Happy Birthday, Wanda June

Happy Birthday, Wanda June by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
1975
Weight: 2 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving Away

This was definitely not my favorite Vonnegut read.  It is hard to imagine it as a movie!  It must have been shocking for its time.  There is sex, violence, racism, war, all sorts.  There were definitely moments that I enjoyed.  I liked this line, in the About the Play section before the play, "I felt and I still feel that everybody is right, no matter what he says."  And so, in that vein, this play is both terrible and wonderful, depending on who you talk to.  I am a few steps up from terrible and maybe a couple more than a few down from wonderful.

Closer

Closer by Patrick Marber
1999
Weight: 5.6 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

In college, I loved this play and this movie.  It just reaffirmed my belief that most people were polyamorous and trying to fit themselves into monogamous boxes.  I watched with a girlfriend (a monogamous one), and it just straight up pissed her off.  Ironically, she would be the one to cheat on me with her ex-boyfriend and eventually leave me for another woman.  I guess that should reaffirm my college beliefs on polyamory!

I reread it last week before giving it up, and I had a totally different experience of it this time.  I would be really interested to see the movie again and see what I think.  I, honestly, think I own it.  This time it irritated me to no end, and I could not stand Dan or Larrry but mostly Dan.  I found all the havoc and heartache and drama that was self-inflicted by all the characters to be ridiculous and disrespectful.  I no longer could even imagine being in their position.  I use to empathize, but I felt so disconnected from it this time.

That being said, the play and the writing are good.  It is a testament to the author that he can make people feel different things and so strongly.

Sylvia

Sylvia by A. R. Gurney
1996
Weight: 1.6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I am at home sick as hell, and I have been for days with no clear end in sight.  I have been reading book after book because it is all I can do other than sleep, take baths, and throw up.  I am hoping to read and donate as many as possible because it is my only way of being even vaguely useful for our upcoming move to...where?  I have no idea.  I just know I need a place by February, and it needs to be very dog friendly--pit bull friendly in particular, and I am freaking out just a little.

This screen play was a weird one for sure!  It read fast and had a dedication to Sarah Jessica Parker who was Sylvia the dog in the first rendition of the play.  I am fairly certain this book was given to me because someone thought it was about Sylvia Plath, which just makes it funnier!  It is a play about two empty nesters in New York City who are having a battle of the wills over a stray dog that the husband brought home.  The stray dog is Sylvia and is played by a human.  It is bizarre.  I'd love to see it live!