The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard
1982
Weight: 3 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating
I was delighted to find another play by Stoppard while unpacking. I am not as impressed with it as I am with his others, though I know I would have loved it in college and, from reading other reviews, I am the only one who isn't. At that time I was fascinated by infidelity, love or the lack thereof, the other woman, sexual prowess, and divorce statistics. I would have been underlining everything and making notes--like the reader before me. This time, I just left feeling a little sad, a little unimpressed, and wondering if there are many male author's that can write about women in a way that feels honest to me. I remember my creative writing teacher telling us not to piss on our own characters but, so often, when I read some of the "best" books ever written it feels like all the women are drenched in a non-consensual golden shower. Stoppard's women are,at least, smart. At moments, it just seems like they are only there so that men can bounce words off them and pontificate about their own life.
1982
Weight: 3 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating
I was delighted to find another play by Stoppard while unpacking. I am not as impressed with it as I am with his others, though I know I would have loved it in college and, from reading other reviews, I am the only one who isn't. At that time I was fascinated by infidelity, love or the lack thereof, the other woman, sexual prowess, and divorce statistics. I would have been underlining everything and making notes--like the reader before me. This time, I just left feeling a little sad, a little unimpressed, and wondering if there are many male author's that can write about women in a way that feels honest to me. I remember my creative writing teacher telling us not to piss on our own characters but, so often, when I read some of the "best" books ever written it feels like all the women are drenched in a non-consensual golden shower. Stoppard's women are,at least, smart. At moments, it just seems like they are only there so that men can bounce words off them and pontificate about their own life.
