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thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Classism and Infidelity
sandy_21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Infidelity
katkatniss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Because of the title, I thought this book would be like one of O’Henry’s short stories. Instead, surprisingly, it has the same desperation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun. But don’t get me wrong though, they speak of quite different themes. Miller is truly a genius.
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Bullying, Car accident, and Violence
jlebon's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Despite being on my to-be-read list anyway, I decided to read this play for the purpose of comparing it to 'The Great Gatsby' for my English Literature A-Level exam this month. This was certainly a good idea with there being many parallel themes surrounding the failed pursuit of the American Dream. Furthermore, the resemblance between the final chapter of 'The Great Gatsby' and the requiem of 'The Death of a Salesman' are so similar that I implore anyone to read both texts and see for themselves.
With that being said, whilst I found the premise and ending of the play to be exceptional, I can't say that I enjoyed this text as much as I think I should. I attribute this to be in part down to the formatting of the text as a play. Whilst I can imagine that seeing a production of this text would be phenomenal, I found the sequencing of the narrative quite difficult to follow - reality and illusion, present and flashback all blending into one. This was likely intentional from Miller, trying to present a similar disorientation for the reader as that felt by the protagonist Willy Loman (due to his slow descent into madness). Nevertheless, I think as a play (or alternatively written in the format of a novella) the narrative may have been easier to follow, therefore allowing the reader/watcher to engage to a greater extent with proceedings.
To reiterate, this is not a criticism to rubbish the text as a whole - I feel very fortunate to have read this work by Miller and I think it is completely deserving of its place in the literary canon. However, this does not elevate the text beyond fault and I can't help but feel reader enjoyment would've been improved with a greater clarity in formatting.
Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
arcadering's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Death
literaryinluv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
2nd time reading
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Chronic illness, Infidelity, Dementia, and Car accident
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Death, Classism, Death of parent, and Suicide
Minor: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
menomica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
WILLY [turning on him now in an uncontrolled outburst]: I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!
This play is so weird. I definitely think it would’ve been easier to appreciate as a play itself and not just the playbook (the score is pretty prominent throughout). There’s a lot happening and it switches time pretty often, so it’s a bit confusing sometimes to keep track of what’s going on.
Willy’s a looser!
Linda was kinda sad cause she kept making excuses for her (cheating) man and I think that speaks to how wifes (especially of that era) we’re basically stuck with their husbands so they’d try to justify all their actions or whatever.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide
Moderate: Dementia and Infidelity
letiross's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Suicide attempt
shieldbearer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity
Moderate: Suicide attempt
brnineworms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Perhaps if I’d seen Death of a Salesman performed instead of reading the script I’d have had a more profound experience. As it stands, I can give a noncommittal shrug and confess it said what Miller wanted it to say but it didn’t speak to me.
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Sexism, Ableism, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and War