The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit II is a novel by American writer Sloan Wilson. Published in 1984, it is a sequel to Wilson's bestselling 1955 novel The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, appearing nearly thirty years after the original.
Synopsis
The novel follows the lives of characters from the first book as they approach middle age. Unlike the original, which was written in the third person, the sequel is narrated in the first person by the protagonist, Tom Rath. The story begins in late 1963, approximately eight years after the events of the first novel.
Tom Rath, now middle-aged, begins an affair with a younger woman while attending a mental health conference in Washington, D.C., in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He eventually leaves his wife Betsy—who becomes a minor character in the sequel—marries the younger woman, and moves to New York City to start a new life. A significant subplot involves the arrival of Rath's illegitimate son from a World War II romance in Italy. The son visits the Rath home in Southport, Connecticut, later enlists in the U.S. Army, serves in South Vietnam, and is killed there.
Reception
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit II was not a commercial success. Many readers felt the sequel did not meet the expectations set by the original novel. It marked Wilson's last major work of fiction. After the early successes of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit and A Summer Place (1958)—both bestsellers adapted into films—Wilson wrote ten more books, but none achieved comparable popularity.
Publication Details
- Author: Sloan Wilson
- Publisher: Arbor House (New York)
- Publication Year: 1984
- ISBN: 0877954747
