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erinth's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
A Special Providence is about the danger of using dreams to sustain oneself. They escape us, don't come to fruition, and often depend on other people. This is a recurring theme across Yates' work. In Rev Road, the characters fledgingly sustain themselves (until their ultimate destruction) with their dream of moving to Europe. In Cold Spring Harbour and The Easter Parade 'love' or the family unit is the false idol and in Young Hearts Crying, it is Michael Davenport's feeling of his own grandiosity, a false assuredness in his talent.
Once again, we see alcohol employed by the characters as an antidote to life. Like their dreams, the booze allows them to slip into self-deception. 'Everything is going to be just fine!'
Hollowness of lives and social relations is a recurrent theme. Everything's phoney. Yes, the characters, the couples are dining and drinking together at table. But in Rev Road and YHC, characters are secretly admiring their guest's or host's partner instead of their own. In relationships that just 'happen', the ones in which you just go through the motions and wake up one day and ask 'How did I get here?', you cannot even trust your own partner.
Social life and life amongst others as a masquerade. Prentice becomes sorely aware of this during his time in the army in ASP. I don't know when exactly the point was in my own life that I first began to divine this. But I'm so thoroughly convinced of this fact that I can't bear to take part in any occasion (most) that feel like this – it's absolutely suffocating.
Once again, we see alcohol employed by the characters as an antidote to life. Like their dreams, the booze allows them to slip into self-deception. 'Everything is going to be just fine!'
Hollowness of lives and social relations is a recurrent theme. Everything's phoney. Yes, the characters, the couples are dining and drinking together at table. But in Rev Road and YHC, characters are secretly admiring their guest's or host's partner instead of their own. In relationships that just 'happen', the ones in which you just go through the motions and wake up one day and ask 'How did I get here?', you cannot even trust your own partner.
Social life and life amongst others as a masquerade. Prentice becomes sorely aware of this during his time in the army in ASP. I don't know when exactly the point was in my own life that I first began to divine this. But I'm so thoroughly convinced of this fact that I can't bear to take part in any occasion (most) that feel like this – it's absolutely suffocating.
cemoses's review
5.0
I enjoyed this book alot though parts were slow. I thought the character of the mother was very unusual in that in the 1930's she puts her soon through alot of misery because she thinks she will be a great artist.
tstuppy's review against another edition
5.0
Read once 7/30/12
Reread 1/23/16
This is a fantastic book. It's very Yates-ian--a deep look at a calamitous relationship. I love it because it is a voice I love and a story that reminds me of All Quiet on the Western Front. The story of this mother and son ties me up in knots.
Reread 1/23/16
This is a fantastic book. It's very Yates-ian--a deep look at a calamitous relationship. I love it because it is a voice I love and a story that reminds me of All Quiet on the Western Front. The story of this mother and son ties me up in knots.
pino_sabatelli's review against another edition
3.0
Tre stelle e mezza.
Pur trattandosi, a mio avviso, di un’opera sottotono rispetto al resto della produzione yatesiana, direi anzi la sua meno riuscita, siamo comunque su livelli qualitativi inarrivabili ai più.
La recensione completa su http://www.ifioridelpeggio.com/chi-nasce-tondo-sotto-una-buona-stella-di-richard-yates/
Pur trattandosi, a mio avviso, di un’opera sottotono rispetto al resto della produzione yatesiana, direi anzi la sua meno riuscita, siamo comunque su livelli qualitativi inarrivabili ai più.
La recensione completa su http://www.ifioridelpeggio.com/chi-nasce-tondo-sotto-una-buona-stella-di-richard-yates/
atticrat's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thisotherbookaccount's review against another edition
3.0
The order by which you read your favourite author's books is very important because if, like me, you begin with Richard Yates' best work ([I]Revolutionary Road[/I]), then follow it up with his second-best work ([I]The Easter Parade[/I]), then everything else after that is going to be a disappointment to some degree, or at least a few steps down in terms of quality. Over the years, I have been devouring Yates' books, and with [I]A Special Providence[/I], I believe I have come to the end of the journey. OK, I haven't read [I]A Good School[/I], but it also doesn't seem worthwhile? I don't know, we will see.
FOR NOW, A Special Providence will likely be the last Yates book I will read in a long time — or at least until I cycle back to the beginning, anyway. I cannot say that I ended the journey on a high, since I started it in the stratosphere, but there are a lot of fantastic things in here. In fact, I daresay that [I]A Special Providence[/I] is a lot better than some readers give it credit for.
For one, it is a departure from the usual archetypes that Yates is comfortable with. Yes, the two main characters are still sad, disillusioned individuals trying to navigate the pre- and post-war eras. Whatever you enjoy in Yates' other books are still well and alive here. However, unlike his other books, Yates seems to have made a conscious effort to depart from his formula. Instead of a marriage in dissolution, we have the complicated relationship between a troubled mother and her son; instead of the suburbs, huge chunks of this book is set in Europe, specifically during WWII. I think there is something commendable to say about Yates, who dared to stray out of his comfort zone to write about something so drastically different.
With that said, even though I do applaud the effort, the result is less than stellar. The third act of the book, which goes to great lengths to describe the son's experiences in war, is mundane and repetitive to say the least. I mean, that's the WHOLE POINT of the character's arc — wanting to make something for himself, but somehow always on the periphery of action. However, the third part of the book just dragged, and I thought it was more than enough to establish the irony when the son is admitted to the hospital, right before the heat of battle, due to pneumonia — somewhat reminiscent of Sam Mendes] 2005 film, Jarhead. I thought Yates nailed the message right on the head in the first third, and really added the last third because the publisher thought it'd be a good idea to add a bit more 'action' (in a Yates book? Come on!).
Outside of the European battlefields, though, I love how pathetic Alice, the mother, is throughout the book. She is the quintessential Yates character here; the one who's always trying to 'make it' with her artistic endeavours, always trying to live off other people, and generally just being an awful human being. Her chapters truly shine in this book and are what kept me going towards the end of the book.
FOR NOW, A Special Providence will likely be the last Yates book I will read in a long time — or at least until I cycle back to the beginning, anyway. I cannot say that I ended the journey on a high, since I started it in the stratosphere, but there are a lot of fantastic things in here. In fact, I daresay that [I]A Special Providence[/I] is a lot better than some readers give it credit for.
For one, it is a departure from the usual archetypes that Yates is comfortable with. Yes, the two main characters are still sad, disillusioned individuals trying to navigate the pre- and post-war eras. Whatever you enjoy in Yates' other books are still well and alive here. However, unlike his other books, Yates seems to have made a conscious effort to depart from his formula. Instead of a marriage in dissolution, we have the complicated relationship between a troubled mother and her son; instead of the suburbs, huge chunks of this book is set in Europe, specifically during WWII. I think there is something commendable to say about Yates, who dared to stray out of his comfort zone to write about something so drastically different.
With that said, even though I do applaud the effort, the result is less than stellar. The third act of the book, which goes to great lengths to describe the son's experiences in war, is mundane and repetitive to say the least. I mean, that's the WHOLE POINT of the character's arc — wanting to make something for himself, but somehow always on the periphery of action. However, the third part of the book just dragged, and I thought it was more than enough to establish the irony when the son is admitted to the hospital, right before the heat of battle, due to pneumonia — somewhat reminiscent of Sam Mendes] 2005 film, Jarhead. I thought Yates nailed the message right on the head in the first third, and really added the last third because the publisher thought it'd be a good idea to add a bit more 'action' (in a Yates book? Come on!).
Outside of the European battlefields, though, I love how pathetic Alice, the mother, is throughout the book. She is the quintessential Yates character here; the one who's always trying to 'make it' with her artistic endeavours, always trying to live off other people, and generally just being an awful human being. Her chapters truly shine in this book and are what kept me going towards the end of the book.
miloup's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
charliepritchard1996's review against another edition
4.0
‘What had he done, after all, except to fall asleep on the ridge, to miss out on all the combat, to break a radio, to please an old woman - and even (Jesus!) to admire himself in a mirror?’
Published eight years after his outstanding debut ‘Revolutionary Road’, Richard Yates’s second novel ‘A Special Providence’ offers something completely different, with the dual perspectives of the the 18 year-old Bobby (in wartime Europe) and his mother Alice (in New York).
It is an endearing story of shattering illusions, hopes and dreams seen from two utterly contrasting viewpoints. There is a departure from setting the novel solely in suburban America as Yates takes to the battlefields of World War Two Europe to embark upon Bobby’s coming-of-age journey. Yates’s familiar depiction of American aspiration are seen through the lens of Alice, who deludes herself of a promising sculpting career. This, for me, is where the novel is at its most absorbing. Her journey with a younger Bobby is full of promise but ultimately results in adversity.
I enjoyed elements of Bobby’s journey, but I thought Yates could have done better in making this part of the plot more readable. This being said, Yates’s point is to convey Bobby’s disappointment in not becoming a heroic soldier and to hammer home the dark realities of war. To understand this is to truly appreciate the novel.
Overall, I thought that it was a great story with plenty of beautiful prose and fantastic character development. Although the novel was not quite as excellent as ‘Revolutionary Road’, Yates is quickly becoming my favourite novelist and I’m absolutely looking forward to purchasing his later works.
Published eight years after his outstanding debut ‘Revolutionary Road’, Richard Yates’s second novel ‘A Special Providence’ offers something completely different, with the dual perspectives of the the 18 year-old Bobby (in wartime Europe) and his mother Alice (in New York).
It is an endearing story of shattering illusions, hopes and dreams seen from two utterly contrasting viewpoints. There is a departure from setting the novel solely in suburban America as Yates takes to the battlefields of World War Two Europe to embark upon Bobby’s coming-of-age journey. Yates’s familiar depiction of American aspiration are seen through the lens of Alice, who deludes herself of a promising sculpting career. This, for me, is where the novel is at its most absorbing. Her journey with a younger Bobby is full of promise but ultimately results in adversity.
I enjoyed elements of Bobby’s journey, but I thought Yates could have done better in making this part of the plot more readable. This being said, Yates’s point is to convey Bobby’s disappointment in not becoming a heroic soldier and to hammer home the dark realities of war. To understand this is to truly appreciate the novel.
Overall, I thought that it was a great story with plenty of beautiful prose and fantastic character development. Although the novel was not quite as excellent as ‘Revolutionary Road’, Yates is quickly becoming my favourite novelist and I’m absolutely looking forward to purchasing his later works.