The Good Woman of Setzuan
by Bertolt Brecht, Eric Bentley
List Price:
Our Price: $9.48
You Save: $0.52 (5%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.45 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Bertolt Brecht, Eric BentleyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-11-01
ISBN: 0816635277
Number of pages: 120
Publisher: Univ Of Minnesota Press
Book Reviews of The Good Woman of Setzuan
Book Review: Brecht's Chinese hooker with a heart of gold
Summary: 3 Stars
Brecht used to a very big name, one of the biggest in world theater. His writing makes for lively and entertaining theater, but I am afraid I must put myself in the category of not really knowing what the fuss is about. This play was entertaining, and I could see its roots in classic theatrical themes and approaches, but it did not strike me as being a great piece of writing. Certainly in today's politico-artistic environment it would be hard to see an inauthentic work like this being hailed and loved. Brecht's Chinese heroine Shen Te is a hooker with a heart of gold, a kind but foolish young woman who manages to get along by charming everyone. She eventually falls for a loutish young aviator, and their tribulations become the basis for the second half of the plot. The plot has some nice twists and moves along at a very brisk clip. Numerous characters appear and get their due - a couple of unidentifiable gods, a poor water seller, an older shop owner, some freeloaders, etc. There are all sorts of manipulations going on, everyone keeps trying to get an edge on each other. Money changes hands quickly and this becomes the engine of the narrative - Shen Te gets some, opens a shop, does well, then gives it away to the unworthy flyer. Her sweet, happy-go-lucky character is balanced by the presence of her supposed cousin, Shui Ta, a shrewd and tough negotiator who appears at key moments to bail out his relative. How one would effectively pull this off on stage is a bit of a mystery to me, and for that reason alone I would like to see a production of it. Overall, an entertaining play with a humanistic heart, but not a work of genius.
Theater Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Theater Books
Looking Out: Perspectives on Dance and Criticism in a Multicultural WorldMacmillan Pub Co; Published: 1995-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $110.64
Directors on Directing: A Source Book of the Modern Theatreby Toby Cole, Helen Krich Chinoy
Allyn & Bacon; Published: 1963-01-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $92.40
Price in other shops:
Voice and the Actorby Cicely Berry
Wiley; Published: 1991-07-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.00
Price in other shops:
A Trip to the Light Fantastic: Travels With a Mexican Circusby Katie Hickman
Harpercollins; Published: 1995-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? An Autobiographyby Tom Baker
Harper Collins, 1997; Published: 1997; Hardcover; Book
Who on Earth Is Tom Baker?by Tom Baker
Harpercollins Audio; Published: 1997-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $133.82
Streisand: A Biographyby Anne Edwards
Little Brown & Co (T); Published: 1997-04; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Orton Diariesby Joe Orton
Da Capo Press; Published: 1996-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.48
Price in other shops:
Understanding Movies (12th Edition)by Louis Giannetti
Allyn & Bacon; Published: 2010-01-31; Paperback; Book
Best price: $74.98
Price in other shops:
The Theater Experience Tenth Editionby Edwin Wilson
McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; Published: 2005-12-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $50.00
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
Machinal (Royal National Theatre)by Sophie Treadwell
Nick Hern Books; Published: 1995-04-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.61
Price in other shops:
Fires in the Mirror Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Other Identities..by Anna Deavere Smith, Anna Deavere Smith
Dramatists Play Service, Inc.; Published: 1998-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.85
Price in other shops:
Zoot Suit and Other Playsby Luis Valdez
Arte Publico Pr; Published: 1992-04-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.38
Price in other shops:
Waiting for Godot: A Tragicomedy in Two Actsby Samuel Beckett
Grove Press; Published: 1994-01-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.94
Price in other shops:
Civilization and Its Discontentsby Sigmund Freud, Peter Gay
W. W. Norton & Company; Published: 1989-09-17; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Urinetown: The Musicalby Mark Hollmann, Greg Kotis
Faber & Faber; Published: 2003-02-19; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.88
Price in other shops:
A Doll's House (Dover Thrift Editions)by Henrik Ibsen
Dover Publications; Published: 1992-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $0.01
Price in other shops:
Fear and Trembling (Penguin Classics)by Soren Kierkegaard
Penguin Classics; Published: 1986-01-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.78
Price in other shops:
The History of American Foreign Policy: From 1895by Jerald A. Combs
M E Sharpe Inc; Published: 2008-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $26.22
Price in other shops:
Ethics and Statecraft (Humanistic Perspectives on International Relations)Praeger; Published: 2004-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $32.00
Price in other shops: