Monday, April 16, 2012

Ten of the best Aprils in literature

At the Guardian, John Mullan named ten of the best Aprils in literature.

One book on the list:
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates

One of Yates's ruthless strokes in this study of a decaying marriage is in the naming of the idealising, deluded wife. April Wheeler is married to Frank, in suburban Connecticut. She dreams of moving to Paris while he commutes to New York and has an affair with a girl at the office. This April is doomed.
Read about another entry on the list.

Revolutionary Road also appears on Selma Dabbagh's top ten list of stories of reluctant revolutionaries, Jenny Eclair's six best books list, Laura Dave's list of books that improve on re-reading, Tad Friend's seven best fiction books about WASPs, and James P. Othmer's list of six great novels on work.

--Marshal Zeringue