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cgdonn's review
challenging
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
cantordustbunnies's review
5.0
I gave this book a 5 star review solely for "The Maids." This play has a really fascinating, unique tone. It is melodramatic and brings to mind some kind of over-the-top soap opera yet it is also deeply intelligent, disturbing, and elegant. It is manic, overreaching, hysterical...and yet it excels because of these qualities rather than being hindered by them. It hums with its own weird, powerful energy that is totally its own. I believe a lot of people are accustomed to seeing dramatic works that portray craziness in a way that is comfortable for sane people to watch but this play is uncomfortable precisely because it is unabashedly erratic, bizarre and portrays a kind of deadly psychological immaturity. It can be interpreted as being solely or mostly about class (which it is to some extent) but I think that is missing the point. Deathwatch on the other hand is just not that great, not bad but not great. You might as well get a taste of what else Genet has written if you're going to get a written copy of one of his plays, I suppose.
likecymbeline's review
5.0
The plays were definitely really good and I would love love love to see them performed, but I think one of the things that amused me most was Sartre's introduction. He was of course an admirer of Genet's work and he and a few influential others kept the man out of jail for the latter part of his life because they said Genet was a genius, but from the introduction it totally seems like Sartre's favourite thing about Genet was that he was gay. So avant-garde and anti-establishment! Oh, Sartre.
zadiekm's review
fast-paced
3.5
for school :)
I liked it - particularly the gender element, use of language, abstraction, etc
I liked The Maids a lot more, maybe just bc women
I liked it - particularly the gender element, use of language, abstraction, etc
I liked The Maids a lot more, maybe just bc women
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