The Bibliophile's Compass

Title : Hysteria Author : Terry Johnson Publication Year : 1993 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 108 Source : eBook Genre : drama, surrealism, comedy It’s been ages since I’ve stumbled upon an absurd play with such a strong theme. Terry Johnson pulls off a masterstroke by throwing Freud into his final days—only to have him cross paths with none other than Salvador Dalí. What could possibly go wrong in an absurd comedy, right? Well, how about a mysterious woman who materializes out of thin air and refuses to budge, forcing Freud to revisit every inch of his scholarly legacy (assuming you’re not one of those folks who side-eye psychoanalysis as "real science"). In the middle of all this delightful chaos, we get to watch Freud’s life’s work get skewered in the most brilliant way possible. I found myself laughing out loud, cringing, and pondering Freud’s theories all at once—a rare hat trick! All in all, it’s a wild, witty, and totally entertaining read.

  1921  Anna Christie by Eugene O'Neill Eugene O'Neill's drama Anna Christie was first produced on Broadway in 1921 and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1922. It focuses on three main characters: Chris Christopherson, a Swedish captain of a coal barge and longtime seaman, his daughter Anna, who has grown up separated from her father on a Minnesota farm, and Mat Burke, an Irish stoker who works on steamships. At the beginning of the play Chris and Anna are reunited after fifteen years apart. Anna comes to live on her father's coal barge, but hides the secret of her past from him. When she meets Mat after an accident in the fog, they almost immediately fall in love - but Anna finds that forging a new future will not be easy. 1960 Penguin Books cleared of obscenity in the UK for publishing D. H. Lawrence's " Lady Chatterley's Lover " (UK) One of the most extraordinary literary works of the twentieth century, Lady Chatterley's Lover was banned in Eng...

Title : Hedda Gabler Author : Henrik Ibsen Publication Year : 1891 Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Pages : 144 Source : ebook & audiobook @storytel.tr Genre : drama, literary realism From the very beginning, this play immerses the reader in a bleak and unsettling atmosphere. Every character evokes a sense of dislike, yet this emotional response is a testament to the power of Ibsen's writing. The work is suffused with darkness and morbidity, presented in a way that is both captivating and repellent. The play’s ability to provoke such strong feelings is what elevates it to the level of a classic masterpiece. The play revolves around a cast of deeply flawed, morally ambiguous middle-class individuals. There is an academic struggling for a tenure-track position after publishing a mediocre book (who would have thought it a universal struggle that resonates across time). His wife, driven by a fear of boredom and an absence of joy, emerges as the most antagonistic character, displaying cruelty ...

1604  Othello by Shakespeare is first presented (UK) 1611  The Tempest by Shakespeare is performed at court in front of James I at Whitehall Palace - its first recorded performance (UK) 1904  John Bull's Other Island by George Bernard Shaw premieres in London (Ireland) John Bull's Other Island is a comedy about Ireland, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1904. Shaw himself was born in Dublin, yet this is one of only two plays of his where he thematically returned to his homeland, the other being O'Flaherty V.C. 1935  Murder in the Cathedral by T. S. Eliot (UK) T. S. Eliot's most famous drama, a retelling of the murder of the archbishop of Canterbury 1983 The Rape of Shavi by Buchi Emecheta (UK) ( My Review ) ⭐⭐⭐⭐ An allegorical tale, in which a collision between Westerners and tribal members imperils the stoic traditionalism of the Africans. 2005 Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah Joy Candellaro once loved Christmas more than any other time of t...