The Universe is Telling Me Something

I recently read Revolutionary Road, by Richard Yates.

I had never heard of this book until I was reading Blue Shoe, by Anne Lamott, and one of the characters mentioned it. I got a wild hare and requested RR through the library and read it in just a couple of days.

So, more than usual with me, the reading of this novel was the result of a completely random occurrence. No friend recommended it, I didn't read a review of it, nor did I have to read it for school.

So then I'm reading my latest Entertainment Weekly (Hermione's on the cover!!!!!! Harry Potter trivia!!!!!!) and I see that Revolutionary Road is being made into a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (big news, because it's a Titanic reunion, o' course).

Isn't that strange that I would have read the book within weeks of the movie being announced? The book was written in 1961, so it's not like it's Oprah's latest choice or anything. Very odd.

As for the novel--I highly recommend it. It comes with cover blurbs from Tennessee Williams, Kurt Vonnegut, and William Styron hailing it as a masterpiece and a classic. It explores the post-WWII lives of the children of the 1920's, a generation I'd never though much about. Full of black humor, tragedy, and ennui, it's not for the faint-of-heart, but was thought-provoking and is still with me weeks after reading it.