Oof. This is a play that I wanted to hate for obvious reasons but the reality is that I didn’t at all. It’s lively and charming, and that makes Kate’sOof. This is a play that I wanted to hate for obvious reasons but the reality is that I didn’t at all. It’s lively and charming, and that makes Kate’s damning final speech an even harder to pill to swallow. I really don’t think there’s a way to reconcile the misogyny in a contemporary production in a way that makes the ending palatable without going against the text (if anyone has seen it done successfully, let me know - I would actually love to talk about that ahead of my Shakespeare group doing this one on Zoom in a few weeks). But I was expecting that element to overpower my feelings on the play as a whole and I ended up having a rather different experience. ...more
This isn’t a new favorite and I was initially planning on rating it 3 stars given that my level of engagement was pretty neutral as I read, but the moThis isn’t a new favorite and I was initially planning on rating it 3 stars given that my level of engagement was pretty neutral as I read, but the more I sit with it the more impressive I find it. Also, no amount of warnings that ‘it’s not actually a comedy’ could have prepared me for how dark this was, whew. ...more
This is more of a diary entry than a book review which I have never done before, but... times are weird!
One of my friends had a BRILLIANT idea to orgaThis is more of a diary entry than a book review which I have never done before, but... times are weird!
One of my friends had a BRILLIANT idea to organize a Shakespeare read-through over Zoom this weekend. (The irony is lost on none of us that we're essentially reenacting Station Eleven.) A group of us divvied up parts and read A Midsummer Night's Dream, which, incidentally, is the play in which I made my acting debut as Mustardseed the fairy when I was 11. I was angling for Puck so that casting decision came as quite the blow. It felt redemptive to read as Hippolyta last night, a slightly meatier role.
Anyway, all silliness aside, times are tough right now and I know a lot of us are having difficulties concentrating on our usual sorts of escapism, which for most of us includes reading. This virtual Shakespeare production amongst a group of friends was such a fun distraction that we're going to make it a weekly thing, proceeding with The Tempest next weekend. If you have a friend group who'd be down for this kind of thing (it doesn't have to be Shakespeare - you could do any play or movie script), I HIGHLY recommend it. It's the only 2 hours this week that I've felt truly switched off from the constant news stream and existential dread that's been eating away at me. That's why I thought I'd share - there's so much discourse floating around about how you need to Make The Most of this quarantine to clean your house and learn a new language and write the next great American novel, but I think what we really need are lower-stakes, delightfully distracting and unproductive projects like reading Shakespeare with your friends around the globe with a glass of wine.
I think this was supposed to be droll and ironic but I honestly just found it obnoxious. From the fact that every paragraph ends in some kind of pithyI think this was supposed to be droll and ironic but I honestly just found it obnoxious. From the fact that every paragraph ends in some kind of pithy aphorism of the author's making, Tom McAllister clearly thinks he has something to say in this novel. Unfortunately that 'something' rarely amounted to anything more than "The idea of hiding underground for a few years until everything got better was appealing. That's why groundhogs looked so happy."
The central concept is a salient one and one that hits close to home - that you're never truly safe in a society with lax gun restrictions, and suffice to say that as an American living in 2018, gun control is something I feel extremely strongly about. But there is nothing worthwhile in this book that actively contributes to that conversation, this has nothing to offer aside from being topical. This reads as a 200-something page indictment of modern gun laws; no plot, no character development, no commentary that actually forces the reader to consider anything in a new light. No comedy that actually hits its mark, no hard-hitting moments to punctuate the tedium. I'm sure you all know by now that unlikable characters (unlikable female characters in particular) make for some of my all-time favorite protagonists, but it's like the character of Anna was constructed just to be as abhorrent as possible with no other goal in mind. I also found the constant commentary on womanhood to be incredibly disingenuous coming from a male author, when half of the statements rang false anyway. I'm just not sure why McAllister purports to have the authority to let us know that "Women can wound each other in ways men can never imagine."
Also, full disclosure here - I listened to the audiobook which is never my favorite format, and the narrator sounding like a telephone operator didn't help matters. But whatever the driving force behind my dislike was, I just found this to be a waste of time....more
There are a lot of elements from Severance that we've all seen before - the global pandemic which brings an abrupt halt to civilization as we know it,There are a lot of elements from Severance that we've all seen before - the global pandemic which brings an abrupt halt to civilization as we know it, the few survivors trying to forge ahead in the absence of a structured society, the juxtaposition of before and after narratives. But the similarities to Station Eleven or Bird Box end there, because what Ling Ma does with Severance is fuse the post-apocalyptic survival genre with anti-capitalist satire, and it works almost startlingly well.
Both wry and meditative, Severance offers a positively haunting commentary on corporate greed and what that means for the individual, and that awful paradox of being trapped inside a system that you feel guilty having any part of. The fictional Shen Fever was pretty awful; rather than offering a quick death it would essentially turn people into zombies who performed rote tasks ad infinitum - it's heavy-handed but it works - but the most horrifying part of this novel was probably how much of the directionless millennial narrative resonated, and the amount of decisions these characters had to make at the detriment of their happiness just to survive, both before and after.
I did think the book's structure could have been more cohesive as a whole, and I felt like Ling Ma didn't really know what she wanted to do with the ending, but ultimately I loved this strong and unexpected debut. I can't wait to see what Ling Ma does next....more
This is one of those books that's more interesting to think about than it is to read. The main word I'd use to describe this deceptively short book isThis is one of those books that's more interesting to think about than it is to read. The main word I'd use to describe this deceptively short book is tedious - though Vonnegut hits his mark with the humor more often than not, the meandering, repetitive style gets old, and even the once-funny jokes start to become stale. It's also the kind of classic that hasn't aged well, at all; jokes about dwarfism and sexist remarks abound - it's inevitably going to induce more than a few cringes from the modern reader.
So, why 4 stars? Because it's fascinating and smart as hell. This novel is filled to the brim with intriguing, relevant, timeless ideas: how religion adapts to suit the needs of the people, conceptions of social identity and what it means to belong to a group, the paradoxical role of science in how it's used by humanity - both for medicine and for warfare. The interplay between science and religion in this novel is done so well, as is the bizarre fusion of absurdity and realism. This was my first Vonnegut, and I can't help but to think I would have enjoyed his work a bit more if I'd read it when I was a teenager, but it was every bit as thought-provoking as I'd been led to believe and I'll certainly be looking into reading more of his works at some point. ...more
This is probably McDonagh's most absurd work, which is saying something. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a farcical look at Irish terrorist organizatioThis is probably McDonagh's most absurd work, which is saying something. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a farcical look at Irish terrorist organizations, set on the island of Inishmore in the Aran Islands in the early 1990s. The play focuses on a cycle of small-town bloody revenge set into motion by the death of an INLA man's beloved cat.
As usual, much of McDonagh's humor relies on the irony behind corrupt morality - in this case, we meet Padraic, who's literally in the middle of torturing a man when he gets a call that his cat Wee Thomas is poorly. (It's reminiscent of Woody Harrelson's character in Seven Psychopaths, a violent gangster who's unnaturally attached to his shih tzu Bonny, or Ralph Fiennes' character in In Bruges, a hitman with a selectively rigid moral code.) But even though McDonagh likes to revisit similar themes time and again, it never gets old for me. He fuses comedy and tragedy/morality and violence in such a uniquely striking way, each of his plays approaching the theme from a distinct angle. And while most of his plays are rather silly on the surface, there's something so much darker lying beneath, and that's what he really excels at with Inishmore.
Better than The Cripple of Inishmaan; not as good as The Pillowman. Major trigger warning for animal death (which for some reason doesn't bother me so much in this particular brand of absurdist comedy)....more
I was already familiar with this play, since I got to see the 2013 production with Daniel Radcliffe on the West End. But I hadn't read it until now, aI was already familiar with this play, since I got to see the 2013 production with Daniel Radcliffe on the West End. But I hadn't read it until now, and reading the script reaffirmed a lot of the thoughts I had while watching it on stage. I like it, but I don't love it.
I don't think this is Martin McDonagh's strongest work. He is the undisputed master of the black comedy, but that careful balance between gravity and levity that he strikes so expertly is I think at its best in The Pillowman and In Bruges. Inishmaan relies too heavily on inane humor to carry it until its conclusion, which is so tonally incompatible with the rest of the play that it's easy for some of its darker moments to get swallowed up and misconstrued. Maybe that jarring tonal shift is the point, or maybe comedy and tragedy just don't complement one another here to their full potential.
Like all of McDonagh's work, Inishmaan is absurd and biting and irreverent and cruel, and the result is something poignant that won't readily leave your mind after you're done with it. That said, knowing the magic he's capable of, this isn't my favorite. 3.5 stars....more
i never read this when i was a kid - i think i would have liked it a lot back then. adult me just doesn't really like children's books, but it was cuti never read this when i was a kid - i think i would have liked it a lot back then. adult me just doesn't really like children's books, but it was cute and inventive....more
Loading...
