The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

by Sloan Wilson

Book Overview

Universally acclaimed when first published in 1955, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit captured the mood of a generation. Its title -- like Catch-22 and Fahrenheit 451 -- has become a part of America's cultural vocabulary. Tom Rath doesn't want anything extraordinary out of life: just a decent home, enough money to support his family, and a career that won't crush his spirit. After returning from World War II, he takes a PR job at a television network...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568582463
• ISBN13: 9781568582467
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 8.2" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

VERY READABLE, AND CURRENT (BELIEVE IT OR NOT!)

I really liked this book! I was surprised that I liked it since I grew up in the 1950s and this book was always presented as being about those boring olden days and so why would I want to read it? The catalyst was my adoration of the TV show MAD MEN which has been compared to this book. However, in my opinion, the characters in MAD MEN create their own pain and problems because of their terrible hubris, and although the characters in THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT also may bring their problems upon themselves they do so unwittingly and inintentionally and without malice. This book is about decent, well-meaning people who deserve our respect and understanding. The situations in which they find themselves seem unrelenting to the point where the book seems almost action-packed. These 1950s were not boring. Their problems are dealt with one at a time after having given them as much thought as they have the time for. No, I don't think this book is boring, and the 1950s were about men and women who had a lot more on their minds than getting a mortgage on a house in the suburbs.

Must Read!!!

I loved this book! I thought it highlighted a time in which i did not grow up but described it wonderfully! Would recommend to anyone who likes books that aren't the crap you read on the best seller lists!

A Life of Quiet Desperation

I've known about "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit" for years but it was the movie not the book. For the record I have avoided looking at movie. The title turned me off. However while wandering through the library, I happened to see the book on a shelf. That was when I found out the boring sounding movie was based on a critically-acclaimed, enormously best selling novel by Sloan Wilson. Set in the years after World War II, Tom and Betsy Rath are stereotypical young executive-suburban New York couple. He is an executive with a charitable foundation. She is a housewife with three young children. Their house is too small. Tom doesn't make enough money and neither is very happy with their existence. Both (especially Tom) are just going though the motions. The quiet dreariness of their circumstances forces Tom to search for a better paying job. At the same time, Tom's formerly wealthy grandmother is dying ultimately leaving them her estate and little else. Finally, Tom is haunted by events during his service as an Army officer during WWII. Their saving grace is the two of them are truly devoted to each other and their family. Things come to a head rapidly. Tom and Betsy are forced to examine their existence and really determine what it is they really want in their lives. They must confront the truth of their existence and develop the strength to make the changes to increase the quality of their lives and end their quiet desperation. The amazing thing about this book is that it still holds up after over 50 years. This book is about taking charge of your life rather than just doing things that are expected of you. By that I mean, attending the right schools, hanging out with the right crowd, working for the right company, making the right career move, etc. It's about understanding what you want and living with honesty and integrity. Now I'll think I'll watch the movie. I hope it lives up to the book.

As perfect a novel as could be imagined.

The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit richly deserves all the praise it has garnered over the years. This is a wonderful novel which succeeds on many levels. It is very much the story of the generation that came of age with WWII. Tom Rath and his wife Betsy are average suburbanites struggling to make a go of it in the America of the 1950s. An era in which a mood of great optimism existed side by side with anxiety and fear. The characters are well fleshed out and thoroughly believable. Not just Tom and Betsy but supporting characters like Judge Bernstein and Tom's boss Ralph Hopkins. These are real people the reader can reach out and touch. Moreover, each and every event depicted rings absolutely true. Author Sloan Wilson demonstrates a remarkable talent for creating fiction that has the unmistakable feel of reality. Although The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit contains special lessons for those just beginning their climb up the corporate ladder, I enthusiastically recommend it to all readers who appreciate great fiction. It's a classic of American literature and a must read.

Direct, searing

I read it many years ago and never forgot it. At the time Tom should have been too old for me to identify with, but the author created a man so human it was jarring. You worry about this character. Tom appears calm, but underneath the water his feet are churning and the reader churns with him.