Reviews - Scorched | The StoryGraph

389 reviews for:

Scorched

Wajdi Mouawad, Linda Gaboriau

4.36 AVERAGE

meeeee's review against another edition

4.0

This was traumatizing but incredible

avokdo's review against another edition

4.75

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

mai_books's review against another edition

5.0

Je n’ai jamais vraiment aimé lire des pièces de théâtre… cependant, cette fois-ci, cela a été un plaisir !
Les personnages sont très intéressant et l’histoire parfaitement menée!
Une fois le livre commencé, on ne peut plus s’en détacher!

miliadm's review against another edition

5.0

fast-paced

leahkrason's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Now this was a bluntly painful, shocking, and tragic story. I don't read many plays, but I know they can be more in-your-face; I still feel this story left lots to think about and years unsaid. When the pieces came together, I felt it in my body. From what I can imagine, this would be amazing to see staged, with the way the conversations weave through time. The setting of a war torn country of course resulted in depictions of vile brutality, and the evils created by war were well explored as we traced the life of Nawal. I loved the near mythic aspect of Nawal's past (especially her young love story), it creates a more poetic landscape and renders the extent of the war "unreal". It also helps ground the present timeline, and separate the events. I will say that the characters, especially the siblings, were almost cartoon in their personalities: this one's a boxer who is angry, this one's a math professor who wants an explanation for everything. But it does help you better understand their motivations, and for the play format I can understand how these general and obvious traits were helpful. All in all, an engaging and heartbreaking story.

emma_behrens_'s review against another edition

5.0

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I read Wajdi Mouawad's Scorched for a college course I'm taking on Middle Eastern literature. Not only was it the best text our class has read thus far, it is one of the most powerful plays I have ever read.
Simply, Scorched follows two siblings journeying to their mother's native country to fulfill her final wishes, uncovering their family history and coping with past trauma. The drama is primarily set in a nation torn apart by a vicious civil war; I personally envisioned the piece set during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) as Mouawad was born in 1968 in Lebanon, but the playwright takes great care to leave all locations unnamed or give them fake names. This ambiguity enables the story to be set anywhere at any time during any conflict. Its cast of characters is small and the staging can be minimal, but the story and dialogue are so powerful that Mouawad's work can shine no matter if it is read or performed.
Despite its war-torn setting and biting political commentary, Scorched is, at its heart, a family drama. That said, this text is not for the faint of heart; it will hollow you out and lay waste to your soul. Mouawad's piece is one of discovery, one of trauma, and one, hopefully, of catharsis and healing. An easy 5/5 stars.