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byjovie_'s review
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
karah_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mxunsmiley's review against another edition
Absolutely a play I would like to see on stage. Everything about it is so strong. The theme of one's relationship and obligation to family is something to be explored, amidst systemic racism and the changing norms during this time period. It's hard to formulate intelligible feelings about the main character, Troy, because he is so complex and while he's very infuriating, he's just emblematic of the struggles of Black Americans at the time along with his familial upbringing which he projected onto his own family, an upbringing also informed by the aforementioned systemic anti-Black racism. I also loved Rose; she was probably my favorite character. It was so painful to read her conflicted feelings toward her husband, how she didn't have the liberty of venturing outside of her familial responsibility as Troy did. Then the symbolism behind the fence was very fitting. I would've killed to see James Earl Jones in this honestly.
_cararichardson's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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
5.0
Short and impactful, this book is able to encapsulate a lot of themes about family, manhood and race in just a small amount of dialogue
shannonwest8's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lyatheenaka's review
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i had to do a huge project on this and it was truly a pleasure to pick apart something so well crafted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs
calamity_cal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I had to read this for theater and thought it was pretty good. Though really sad :(
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
Troy Maxson is a strong man. He has survived a hard childhood and time spent without direction or purpose to become a responsible family man. He went through a time in American history where being proud and black meant facing obstacles that might crush a lesser man. But in the late 1950s things are beginning to change, and Troy Maxson is unsure how to behave in a world that frightens and angers him. What he learned so well in raising himself leaves him with a rigid sense of obligation, but no flexibility to deal with a world, a family, a wife and son he no longer understands.
Too bad my F2F book club decided to read this for discussion this month. I really dislike reading plays – reading is not the medium the playwright intended for reaching his audience. I’ve seen this play performed and it was powerful, dramatic, and thought-provoking. But reading it … I miss all the technique and skill that professional actors bring to translating Wilson’s words and directions into a visceral experience. There are some soliloquies that are exceptional – Troy reliving his boyhood and the event that caused him to leave home at age fourteen; Rose explaining her take on their marriage – but I had a hard time connecting to the characters through reading much of their dialogue on a page vs watching it unfold on the stage.
Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this play. If you get a chance to see a performance, don’t miss it!
Troy Maxson is a strong man. He has survived a hard childhood and time spent without direction or purpose to become a responsible family man. He went through a time in American history where being proud and black meant facing obstacles that might crush a lesser man. But in the late 1950s things are beginning to change, and Troy Maxson is unsure how to behave in a world that frightens and angers him. What he learned so well in raising himself leaves him with a rigid sense of obligation, but no flexibility to deal with a world, a family, a wife and son he no longer understands.
Too bad my F2F book club decided to read this for discussion this month. I really dislike reading plays – reading is not the medium the playwright intended for reaching his audience. I’ve seen this play performed and it was powerful, dramatic, and thought-provoking. But reading it … I miss all the technique and skill that professional actors bring to translating Wilson’s words and directions into a visceral experience. There are some soliloquies that are exceptional – Troy reliving his boyhood and the event that caused him to leave home at age fourteen; Rose explaining her take on their marriage – but I had a hard time connecting to the characters through reading much of their dialogue on a page vs watching it unfold on the stage.
Wilson won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this play. If you get a chance to see a performance, don’t miss it!
quinzery's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5