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A review by marinaschulz
American Buffalo by David Mamet
2.0
This was an easy read. It takes the format of regular, average conversations, with the common interuptions and pauses these take. The premise is interesting, a dialogue among three characters in a junk store who plan to steal a valuable coin collection.
My main concern was that it was like I was intruding in someone's private conversation, which, though it sounds interesting, feels as if you walked into a room with no prior contextualization. And that ends up being a drag, because you're left with a lot of "who", "what", "when" questions unanswered.
I had trouble understanding the end; maybe it would have been better if I'd read it in the original English, or seen it acted out on stage. I had to read reviews to "get" it. But like I said, the reader is an intruder with no clue about the lives of Teach, Don and Bobby, hence the trouble "getting" it. It felt like much ado about nothing, and I most clearly don't mean by this to compare Mamet to Shakespeare.
My main concern was that it was like I was intruding in someone's private conversation, which, though it sounds interesting, feels as if you walked into a room with no prior contextualization. And that ends up being a drag, because you're left with a lot of "who", "what", "when" questions unanswered.
I had trouble understanding the end; maybe it would have been better if I'd read it in the original English, or seen it acted out on stage. I had to read reviews to "get" it. But like I said, the reader is an intruder with no clue about the lives of Teach, Don and Bobby, hence the trouble "getting" it. It felt like much ado about nothing, and I most clearly don't mean by this to compare Mamet to Shakespeare.