Richard Yates was one of the finest American writers of the 20th century, even if he wasn't the most heralded. Aside from the magnificent Revolutionary Road, he also wrote the beautiful Easter Parade along with a number of short stories, including the astonishing collection, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness. You are right to invoke his ear for dialogue. It was masterly, as was his eye for physical detail, invariably used to bring his characters into full relief, if not always in the most favorable light. Along with all else, he had the dual gift of perception and empathy, allowing him an inhabitation more than a creation of his characters. As has been said about him, no one should know us this well.