Reviews

Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson

spearingsam's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

jenmkin's review against another edition

4.0

The interactions between the generations are so interesting

maddym23's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jking236's review against another edition

4.0

The interactions between the generations are so interesting

maxisreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

Enjoyable for the 20th century. I didn't finish it, but the first half was informative of the black experience during the Great Migration and a perfect time capsule of that era.

william_sg's review against another edition

4.0

1. Fences
2. Jitney
3. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
4. The Piano Lesson
5. Joe Turner’s Come & Gone

All over the place. Very weird. Wilson loves his shock endings but this is the first one that felt unearned. Loomis is too much of an enigma. He feels a bit underdeveloped.

discostell's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.5

rose_peterson's review against another edition

3.0

In college, I had a professor named Dr. Swan who taught a survey of lit through early modernity course. What most would call inaccessible and boring literature, Dr. Swan brought to life through what he called "participatory imagination," encouraging us to imagine ourselves as members of the troops at Tilbury, listening to Queen Elizabeth I's speech, smelling her urine-soaked skirts.

I know I need to bring my participatory imagination to these Wilson plays I've been reading, but I feel like I need a Dr. Swan to guide me through. I'm finding it difficult to know the context and nuance of the two plays I've read so far. I'm picking up on common themes but also feel I'm missing out on key points.

I coincidentally found someone else on Goodreads who is also tackling August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle in 2021, and he mentioned struggling through the first two but finding his groove with Ma Rainey, so I'm hoping a similar thing happens for me.

meg_thebrave's review against another edition

3.0

This was a fascinating play, and I liked it. I didn't love it, but August Wilson is a beautiful writer. I loved the motifs of the shining man, freedom versus binding, the road, and finding your individual song.
Final side note stage directions: "Bertha moves about the kitchen as though blessing it and chasing away the huge sadness that seems to envelop it. It is a dance and a demonstration of her own magic, her own remedy that is centuries old and to which she is connected by the muscles of her heart and the blood's memory." Definitely an important play to read, and engaging enough that I will probably read the rest of Wilson's plays.

bloom_18's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0