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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
common_household_mom's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
hzmt's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cj06's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
roseleaf24's review against another edition
4.0
This is such a thought-provoking read, in just a few brief pages. I would love to see it on stage, and plan to see the recent movie. (My copy has James Earl Jones, who played Troy in the original stage productions and on Broadway, but I can actually see Denzel Washington filling the role a little bit better.) It's a personal insight into the systemic racism in this country before that was a frequently thrown around term, and a view of the cyclical nature of the fragility of families. Troy is a complicated, damaged man who tries to be who he wants to be for his family, but whose pride and disappointment with himself get in the way.
jmh1781's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ponch22's review against another edition
5.0
My third of [a:August Wilson|13944|August Wilson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1321642333p2/13944.jpg]'s Century Cycle (after [b:Ma Rainey's Black Bottom|516792|Ma Rainey's Black Bottom|August Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439819148l/516792._SY75_.jpg|504726] & [b:Jitney|764327|Jitney|August Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348042927l/764327._SY75_.jpg|750403]), I figured [b:Fences|539282|Fences (The Century Cycle #6)|August Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481833774l/539282._SY75_.jpg|60745] would be a good next play since I've seen the Denzel Washington film. However, as I started to read the play, I realized I didn't remember anything about the movie besides Washington fighting to be a garbage truck driver instead of a collector.
As I read the play, bits & pieces of the plot felt familiar, but the ending still surprised me. I forgot how the story jumped forward 6 months and then 7 years. I expected Viola Davis to win the Oscar again for her portrayal of Ma Rainey—I think I should revisit her performance as Rose which won her the award a few years ago.
I loved the story of Troy and his struggle to put up a fence, raise money to fix his roof, and keep his house in order. The six characters (with a 7th introduced in the final scene) are all so well-drawn & each are given their moments, but it's Rose's moment at the end of Act Two Scene One that earned this play 5*. Can't wait to rewatch Davis do that monologue.
As I read the play, bits & pieces of the plot felt familiar, but the ending still surprised me. I forgot how the story jumped forward 6 months and then 7 years. I expected Viola Davis to win the Oscar again for her portrayal of Ma Rainey—I think I should revisit her performance as Rose which won her the award a few years ago.
I loved the story of Troy and his struggle to put up a fence, raise money to fix his roof, and keep his house in order. The six characters (with a 7th introduced in the final scene) are all so well-drawn & each are given their moments, but it's Rose's moment at the end of Act Two Scene One that earned this play 5*. Can't wait to rewatch Davis do that monologue.