Richard Yates: Disturbing the Peace

Hi again

Disturbing the Peace is my fourth Richard Yates novel. You can read my reviews on his other books here.
My beautiful, beautiful book has 253 pages and I got it from Book Depository.

 “John Wilder is in his mid-thirties, a successful salesman with a place in the country, an adoring wife and a ten-year-old son.But something is wrong. His family no longer interests him, his infidelities are leading him nowhere and he has begun to drink too much. Then one night, something inside John snaps and he calls his wife to tell her that he isn't coming home...”

I loved this book.
I loved it so much.

All characters are very mundane, normal or ordinary but that makes the book so much stronger. They are all wonderfully thought out. They have their flaws and their merits; they truly come alive while reading.

We read John Wilder’s slow descent into madness while he keeps denying his illness. As the novel progresses, he spirals ever down.
John always puts himself and his own whims and wants first without considering others, least of all his wife and son. He is utterly dissatisfied with his life, his marriage and his job. Alcohol seems to make him cope with it all, but it doesn’t. I don’t think one leads to the other, but I do believe that the alcohol makes his insanity worse and descend faster.
He is arrogant, selfish and I did not like him for the most parts. But I did care for him.
And that’s Yates’ genious at work.
It is compelling, powerful,  and it feels very realistic.
I had no idea where it would go, let alone where it would end, if it even would or could end somewhere.
Though the subject matter is difficult and it leaves ample place for moralizing, Yates never does.

The ending was absolutely stunning. To see it from someone else’s point of view was a great addition to the way it was going. I cannot imagine a better ending for this book.

5 STARS

Happy reading.
Helena