An introduction in Everyman’s Library Edition by Richard Price describes Yates as “a master purveyor of the crushed suburban life, of the great con known as the American promise”.
Easter Parade is a tragic tale of the Grimes sisters which illustrates the complexities of family life in the 1950’s… but this is a timeless story. Sarah, older by 4 years, marries a man of prestige and wealth, settles down in his family estate and raises three boys. Emily, accustomed to living in Sarah’s shadow and reminded from a young age that she is not the pretty one… not the popular one… becomes an independent self-supporting career woman.
The girls had a rough childhood which included an absentee father and a mother who was a lush. They moved frequently which resulted in always being “the new kids on the block”. Sarah and Emily grew up with no roots and no sense of security. In spite of this, Yates leaves little room for sympathy for the characters. None of them are very likable. Both women seem to despise their mother, but each follows in her footsteps in their own unique way. Emily thinks she is sophisticated, worldly, intuitive, rational, and giving, but she is proud, selfish and arrogant. She is unable to establish long lasting relationships in her life, and seems to be attracted to men who are unavailable, unsuited, or unworthy of her love. And Sarah, poor Sarah, fragile, overindulged and used to getting her way; being the pretty one did not guarantee happiness.
Easter Parade is about a lot of issues: spousal abuse, promiscuity, women’s lib, and dysfunctional relationships. It tells a story of mis-spent years chasing illusions, lost love, and selfish dreams. Philosophically, you won’t like the journey of the Grimes sister’s lives. They are each, blindly, on a path to self destruction. But you will go along for the ride because Yates is a brilliant and compelling story teller.
The lesson seems to be that you only get out of life what you put into it. But even then, everything is subjective. Have you ever read the results of someones self assessed personality test? I think most people are either incapable of accurate assessment or are just totally dishonest with themselves. The high point of the entire book is when Emily has a moment of clarity and says, “Yes, I’m tired. And do you know a funny thing? I’m almost fifty years old and I’ve never understood anything in my whole life.”
Easter Parade is my favorite of Yates writing.
Rated 5 Stars.
I use a rating scale of 1 to 5. Books rated 1, I seldom finish; books rated 2, I usually finish but would never recommend to anyone. 5 is the highest rating.