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norwester's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
belwood303's review against another edition
2.0
You need a note catcher for when you add books to goodreads... why did I add this book? why did I want to read it? we will never know because now I have read it and I still don't know why...
readlittledove's review against another edition
5.0
I laughed so much wow. I'm evidently a sucker for plays full of wit and sarcasm like this one.
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
Shaw gets the hang of merging his iconoclastic ideas with the demands of comedy and entertainment.
This play explodes our romantic ideas of war and probably intends to do the same with our romantic ideas of love, but in the end, succumbs to a tried and true love story ending uniting two couples.
Shaw, in his personal life, was always ambivalent about love-relationships between men and women. He advocated what he might have called practicality in compartmentalizing physical love and more long-lasting partnerships. Today he'd be the poster boy for fear of commitment. He was drawn to a lot of women (actresses, mostly), but shied away from committed relationships until marrying Charlotte Payne-Townshend, and even after that continued alternately chasing and running away from relationships with actresses.
In this play, there are two women. One is a strong-minded servant who goes after what she wants both in terms of love and material security. The other is a young lady, cultured by parochial standards, who becomes unshackled from prevailing notions of propriety, dropping her relationship with the "safe" local hero and throwing in her lot with a seeming vagabond soldier. But all is not as it seems, and it turns out the vagabond is very wealthy.
The ending is a bit of a cop-out, but I suppose it's hard to shatter every popular misconception and still please an audience.
This play explodes our romantic ideas of war and probably intends to do the same with our romantic ideas of love, but in the end, succumbs to a tried and true love story ending uniting two couples.
Shaw, in his personal life, was always ambivalent about love-relationships between men and women. He advocated what he might have called practicality in compartmentalizing physical love and more long-lasting partnerships. Today he'd be the poster boy for fear of commitment. He was drawn to a lot of women (actresses, mostly), but shied away from committed relationships until marrying Charlotte Payne-Townshend, and even after that continued alternately chasing and running away from relationships with actresses.
In this play, there are two women. One is a strong-minded servant who goes after what she wants both in terms of love and material security. The other is a young lady, cultured by parochial standards, who becomes unshackled from prevailing notions of propriety, dropping her relationship with the "safe" local hero and throwing in her lot with a seeming vagabond soldier. But all is not as it seems, and it turns out the vagabond is very wealthy.
The ending is a bit of a cop-out, but I suppose it's hard to shatter every popular misconception and still please an audience.
zoejoy's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emmawocke's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
paola_mobileread's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyable read, this play has good rythm, but for me it was simply entartaining, and nothing more. Much of the wit bounces off the two most chiselled characters, the maid Louka and the Swiss soldier, but the social satire feels dated today.
queen_perfection's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nicozinos's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this play. It was very clever and witty and moved along so fast that I was had finished it before I knew it. All the characters are so well done and play off of each other perfectly.