Wilson, Sloan. The Man in Gray Flannel. New York: Four Walls Eight Windows, 2002.
Reason read: Wilson was born in the month of May. Read in his honor.
This is the story of Tom Rath and economic survival in the 1950s era. Tom’s wife, Betsy and their three children want the good life. Tom is determined to give it to them, even if it means slogging to work doing a job he doesn’t completely enjoy. When a new prospect for employment pops up Rath jumps at the chance to move up the ladder but it is not without consequences.
The Man in Gray Flannel epitomizes the proverbial meaning of life in a material world. It is also a study of 1950s conformity and climbing the corporate ladder. You have one man who is a slave to his workaholic lifestyle and is miserable because of it while another man is angry because he can never get ahead. Tom’s boss, from the outside, projects an image of ease and calm amidst his wealth while Tom encounters roadblocks in every aspect of his life. The new higher paying job is not what he thought it would be. Secrets from his time as a solider in World War II will not stay buried. His wife wants more and more. Even the seemingly straightforward last will and testament of his grandmother’s estate doesn’t seem to be in his favor.
Confessional: the odd thing is, despite all of Tom’s setbacks and struggles, I couldn’t entirely feel for him. I felt more for his boss.
Author fact: This is Sloan Wilson’s first book.
Book trivia: The Man in Gray Flannel is autobiographical.
Nancy said: Pearl said absolutely nothing about The Man in Gray Flannel.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the chapter “100 Good Reads, Decade By Decade:1950” (p 177).
~*LunaSea*~ 