I couldn't decide whether this was a 4 or a 5. I found the beginning a little lagging, but the ending really brought it home. Some regurgitate themes and plot points from other works (*cough Bellevue), but still a great read. Well, that's the last Yates novel I have to read. Only the last collection of stories. But Yates has quickly become a new favourite. One of those authors whose whole bibliography is amazing, and I will always devour. ( )

This book is generally well reviewed, so my expectations were fairly high. It was my introduction to Yates, and it has not encouraged me to continue with his other works. The female characters just didn't work for me; they seemed to be barely distinguishable. And eventually I just had to laugh at the way every woman Michael Davenport met instantly became his lover, even though he appears to view females as prey whose only value is their appearance. ( )

This was classic Yates - fractured lives and relationships coupled with superb writing. His subject matters are often similar to Updike's, but I feel there is always a little more redemption in his characters, and they tend to be a victim of circumstances more than their own weak morals as so many of Updike's protagonists are.

I don't think it's my favourite Yates, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. A master at work.

4 stars - if only I could learn a tenth of what Yates achieved in writing. Sigh. ( )

Interesting times, and characters involved in issues which are specific to the times and the positions they either want for themselves or find themselves in. People meet, communicate, have relationships and drift appart, over and over again. A sentence from the end of the book sums it all up, really - "Essentially, we are all alone." ( )

A longer, more structurally adventurous version of Revolutionary Road, I suppose, with a more engaging wife, and a longer time-frame. The couple in question really age in this book, and actually learn something! Remarkable. I think this might be a more English department book than RR as well- lots of interlinking irony and formal trickery. I'm fine with that, some people probably aren't. In fact, I think I could eventually be convinced that this is the better novel. In any case, I hope people start writing these kinds of books again: none of the characters have obscure mental illnesses; they are all actually old enough to have the thoughts they have; nothing magical happens; nothing quirky happens. Fingers crossed. ( )