A review by booksgurrsandpurrs
Savage Conversations by LeAnne Howe

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

  The play is performed with three characters. Mary Todd Lincoln, "Savage Indian", and the rope. The inclusion of Rope as a character is such a clever and insidious choice, but an apt one that reflects the dark side of America's Legacy. Rope multiplies as the story unravels and although we know historically how this play ends it is no less impactful in the hands of LeAnne Howe's poetic refrain. Mary Todd Lincoln conjures up vicious "Indian", but why? That is at the heart of the play. The author constantly has these two characters in juxtaposition with one another, and at times intermingles similarities between the two that are so thought provoking I'm still grappling with what the author wants me as the reader to take away from those interactions.