Back in the 1950's Sloan Wilson wrote a novel, "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit," that caught the essence of what was then becoming known as the rat race. It was the story of a chronic worrier, Tom Rath, whose desire to be himself could not be reconciled with his ghostwriter's trade…. The novel had a happy conclusion. Tom inherited grandma's big house, and his wife, Betsy, forgave his wartime infidelity. But now, a quarter-century later, we learn in a sequel ["The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit II"] that the Raths' contentment was momentary. Tom Rath, as the new novel picks him up in his middle age, is just the same old worrier. He still loathes writing for other people, he still frets because his paycheck can't meet occasional extravagances. Moreover, his teen-age children present a whole new set of exasperations. His relationship with his wife is outwardly calm, but he is ready for a fling. The fling, with a good-humored woman who is not a worrier, makes the story. Sloan Wilson writes of dalliance with a sure touch. But, in pursuit of another happy ending, he contrives an unreal conclusion. It so happens that Tom and Betsy are each ready for divorce and each relieved to learn the other has been two-timing. The mutual rush to forgive and separate is hard for the reader to swallow. Could any divorce ever have gone so smoothly, shedding contentment on everyone involved? But if the novel as a whole is unconvincing, it has its idyllic moments. Readers will respond to the character of the woman who teaches Tom Rath not to worry.
John Chamberlain, in a review of "The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit II," in The New York Times Book Review, March 25, 1984, p. 20.
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