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julescat92's review against another edition
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bojangacic's review against another edition
5.0
A missing, and soon to be found dead, husband and father. A fervent matriarch suffering from a terminal illness. A detached, dysfunctional family gathered to bury a man for whom none of them cultivated a particular understanding. The Westons are finally succumbed to the notion they have been running from, and dreaded most- facing each other.
It is a commonly accepted truth that family can indeed work both ways. Weather it helps you back to your feet, or breaks both your legs, a single fact remains- when a gathering of close relatives is inevitable, a vein is bound to pop out of one's forehead.
Fortunately, most families aren't alike the Westons. Why is the poor bastard pushing up the daisies prematurely? The answer come well before the closing of first act. Violet, the pill-popping mother, begrudges her eldest daughter Barbara for leaving the stifling provincialism, punishes her middle one Ivy for being the only one left, and pays no mind to the wandering Karen. When all the blood relatives reunite in the sweltering heat of the Oklahoman bleak house, with ''mater familias'' spreading her venomous rethorique, all the secrets shall begin to tingle under the surface, and break free.
Mr. Letts' literary genes have bestowed him with a rare gift, that of sensing the slightest shifts in human emotions, as well as the awareness of how much all of us are unstable at core. All it takes is a certain somebody with certain knowledge, and the willingness to push our buttons. All three daughters appear in emotional control and clear vision of their intention. Throughout mutual resentment all the participants ''lose it''.
The dialogue reaches splendid heights during dramatic peaks. In the mixture of humorous and tragic, this Pulitzer Prize winning play reveals more about people, in only a few brief scenes, then most lengthiest book of our time ever will. All the characters become a familiarity to us by the end.
A play remains the literary genre with its own set of rules. With the descriptive aids mostly absent , an author must say more with having less at disposal. Letts plays by the rules, he pulls no punches, every word hits as if you yourself were saying it. What a marvelous achievement!
I will return to Letts' work in the near future. While reading ''August: Osage County'' I couldn't stop thinking about Meryl Streep saying those lines. Most of you can agree that December can't come soon enough.
It is a commonly accepted truth that family can indeed work both ways. Weather it helps you back to your feet, or breaks both your legs, a single fact remains- when a gathering of close relatives is inevitable, a vein is bound to pop out of one's forehead.
Fortunately, most families aren't alike the Westons. Why is the poor bastard pushing up the daisies prematurely? The answer come well before the closing of first act. Violet, the pill-popping mother, begrudges her eldest daughter Barbara for leaving the stifling provincialism, punishes her middle one Ivy for being the only one left, and pays no mind to the wandering Karen. When all the blood relatives reunite in the sweltering heat of the Oklahoman bleak house, with ''mater familias'' spreading her venomous rethorique, all the secrets shall begin to tingle under the surface, and break free.
Mr. Letts' literary genes have bestowed him with a rare gift, that of sensing the slightest shifts in human emotions, as well as the awareness of how much all of us are unstable at core. All it takes is a certain somebody with certain knowledge, and the willingness to push our buttons. All three daughters appear in emotional control and clear vision of their intention. Throughout mutual resentment all the participants ''lose it''.
The dialogue reaches splendid heights during dramatic peaks. In the mixture of humorous and tragic, this Pulitzer Prize winning play reveals more about people, in only a few brief scenes, then most lengthiest book of our time ever will. All the characters become a familiarity to us by the end.
A play remains the literary genre with its own set of rules. With the descriptive aids mostly absent , an author must say more with having less at disposal. Letts plays by the rules, he pulls no punches, every word hits as if you yourself were saying it. What a marvelous achievement!
I will return to Letts' work in the near future. While reading ''August: Osage County'' I couldn't stop thinking about Meryl Streep saying those lines. Most of you can agree that December can't come soon enough.
nicflix's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
erickibler4's review against another edition
5.0
Everything you want in a play. Zingers. Secrets revealed. Moments of action and danger. Strong female characters ripping each other, and their men, new ones.
Don't see the movie. (The movie is never as good as seeing a live play).
Don't even read this play, unless you have a mind to perform in it, or direct it..
Just wait for a chance to see it performed in your area.
Don't see the movie. (The movie is never as good as seeing a live play).
Don't even read this play, unless you have a mind to perform in it, or direct it..
Just wait for a chance to see it performed in your area.
lexie_gabrielle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
abitofmoxie's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
miraclesantana's review against another edition
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
3.0
plaidpladd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was fine. I think my expectations were high seeing that it won a Pulitzer.
marbri's review against another edition
4.0
Zowie. The shockers are still reverberating, like a man who was struck by lightning fifteen years ago researching its effects today. Or something. Otherwise, I think A Martinez and Marcy Walker (aka Cruz and Eden) would be well-cast as Barbara and her husband. The experience of reading this, the ka-pows and jolts, in retrospect, is more valuable than what I think back on as the meaning of the play. What are we to do with this, other than have flashbacks to our favorite afternoon soap operas? But still, it was good.