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A review by charliepritchard1996
A Special Providence by Richard Yates
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.