Thursday, May 08, 2014

Five top books for "Mad Men" fans

One title on the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five top books on the Mad Men milieu:
Revolutionary Road
by Richard Yates

Frank and April Wheeler, the successful but profoundly unhappy couple at the core of Richard Yates's visceral 1961 novel, could be called the proto-Don and Betty Draper. April's failures as an actress-turned bored housewife echo former model Betty's ennui, and Frank's philandering and workday angst ring true to the smoldering anger beneath Don's cool veneer. This tragedy of the suburbs is not for the faint of heart, but earns its somber tone with pitch-perfect capture of post-war America's voices.
Read about another book on the list.

Revolutionary Road also appears on Hanna McGrath's list of five fictional characters who tell it like it is, John Mullan's list of ten of the best Aprils in literature, 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