Customer Reviews

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Signet)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a reverie filled drama of lust, greed, and death that puts emphasis on the interaction of families. Williams creates universal characters that are pathetic yet familiar and therefore warrant the reader's sympathy. He writes with such deceptive simplicity that he masks his characters's inner turmoil initially, making the turnout of such characterizations intriguing. The play presents that humanity isn't beautiful while attempting to shed light on the emotional lies that govern the interaction of families. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"'s intertwining themes of the lie of life and the deception of death provide the reader with insight towards the amblivalence of life.

To say so much within such a short piece is a mystery within itself. The sheer power of the plot is testimony of Williams's genius. The play is beautifully constructed and hits upon many themes and emotions with clarity and precision, making it an enjoyable read while having substance. I did an analysis of this book for my junior Reading class, and recommend the read to anyone seeking high drama and a well rounded take on death.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is another masterpiece by Tennessee Williams, who was truly one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights. This play was presented in New York in the 1950s, and in book form it is an excellent read.

I haven't looked at other editions, but the Signet edition contains two different versions of Act 3, along with a note by Williams explaining how director Elia Kazan persuaded him to write a second version. This feature makes the book particularly useful for teachers and students.

"Cat" takes place on a Southern plantation, and deals with a wealthy, but very dysfunctional family. Williams creates stunning dialogue for his characters: Brick, the bitter, alcoholic ex-athlete; Brick's frustrated wife Margaret; "Big Daddy," the patriarch, who is dying of cancer; and the rest. Williams also establishes the plantation's original owners as a haunting presence through the lines of his characters.

"Cat" is an explosive family drama about greed, secrets, guilt, alcoholism, and sexual frustration. Williams' characters are larger-than-life, and even grotesque, but Williams never loses a grasp on their essential humanity. An important book for those with a serious interest in American drama.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof swelters with the fire of longing for that wispy shade of happiness. The fierce currents of discontent, jealousy, and mendacity surge through this piece, leaving the reader to fend for himself on an emotional and gripping roller coaster. The struggle between Maggie the Cat and her husband Brick is the universal struggle to love and be loved through the deceptions and misconceptions that can wreck a chance at happiness. The external struggles mirror the internal struggles, for each character seems to be battling despair and a sense of worthlessness. All in all a superb read.

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is Tennessee William's highly-acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning play that stands on equal footing with the best American dramas ever written. While uniquely American, it is also inherently universal. Set in the American South, Williams plays out a kind of Southern King Lear. The drama that plays out is, in its details, distinctly Southern, but the implications and the deeper themes of the story reverberate in the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever been in the midst of a family struggle. A dialogue-only play that features no narration, Cat is quite a unique play for two different reasons. First, it takes place entirely in real time, with no lapses between scenes or acts -- thereby adhering to the Aristotelian unity of time and place, something that isn't seen much in post-classical drama. Also, it maintains a very high level of emotional content throughout the entire play. It starts out quickly, soon reaches a fever pitch, and never lets up. To quote an early review of another book, Joseph Heller's Catch-22, in what was supposed to have been an insult, "The book seems not to have been written so much as shouted onto the page." Consequently, this is the rare play that not only works wonders on the stage, but is also a great work of literature: it reads very well (one can only imagine the emotional intensity of actually watching it being performed.) The book moves along at a breath-taking pace, and is a very quick read, as most plays are; there is, however, a lot more depth to it than appears on the surface. The themes it deals with are timeless and have been mined by many other playwrights, including Williams, before; indeed, they probably always will be. And yet, they endure. The story of this family struggle speaks to us in ways that few plays can from the page. A true classic of literature as well as the theatre, this work will not be lost on the reader. Williams succeeds brilliantly in his goal to capture the moving, evanescent essence of a family's interactions in motion. The gain is ours.

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a very simple story, but at the same time has very involved characters. It deals with many controversial themes such as homosexuality, alcoholism, adultery, and death. It is a true Southern masterpiece that takes place in the Mississippi Delta. Its Southern influence, language, and dialect add a lot of flavor to the novel which, in turn, transforms simple words into an intriguing story. It shows how greed and iniquities can tear a family apart, and also how death doesn't necessarily bring families together. Overall, I would highly recommend this drama because of the unique twists within the plot and characters. Tennessee Williams' novel has completely lived up to its Pulitzer Prize title.

When I read this play, I was a little shocked; nothing I had read about this play prepared me for what I was about to read. What startled me the most is its bluntness. But after reflecting, I decided it is a well-written play and it wouldn't have the same effect if it were written any other way. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" covers a lot of territory in just 173 pages. Homosexuality, alcoholism, dealing with problems, death, and relationships between husband and wife, family, and friends are just a few to mention. Each is covered in depth, but use few words to describe it. Tennessee Williams never states the facts; he leaves it to us to figure out what the characters are saying and the meaning behind it. With just six main characters, Williams discretely has them deal with their problems in their own way, by facing the facts, ignoring the problem, denial, or drinking the problem away. Williams paints a clear picture of each character's physical features, but more significant, personality and beliefs. It is interesting to see how the themes in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" are viewed in today's society compared to when the play was first produced in 1955, nearly fifty years ago.

I believe Tennesee Williams is the most versatile modern playwright who truly exemplifies the dysfuctionality of family morals. The Glass Menagerie, Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat On A Hot Tin Roof are indeed his masterpieces. I found Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to be my most favorite. The characters were memorable (who can forget Margaret "aka Maggie The Cat," Brick, Big Daddy, and Big Mama?) and the lines truly classic ("What's the victory of a cat on a hot tin roof? Just staying on it, I guess, as long as she can..."). Also, just like Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on A Hot Tin Roof touched upon subjects that were controversial then and just as controversial now (homosexuality, child molestation, prostitution, etc.), which makes Tenesee William's works highly relevent. His plays age well with time. Not to mention that there have also been INCREDIBLE movie adaptations of all of his famous plays. After you read Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, or Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie, watch the movie as well. There is no other modern playwright (except Oscar Wild and Anthony Wilson)whose plays will truly have a place in my heart for years to come.

This southern family cherishes the illusion of lies. Each member maintains their own identity through the world of false communication. It is the root by which the family tree is devoured by disease. When truth is finally spoken, it is too late. There is a limit to human forgiveness, especially of oneself.

There's a reason that this play is an American classic, folks... you should definitely read and/or see it at least once during your lifetime as it is an impressive work of literature. Tennessee Williams's vision in this incredibly tense play is vivid and well-developed, and his attention to describing every little detail and nuance of his set, characters and even the very atmosphere is almost a little distracting... but I say this as an actress who is very unaccustomed to getting actual direction and character notes from the author rather than the director. A reader who is simply picking up this play to read it for their own edification will probably appreciate Williams's vivid descriptions.

Also - and this is my fault entirely - I failed to read the specifications of the actual, physical book itself when I ordered this. It is rather tiny, with the spine measuring in at just under seven inches and the width being about four and one-quarter inches. The text is tightly packed on the page... and I suspect it will be very difficult for me to read and study from for my audition. I do appreciate the inclusion of BOTH versions of the third act, though, which is what I sought out when making this purchase.

Highly recommend - perhaps not this particular edition, but definitely recommend the play itself.

i love it. it's very relatin