Givings’ perspective. Also the endings were a bit different.

I found the book to be well-written but depressing. It’s definitely thought-provoking.