Reviews

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

katykelly's review against another edition

3.0

3.5 stars

I loved Streetcar and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by the same writer. They both seemed meatier than this, which felt abrupt.

Amanda frets for her adult children who both live with her, the forever-out Tom and shy, 'crippled' Laura. She persuades Tom to bring home a clean-living friend from his warehouse job to meet Laura. This turns out to be someone Laura remembers very well.

I found William's later work much more fleshed-out than this, on sometimes similar veins. I didn't really see much point in the 'glass' metaphor, but can imagine the role of Amanda would be a good meaty one for an actress to play. Though not in the same league as Blanche or Maggie.

quinn_is_a_sin's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

faizoo's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

carmenfullarton's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

chrysoula_amv's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

This book gave me a LOT of existential dread and hopelessness for the future. Didn't realise it was because of it in the beginning however and reportedly the timing was also to blame. The dialogues and people feel very real and I really liked how the directing tips are incorporated throughout. In the end I wanted to throw the book across the room and tbh I did a few times. All my fault for, despite knowing his style of storytelling, I dared momentarily to hope in a somewhat happy ending. Don't do that lol. Really nice play and I also really liked the essay at the end. It felt like I was reading his journal.

k_thompson's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

libellum_aphrodite's review against another edition

3.0

I was going to give this two stars, but as I thought about it more, I bumped up my rating as my appreciation for the depth of the characters rose. I think that, like I do for most of Shakespeare's works, this particular play would probably be much more compelling onstage. Despite their complexity, the characters come off a little flat in the minimalistic prose of a play.

I would like to posit that Amanda, Laura, Tom, and Jim are embodiments of emotions existing, and conflicting, within an individual at once.

• Amanda: stuck on her past glories, living amongst her memories


• Laura: magnifying an insignificant flaw into debilitating lack of confidence


• Tom: passively consuming entertainment to create a sense meaning in his life


• Jim: dreaming of a better future and proactively going after it

While each character certainly represents an extreme, I would wager that everyone has felt these four whisper in their heads in some capacity at some time or another. Hopefully, Jim speaks loudest and most often.

emuhnm's review against another edition

reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nox_is_lost's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

acaciaw's review against another edition

5.0

This was by far my favorite book/play I have ever read for school. It gave me so much to think about while at the same time providing hilarious quotes and scenes to make my English class so much more enjoyable.