sandy_reads_books's review
I think I liked this more than Our Town? To be honest I’m not sure. It does some cool stuff with fourth wall breaks that go beyond what Our Town does, but overall this play just felt kind of confusing to me and really not all that interesting? It is a lot weirder than I expected and I really don’t even know what else to say about it.
pedanther's review against another edition
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: War, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Deadnaming, and Rape
avaafran's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
gslife's review against another edition
3.0
I’m not sure how much I liked The Skin of Our Teeth, Thornton Wilder’s second most well-known play..
I should stipulate, reading a play is a very different thing from seeing a play. I don't have much experience reading plays and mentally transmuting the written words and actions to that ancient medium, so take all I say here with a grain of salt. I'm sure the performances would outweigh my imagination.
The Skin of Our Teeth is metaphor many layers deep. The story, such as it is, has the Antrobus family facing three ideas of "the end of the world". First, the ice age, second, the Flood of Noah, and third, a war, reminiscent of WWII, which the play was written during. The metaphorical part here: the family lives in New Jersey. The family is both ancient man and the 20th-century nuclear family.
The fourth wall is broken time and time again. Wilder doesn’t let you forget you’re in a play. (More than anything, in these moments, I think Wilder is saying more about theater at the time than anything else.)
The outcome, the moral, the defining idea, is that humanity always recovers. But the other side of Thornton Wilder's coin is that humanity continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. A husband cheats, a boy murders, the rabble rouses, yet humanity continues. Men learn of true women (for that is the reason the universe was put in motion), children are born, grow, die, and the philosophers continue their march like hours on a clock.
It’s a fine philosophy of a play. Maybe go see it as one, rather than reading about it in a book.
I should stipulate, reading a play is a very different thing from seeing a play. I don't have much experience reading plays and mentally transmuting the written words and actions to that ancient medium, so take all I say here with a grain of salt. I'm sure the performances would outweigh my imagination.
The Skin of Our Teeth is metaphor many layers deep. The story, such as it is, has the Antrobus family facing three ideas of "the end of the world". First, the ice age, second, the Flood of Noah, and third, a war, reminiscent of WWII, which the play was written during. The metaphorical part here: the family lives in New Jersey. The family is both ancient man and the 20th-century nuclear family.
The fourth wall is broken time and time again. Wilder doesn’t let you forget you’re in a play. (More than anything, in these moments, I think Wilder is saying more about theater at the time than anything else.)
The outcome, the moral, the defining idea, is that humanity always recovers. But the other side of Thornton Wilder's coin is that humanity continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. A husband cheats, a boy murders, the rabble rouses, yet humanity continues. Men learn of true women (for that is the reason the universe was put in motion), children are born, grow, die, and the philosophers continue their march like hours on a clock.
It’s a fine philosophy of a play. Maybe go see it as one, rather than reading about it in a book.
wickedplutoswickedreading's review against another edition
5.0
I first read and saw this performed in high school and laughed alot. I read it the second time in college...and still laughed, but noted the truths and wisdom within.
I read it for the third time in the past couple days. This time, I did not laugh. This time, I looked for comfort in the lines, for hope....somewhere in this mess.
I found only that you've got to carry on. Because.....as Sabina says, the ending of this play hasnt been written yet.
I read it for the third time in the past couple days. This time, I did not laugh. This time, I looked for comfort in the lines, for hope....somewhere in this mess.
I found only that you've got to carry on. Because.....as Sabina says, the ending of this play hasnt been written yet.
jessrock's review against another edition
4.0
The Skin of Our Teeth is a delightful, confusing mishmash of eras, telling the story of an American family who has weathered the Ice Age, Noah's flood, and war. The parents have been married for over 5,000 years and gave birth to Cain and Abel; the father invented the wheel, the alphabet, and chose Miss Atlantic City 1942. Every page in the book is thick with allusion, from the Muse sisters to the maid Sabina (who was raped; Wikipedia). I'm not sure I understood the half of it, but it was fun to read, and I think it's the sort of play that benefits from repeated readings. It's definitely something I'd like to read again later on.
eliza20barnes's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
buchstabenmaedchen's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
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
3.5
orang3_w0rld21's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
rockymtnhite's review
3.0
I love Thornton Wilder (Our Town is probably my favorite play), and this was really... interesting. I loved the constant breaking the fourth wall, but it was SO abstract I didn't know what was going on half the time. Still, I read it all in one sitting-- it's definitely worth a read. I might reread to see if it makes more sense a second time.