Richard Yates Podcast

I've just listened to a superb podcast about Revolutionary Road, which you can download here. The presenter Ramona Koval interviewed two guests: Blake Bailey, the author of a highly acclaimed biography of Richard Yates and Stuart O'Nan, whose 1999 Boston Review article about Yates has been credited with spearheading the author's revival.

Both Bailey and O'Nan made two very quotable comments about Revolutionary Road, which succinctly sum-up the novel's appeal:

"It's not about the American suburbs. It's about the terrifying gulf between who we are and who we wish we were." - Blake Bailey

"It's about that fear of being exposed for the average person that you are." - Stuart O'Nan

Age before beauty

This is the enduring image I have of Richard Yates whenever I read his novels. Most publicity shots feature Yates in his sixties, looking like a hairier, unhappier incarnation of Gore Vidal.

Thank you to the Guardian for publishing, last weekend, this photo of the young Richard Yates, when he still had something to smile about: