Complete Works, Vol. 1 [Paperback]

Harold Pinter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 18, 1994

This volume collects some of the author's most famous writings, including plays, short stories, and essays.

Product Details

• Paperback: 251 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (January 18, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802150969
• ISBN-13: 978-0802150967
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Pinter., October 11, 2000

By 

Absurdist Ad Nauseam (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Works, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

If you must have Pinter and are short of cash, this volume is THE must have(although I'd recommend all four volumes). Three classic Pinter plays are included in this volume: The Birthday Party, The Room, and The Dumb Waiter. For those of you new to Pinter, more than likely it was one of these plays that turned you on to him. However, the selling point of this volume is not actually the plays, but the outstanding introduction entitled "Writing for the Theatre" which is a 1962 speech made by Pinter himself. Any aspiring playwright as well as those immersed in all that is Pinteresque will find this introduction both profound and useful. On another note, for Pinter completists, be advised that The Birthday Party, The Room, and The Dumb Waiter are on VHS. The Dumb Waiter and The Room are difficult to find, but rest assured they're out there. In short, if you must have Pinter, this is the volume to get.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indoor Beckett, Maximum Drama Value, August 2, 2001

By 

"umd_cyberpunk" (MA, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Works, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

Harold Pinter, what more can be said than that he is one of the most important playwrights to come out of England in the past 100+ years.

"The Dumb Waiter," shows Pinter's dark indoor confussion at its best. "The Birthday Party," is twisted and fully capable of playing tricks with a reader's mind.

Anyone who enjoys Pinter, Samual Beckett (Pinter's mentor & author of "Waiting for Godot," as well as countless other pieces), or good absurd theater would be well advised to purchase this set of plays, short stories etc.

Early works of Pinter, show him at his best as a writer and this edition gives a great value. There are a lot of plays, an essay, and a couple of short stories, all in a book that does not cost too much more than an average "Grove Press," single play.

"Complete Works 1," will take you to some fascinating but dark places, and at the end you will be ready and excited to buy the second (then third, then fourth) edition(s) of Pinter's "Complete Works."

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Here is a playwright with something to say, July 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Complete Works, Vol. 1 (Paperback)

And Pinter says it brilliantly by having his characters communicate so little. These are truly menacing portraits of ordinary people in ordinary situations. I felt very uneasy reading these plays, as if language in Pinter's world is steadily losing its ability to signify. I imagine acting in a Pinter play must be incredibly difficult. "THE BIRTHDAY PARTY" was fantastic. What exactly is a Pinter play? I wish I could say, definitively, but I'm at a loss. Mostly these people are terrified by people on the fringes of their lives(outside their windows, in the basement of an apartment, in the same inn) who don't reveal their intentions but seem to want to do harm to the main characters. Sometimes, I think that Pinter's characters recognize the menace within themselves and project it onto other people. Part of the greatness of Pinter's work is that I'm at a loss to explain it.