Country Mouse/City Mouse: Suburbia and New York in the works of John O'Hara and Richard Yates

1. “Appointment in Samarra”, 1934

Set in 1930, in the town of Gibbsville, Pennsylvania. At the center of the town’s social elite stands young couple Julian and Caroline English. But in one rash and fateful moment, Julian breaks with society and his self-destruction is rapid. Over the course of three days, Julian engages in a series of seemingly senseless impulsive acts through which he damages his reputation, relationship with his wife, his business, and himself. The title is a reference to W. Somerset Maugham's retelling of a story, which appears as an epigraph for the novel.

2. “Revolutionary Road,” 1961

Presently an Oscar candidate in several categories for its film adaptation, this was Richard Yates’ first novel. Set in 1955, this focuses on young Connecticut couple April and Frank Wheeler, who believe they can have a different fate than their neighbors, living emotionless lives in a drab suburban landscape. They decide to move to Paris to live out their dreams, but this bold decision is shortly followed by the deterioration of their relationship. They are ultimately unable to escape their banal existence, destroying each other in the process.

3. “Butterfield 8”, 1935

Set in New York City in the early 1930s, during Prohibition, this is based on a true story: the body of a beautiful young woman was found washed-up on a Long Island beach, and it was never verified whether it was an accident, she murdered or se committed suicide. In “Butterfield 8”, Gloria is a beautiful but promiscuous young woman. Often finding herself in the apartments of strange men or in local speakeasies, near the beginning of the Gloria makes a decision that leads to a chain of seemingly unstoppable events finally leading her onto a boat in the dead of the night. More importantly than the whodunit nature of the “Butterfield 8” is the underbelly of New York that is revealed, and that of a society still reeling from the effects of the Great Depression.


4. “The Easter Parade”, 1976

Set in primarily in New York City and its boroughs, between the 1930s and 1970s, this tracks the lives of sisters Emily and Sarah Grimes who share little in character but are both destined for disappointment. The novel opens: "Neither of the Grimes sisters would have a happy life…” Emily, the more intellectual sister, remains in the city after college, moving from failed love affair to failed love affair. Sarah’s trajectory, less closely tracked, takes her out of the city and into a life of abuse, during. The sisters drift together and apart over the years, with the city as a backdrop, unable to save themselves, or aid the other in their suffering.


Commentary: While O’Hara’s two novels are set during the Depression, in a world that lucks luster because the glitter is gone and the times are tough and Yates’ are set in the ‘50s, a time of stagnation and internal change for the nation, all four of these novels deal with the American Dream and its loss. All follow characters that either wrestle with the search for meaning in a banal life, or self-destruct as they act out against profound loneliness. The “country” novels, “Appointment in Samarra” and “Revolutionary Road” both deals with young couples seeking but not finding connection with each other and with a brighter future. These novels also revolve heavily around the martini hour, and certain rituals of suburban America. The “city” novels deal with young women who break. O’Hara’s Gloria is destroyed by her quests, which lead her into the speakeasies of the prohibition, and to the wrong men. In “The Easter Parade”, Emily also exhibits sexually promiscuous tendencies as she grapples with her feelings of isolation. O’Hara’s novel are more thrilling and encompass more; Yates’ are quieter and domestic, but remain harrowing. Read together, this flight offers a pairing of two great American writers and their works regarding the custom of the Country.