Book Review: Eleven Kinds of Loneliness followed the first novel by Richard Yates (1926-92), Revolutionary Road, by a year and revealed more facets of the author. Mostly set in New York City, all the stories are essentially character studies more than plot driven narratives. Elements of the characters reappear, e.g., some facet of a drill sergeant in one story find a parallel in another about an elementary school teacher. The stories are realistic, especially the dialogue, and the realism conveys sharp emotion as the the reader feels these are real people to care about. The characters are often delusional, hoping for what they can't have, unable or unwilling to communicate. Yates shows the terrors, pain and alienation, and yes loneliness, that life can present, but he offers little in the way of hope, family or community, to balance the ledger. Many questions, no answers. To paraphrase the final story: Many walls, no windows. Eleven Kinds of Loneliness is an excellent collection, if on the gloom and doom side, and a good textbook for learning to write stories. Fits into the Hemingway and Fitzgerald school of writing, but Yates definitely has his own view of the world. My one hesitation about this book is, as I've recently realized, that in every short story I look for an epiphany, a truth, a realization, an "ah ha!" moment. That's a tall order, and perhaps an unfair expectation, but even so for me some of the stories ended without anything to hold onto. Regardless, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness is required reading. [4★]
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