"The Graduate" is a 1963 novel by Charles Webb, detailing the life of Benjamin Braddock, an upper-middle class young man who has recently graduated from an "Eastern College". The novel itself is much less well known than the movie adaptation. I am in the position of only knowing about the movie through pop culture osmosis and the song by Simon and Garfunkel. So what is the book like on its own?
Well, first off, it is short (160 pages in my paperback edition), and it would generally be considered "social realism"---although I almost felt at times it was experimental in ways, because this is one of the most dialogue heavy novels I have ever read. Both interior monologues and descriptions are very brief in length and content, and most of what we know about the book we have to guess from what the characters say. And this will be important.
After Benjamin graduates, his proud parents host a party for him, but he feels confused and doesn't wish to take part in the festivities. During the party, the wife of his father's law partner, the famous Mrs. Robinson, asks him to drive her home and then tries to seduce him. (Although in the book, this seems like something much closer to sexual harassment or even assault than a "seduction"). Although frightened by her actions, the bored, post-graduation Benjamin has nothing better to do than start an affair with her. (And this is where the lack of interior monologue causes problems---we never actually know why Benjamin does this). This is after a trip "upstate", where Benjamin fights fires near Redding, something that again is only alluded to in the most indirect terms. Benjamin continues his affair with Mrs. Robinson for a while, but after realizing she is emotionally closed-off, breaks up with her. While this is going on, his parents suggest that he go on a date with the Robinson's daughter, Elaine. He does so, but after Elaine finds out about the affair, she leaves him. (And this is, of course, all a little improbable and melodramatic.) The last few chapters of the book have Benjamin pursuing Elaine against the wishes of everyone---her, her parents, his parents, and all the random bystanders that Benjamin cajoles for information around Berkeley, in a process that we would probably now call "stalking". Even considering the different standards of the era, it seems that someone would have had some questions about a young, disheveled and sometimes intoxicated young man hanging around a woman's dormitory and asking invasive questions. The novel ends in the famous wedding scene, but when it happened, I just asked "why".
There are obviously many things that are different in terms of values, and for that matter, simple logistics, between the time the novel took place and now. As mentioned, Benjamin's pursuit of Elaine doesn't at all seem romantic now. For that matter, Mrs. Robinson's "seduction" would be seen as quite abusive today. (While the book talks about it in terms of scandal, it doesn't really talk about it in terms of abuse.) Also, for that matter, the amount of liquor that is thrown around, sometimes before people drive automobiles, seems out of place. But none of that is my problem from a literary point of view. My problem from a literary point of view is that this book violates one of the main rules of writing: Show, Don't Tell. Benjamin and Elaine go on one single date that is uncomfortable for both of them, and then Benjamin decides to marry her, despite them not having anything in common or any real interaction. We have no sense of Benjamin's motivations, or of any of the other characters. So the last third of the book, with the circular arguments between Benjamin and Elaine, just left me confused. And this is one reason why the movie might be more popular than the book: the charm of Dustin Hoffman might communicate the character in a way the minimalistic text can't. That, of course, and having a chirpy folk rock sound track in the background. As it was, the book seemed more like unpleasant people doing unpleasant things. As the book is written, there is no charm, no poetry, and really no motivation for any of the character's actions.
Of course, all of that might be the point. The book was written in the early 1960s, when the idea of a successful young man being lost, and of a happy middle class existence being not so happy, would have been noteworthy ideas. So perhaps the emotional deadness of the story is, indeed, the point. By the time the movie came out, there was already a mass movement away from mainstream values, and for a modern reader, we have sixty years of social change. So I don't know what the author had in mind, but for me, it was hard to appreciate the story because its emotional timbre was so flat.