Book Review: Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates

Title: Revolutionary Road
Author: Richard Yates
Pages: 463
Format: Paperback
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Star Rating: 5/5
Network: Goodreads | Shelfari | LibraryThing
Buy: Amazon

My Summary: April and Frank Wheeler, along with their two children, aren't really suited to suburban life in 1955 America. Frank has a job where he doesn't really have to do (much of) anything, and April was never really suited to the life of a house wife. They want something bigger, and something better. There's only one thing standing in their way....

My Review:  This book is amazing, and you should read it. This book challenged me to think about my preconceived ideas of what it must have been to live during the 1950s and I have been changed by a fascinating and skillful narrative that I will never forget. I know, finishing this story, that April and Frank Wheeler will stay with me.

Revolutionary Road is undeniably a sad book. You may feel horror, revulsion, disillusionment when reading this novel. I believe that is how Yates intended the story to be read. But if you let it, this is the kind of book that comes along so very rarely: it is a book that will take you along with it, based purely on the reality of the story and the people in it.

More after the jump! (May contain spoilers!)

Book Review: Glenn Beck's Common Sense, by Glenn Beck

Title: Glenn Beck's Common Sense: The Case Against an Out-of-Control Government, Inspired by Thomas Paine
Author: Glenn Beck
Pages: 174
Format: Paperback
Genre: Government/Politics
Star Rating: 5/5
Network: Goodreads | Shelfari | Librarything
Buy: Amazon

My Summary: Glenn Beck's Common Sense is a straightforward look at the policies of the American Government. Based on the original document penned by Thomas Paine, Glenn Beck offers Americans an opportunity to return to our common sense roots while illustrating the faults in the current logic being used by politicians in Washington.

My Thoughts: I am generally a fan of Glenn Beck and try to take time out every day to watch his program on Fox News. I agree with his conservative viewpoints and his assertions. Regardless, this book wasn't quite what I expected from him.

In Glenn Beck's Common Sense, Beck doesn't attack one political party or the other: instead, he makes a case against the out-of-control spending currently going on in Washington. Although he is a libertarian, Glenn Beck evenhandedly attacks both political parties, including George W. Bush and Barack Obama. 

While I don't agree with everything that he said in this book (for example, a three party system would likely fail in the United States), I believe that he has done well to bring common sense back to the masses, if they are willing to read his book with an open mind.

Every American should read this book, including the second half, which is the original writing by Thomas Paine.

Book Review: What's Eating Gilbert Grape, by Peter Hedges

Warning: What's Eating Gilbert Grape is on my favorites list. My review may be considered slightly skewed by my love for this book. Consider yourself warned.

I read What's Eating Gilbert Grape, by Peter Hedges, when I was fifteen years old and the movie had recently been released. Because I'm just that kind of person, I wanted to read the book first and then see what the movie was like. Being a huge fan of both Johnny Depp and Leonardo Dicaprio, I knew that I had to see the movie (and would ultimately be disappointed by it) so the book simply had to come first.

I loved this book right from the outset. During the period of my life when I first read What's Eating Gilbert Grape I was in love with first person narrative, and Gilbert is an excellent narrator! He has a unique perspective on life and on his off-the-wall family, from his morbidly obese mother (who is caving the floor in), to portly Amy and sixteen year-old boy-crazy Ellen: and of course, who can forget retarded Arnie, who is eighteen but wasn't supposed to live past ten?

"I just wanna see my boy turn eighteen. Is that too much to ask?" Gilbert's mother repeats these words like a mantra, driving Gilbert to distraction. All he wants is to get out of his small Iowa town and move up in the world, but he stays at home, helping to hold the last parts of his family together.

This is a book about families and relationships, about the importance of loving one another and of holding onto the things that really matter. It's a realistic look at small-town life. What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a very touching and enduring book. Of all the books I've ever read, none has stayed with me the way that Peter Hedge's debut novel has.

I believe that you will love this book.

You can get your copy of What's Eating Gilbert Grape on Amazon.