The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Sloan Wilson
This is one of those famous books whose very title is a catch phrase but that I only got around to reading recently.
By reputation it’s a book about conformity but it’s at least as much about post-war stress. In that respect it reminded me of the classic William Wyler movie “The Best Years of Our Lives“. The main character, Tom Rath, troubled by things he’s seen and done in World War II, starts out cynical about corporate life but flirts with becoming a company man. To gain wealth he’ll have to devote his life to the job. That decision is the heart of the book. Like Sinclair Lewis’ novels the way the characters in this book live may seem quaint, but their feelings and the struggles they face remain familiar and relevant today.
There are some interesting parallels to other works. Betty Draper of TV’s “Mad Men” is very similar to Tom Rath’s wife, Betsy. The Raths have the same desire to escape conformity that the characters in Kerouac’s “On the Road” respond to, albeit in a less extreme way (Kerouac and Wilson wrote their novels at about the same time).
(There’s a nice short review here.)
