Wit : A Play
by Margaret Edson
List Price:
Our Price: $10.03
You Save: $3.97 (28%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $6.08 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Margaret EdsonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1999-03-29
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 96
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Book Reviews of Wit : A Play
Book Review: No wonder it won a Pulitzer
Summary: 5 Stars
Wit was recommended as a staff pick at my local library. Thank goodness! I doubt I would have found it otherwise, since I don't generally read play scripts.
Even though I'm an old English major from way back, I never studied John Donne's poetry in depth. The way Edson weaves the poetry with Vivian Bearing's growing realization that Donne spoke to her on an intimate level - what after all could be more intimate than the process of dying? - led me to examine some of my own preconceived notions of mortality and its relationship to the immortal.
That last paragraph of mine makes it sound as if this is heavy reading. Not at all! It is a multi-layered work, both grim and light, both stark and richly peopled. I loved the humor, the most notable of which is the line near the end, when Vivian is receiving a dose of morphine for her excruciating pain. She says that she wonders if the morphine will have a soporific effect. "I don't know about that," says her nurse, "but it sure does make you sleepy."
I took a chance and rented the Emma Thompson DVD. I don't trust movies ever to live up to the books they're based on - but I truly wondered how they'd handle a film version. I recommend the movie thoroughly, for it remains true to Edson's quirky way of blending past and present, ignoring the stuffy fourth wall that so many playwrights insist on.
WIT is witty. WIT is sad. WIT is a must-read.
And just wait till you find out why the I in WIT is (on the cover of the book) a semi-colon.
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Audiobooks on Cassette
- Audiobooks on CD
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- e-Books
- Engineering
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Medicine
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Books and e-Books
The Love Dareby Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick
B&H Books; Published: 2008-09-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.06
Price in other shops:
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel (Oprah Book Club #62)by David Wroblewski
Ecco; Published: 2008-09-19; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Lifeby Alice Schroeder
Bantam; Published: 2008-09-29; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.25
Price in other shops:
Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-08-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.19
Price in other shops:
Eclipse Special Edition (The Twilight Saga)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-05-31; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $9.50
Price in other shops:
New Moonby Stephanie Meyer
Atom/Little, Brown Book Group; Published: 2008; Paperback; Book
New Moon (Twilight Saga)by Stephenie Meyer
Large Print Distribution; Published: 2009-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.85
Price in other shops:
Brisingr (Inheritance, Book 3)by Christopher Paolini
Knopf Books for Young Readers; Published: 2008-09-20; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Twilight (The Twilight Saga)by Stephenie Meyer
Little, Brown Young Readers; Published: 2008-10-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.59
Price in other shops:
The Shackby William P. Young
Windblown Media; Published: 2008-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.38
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Clean House and Other Playsby Sarah Ruhl
Theatre Communications Group; Published: 2006-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.90
Price in other shops:
How I Learned to Driveby Paula Vogel
Dramatists Play Service Inc; Published: 1999-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.58
Price in other shops:
Rabbit Holeby David Lindsay-Abaire
Theatre Communications Group; Published: 2006-09-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.04
Price in other shops:
A Streetcar Named Desireby Tennessee Williams
New Directions Publishing Corporation; Published: 2004-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.22
Price in other shops:
'Night Mother.by Marsha Norman
Dramatist's Play Service; Published: 1998-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.58
Price in other shops:
Belovedby Toni Morrison
Vintage; Published: 2004-06-08; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.51
Price in other shops:
Fencesby Aug Wilson
Plume; Published: 1986-06-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.29
Price in other shops:
Proof: A Playby David Auburn
Faber & Faber; Published: 2001-03-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.95
Price in other shops:
Doubt: A Parableby John Patrick Shanley
Dramatist's Play Service; Published: 2007-09-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.13
Price in other shops:
WitWarner Brothers; Release date: 2001-09-11; DVD
Best price: $4.45
Price in other shops: