Wisdom and folly, reason and madness, pride and humiliation, veneration and infantilization, honesty and flattery, morality and nature, everything andWisdom and folly, reason and madness, pride and humiliation, veneration and infantilization, honesty and flattery, morality and nature, everything and nothing. All that balanced on an old man yelling at the clouds. Nice work, Will....more
It was a fun and rewarding challenge to read this classic play in the original Yiddish! An-sky's ethnographic researcher hat is obviously on full dispIt was a fun and rewarding challenge to read this classic play in the original Yiddish! An-sky's ethnographic researcher hat is obviously on full display, with this text being largely a repository of collected scraps of Hasidic folklore. But as fascinating as these elements are, they only add rather than detract, because the guy can tell a damn good ghost story with them (and tragic romance, and morality play). Highly recommended....more
The first play I've read in Yiddish. Good, short read. It's cute, but just when you think it's getting too sentimental, it hits you with a pretty doubThe first play I've read in Yiddish. Good, short read. It's cute, but just when you think it's getting too sentimental, it hits you with a pretty double-edged ending. You can feel the revolutionary politics just below the surface....more
Less gay than some of Shakespeare's later comedies of mistaken identities, but makes up for this defect by being genuinely funny, cohesive, and satisfLess gay than some of Shakespeare's later comedies of mistaken identities, but makes up for this defect by being genuinely funny, cohesive, and satisfying. Watch out for problematic stuff re: misogyny, slavery, and a particularly fatphobic bit in the middle....more
I accidentally got the audible dramatization instead of the actual book, but I'm glad I did, and not just because the voice actors were excellent. TheI accidentally got the audible dramatization instead of the actual book, but I'm glad I did, and not just because the voice actors were excellent. The story is for the most part unchanged, but the characters are expanded on such that the pirates' perspective is given some weight, and the wealthy Englishmen's greed and hypocrisy is highlighted. The politics are therefore a little more in line with the reality of historical piracy. Long John Silver becomes not just a clever double-crosser, but a compelling, sympathetic antagonist. And Jim himself becomes a more interesting protagonist, and not such a Mary Sue, for being depicted as torn between two worldviews - dutiful patriotism, or the rejection of an exploitative social order....more
I would pay good money to read or watch a modern revamp where Cesario discovers he's a trans guy and ends up with Olivia.I would pay good money to read or watch a modern revamp where Cesario discovers he's a trans guy and ends up with Olivia....more
Henry VI Part 3 is a bit less engaging than the first two parts, since the theme of petty factionalism and its consequences makes it hard to root for Henry VI Part 3 is a bit less engaging than the first two parts, since the theme of petty factionalism and its consequences makes it hard to root for anyone after the death of Richard Duke of York in Act I (the closest thing to a tragic hero in this part). His son Edward may have the best claim, but he acts like a despot. Henry doesn't even really want the throne. Margarent is tearing the kingdom and her family apart for pride. And Warwick is an unprincipled egotist. Although nothing feels as out of place as the awkward tangent that was the Cade rebellion of Part II Act IV, the drama in this one peters out rather than builds. In Part I, the doomed wars in France built to Joan of Arc's execution and Talbot's tragic and heroic death. In Part II, the disputes of nobles (of varying degrees of likability) builds to the violent spark that ignites the Wars of the Roses. In Part III, a dramatic exchange between rival kings - kind of goes nowhere. One king gets killed, his heir gets captured by the other king, then he escapes and the other king gets captured and killed. Some of the characters' death scenes are poetic, but the back and forth never feels like its going anywhere, and everything about it is anticlimactic; even our titular character gets murdered in the middle of a sentence. Margaret's speech given in anguish over the murder of her young son was one of the only highlights long after I lost interest. I'm hoping that Richard III will be a more satisfactory end to Shakespeare's Wars of the Roses tetralogy....more
This was a gift that's been moving with me from place to place for years. I'm so glad I finally decided to get to it! Not every short book or play canThis was a gift that's been moving with me from place to place for years. I'm so glad I finally decided to get to it! Not every short book or play can make me ugly cry, get angry, and laugh all in the same work. And it's still relevant more than a half century later....more
![דאָס אייביקע ליד [Dos eybike lid]](https://cdn.statically.io/img/s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png)
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