Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

28 reviews

thirdtimesacharm's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism and Infidelity

sandy_21's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad 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

1.0

All my homies hate Willy Loman

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Infidelity

thebluntbibliophile's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

A dysfunctional family, the American Dream and Alzheimer's disease makes for a beautifully depressing read. It's hard to write characters that make the reader feel so strongly as Miller does, even overtly, let alone with such subtlety. I- there are simply no words for it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

Moderate: Dementia, Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

Minor: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse

pomegranatepanacea's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad

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

5.0

This ripped my heart out with its relatability and stepped on it. What is the American dream? It's a lie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Death of parent

katkatniss's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

“[caged, wanting to escape]”

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Bullying, Car accident, and Violence

_sophahs_'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

jlebon's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

3.0

This is an interesting text for me.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful sad 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

5.0

I picked up a vintage copy of this book at a used bookstore because I have never read this classic play.
"Death of a Salesman" follows Willy Loman. Willy has been a salesman for 34 years, but now at sixty-years-old, he feels like he has been cast aside and has no usefulness left to contribute. He struggles with what to do with his life now, which is causing him to think about all of his past mistakes.
This play explores what it means to realize the "American dream" in a profound and moving way. Willy has worked hard his whole life and centered his life around his career, but did he do the right thing? Was it all worth it?
This story is not happy, and Willy teeters on the line of reality. The reader quickly learns that Willy is taking drastic action to change the course of his life.
I highly recommend this play, and I am intrigued to read more from Arthur Miller in the future.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

loz1327's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Dementia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Death of parent and Death

arcadering's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Car accident, and Death