March book: Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates Book Description: Revolutionary Road is a novel about Frank and April, a 20-something, suburban couple in the 1950s. They seem to be a 'model couple', but both had loftier hopes for their lives, and feel a sense of failure with where they ended up. What we discussed about the book: Overall, everyone really liked the book - and felt it provided interesting insights into life 'under the surface' in the 1950s. We talked about passions, and whether we thought the book was making the comment that you can always follow your dreams, or if it's inevitable that you won't reach them. We also talked about the concept of 'the grass is always greener' and wondered if Frank and April would have been happy regardless of their situation. Most of us agreed that both Frank and April were selfish and self-absorbed, and that they thought they were 'so much better' than everyone else. Everything began to fall apart when they realised that they weren't! We all agreed that the book itself wasn't actually about the era of the 50s...that the basis of the story could have been picked up and placed in almost any era, with similar themes always relevant. Who we would cast in the movie version of the book: It was a little too hard to get past the actors who appeared in the recent movie! And then we were sidetracked into: The conversation then degenerated and I didn't take any notes of that! And in other news: Ratings average: 7.6 Ratings range: 7 - 9 (3 DNRs) Jacqui's trifle (with homemade custard) got a 9/10!
