Monday, April 16, 2001
Whether they are infantrymen struggling to survive the rigors of combat and military life, tuberculosis patients ambivalent about returning to the competitive fray of real life, thwarted artists toiling in boring day jobs, or frustrated young couples trying to cope with children and marital discord, most of Yates's characters share a dolorous passivity. By one character's definition — "Persons with talent make things happen,"
"persons without talent let things happen to them" — they are uniquely untalented at life.
Kakutani on Richard Yates
posted at 9:35 PM