About this title: Middle-aged history professor George, and his wife Martha, are joined by another college couple. The result is an all-night drinking session that erupts into a nightmare of revelations.
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Description: Very Good. 0451121252 Mass Market Paperback, 1983, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light discoloration due to aging and other light wear. read more
Binding: Perfect Bound Paper
Publisher: Penguin Books Canada, Limited, Toronto, ON, Canada
Date Published: 1983
ISBN-13:9780451154408ISBN:0451154401
Description: Good + to Very Good-- Mass Market Paperback. 16mo-over 5¾"-6¾" tall. Light to moderate wear, crease to front wrap else VG + to NF. PON inside front wrap. (Store Display-Theatre/Dram/Gen Fic) read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Pocket
Date Published: 1969
Description: Good. No dust jacket. A moderate amount of wear on Cover and interior pages. There is an inscription written on the inside of the cover. There is also a pen mark on one page. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
"I found a yellowing copy of this book at a thrift store for 20 cents and, given the price, thought that I had nothing lose in buying it. I had tried to read it in 7th grade when I was going through a little play phase but hated it then. I am so glad that I gave it a second chance. The book is typical of those fancy shmancy intellectual plays that usually take place in the course of a day or two and nothing really happens on the surface, but there's a lot of "big ideas" underneath. Normally that annoys me, and it annoyed me a bit here too, because if I was watching a performance of this I would honestly not stop to analyze its deepness. Anyway, the book centers around a night-time meeting between two couples: an aging couple, of (history?) professor George and his wife, daughter of university president Martha, and young newlyweds Honey and Nick. It takes place at Martha and George's home on the campus of the university both Nick and George work on. Their little after party get-together seems very casual, but soon turns into a very vicious storm of cruel "games" and arguing in which a very important truth comes out. The characterization is quite interesting. Many parallels are drawn between the washed-out George and Martha and the still exuberant and young Honey and Nick. As someone who always has feminism on the mind when reading any book, I was sort of irked by the characterization of the women, especially Martha. She seemed to be very nagging and shrill, sort of like the women you see in sitcoms today. However, I don't think that was Albee's goal, so I sort of let it go. The play flowed very nicely and the dialogue was great. Someone had written in my copy of the book and underlined key parts, so I think that made it easier for me to understand. The author did an amazing job in setting a dark mood: there were times when I was honestly scared for the characters, and had to remind myself that this was just a little tea party and they weren't stuck in some sort of horror movie. I would love to see this play acted out on stage."
"Oh Edward Albee, what a dramatic piece of fiction you've created for the 20th century audience. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf illuminates the lives of two different couples, Martha and George as well as Nick and Honey in a New England town either in the 50's or the 60's. The troubles that surround both couples are released in the early morning following the party that Martha's father hosted at the New Carthage college campus. Nick, the new biology teacher at the school is invited to Martha and George's home alongside Honey, a small, and not-so-bright woman who comes from a well-to-do background. Immediately the audience is introduced to the love-hate relationship that George and Martha have been building up from their 23 year marriage. The openess that Albee has towards this tumultuous relationship shows society of the many failures that we keep behind closed doors. Negative attributes of everyone will fall into the open and true colors are shown. What made this book so weird in my opinion was the constant arguing between Martha and George. It was awkward for them to feel so comfortable doing it around company, so abnormal especially in a time frame such as the 50's/60's. You can tell there were dissatisfaction's with all four characters; Martha for being too abrasive and yearning for attention, George for being considered a failure in his job at the History department of the college, and not mounting up to the "man" that Martha's father wished he was. Nick for being the "gorgeous genius" whose not as open to the world of deception until he meets the unhappy older couple, and Honey because her alcohol abuse and limited intelligence gets shunned by most because of her wealthy status. This book took about four hours to read. I think it was the loudness of the characters that drew me in to read more and although I had questions about alot of moves being made by the characters, by the end, it was just so different to read a play that took America into a new direction about the stereotypical family and what it should include."
"There's nothing I like more than reading a text where the location and plot are practically meaningless, and where the people are so fascinating and so flawed that they're all that matters within the story.
My father used to rant and rave about how wonderful this play was, and his review didn't disappoint. The dialogue is quick and reads like watching a car accident: I was flipping pages faster than I could absorb them. Two self-destructive drunks tearing each other down to their breaking point while using two innocent bystanders to perpetuate the insanity.
"This is a classic play. I once saw Edward Albee speak at my college and just felt awed at his talent. "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is a play that makes you uncomfortable; makes you laugh; makes you cry; and makes you self-examine. It's dark themes -- alcoholism, a failing marriage, strained family ties -- all combine into a stunning work of art that I still enjoy. For writers: to learn how to make the most out of dialogue in your stories, read this book. Edward Albee is a master at delivering verbal punches and parries and creating tension with little more than a catch phrase."
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