The God of Hell [Paperback]

Sam Shepard (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 2005

Pulitzer Prize winner Sam Shepard’s latest play is an uproarious, brilliantly provocative farce that brings the gifts of a quintessentially American playwright to bear on the current American dilemma.

Frank and Emma are a quiet, respectable couple who raise cows on their Wisconsin farm. Soon after they agree to put up Frank’s old friend Haynes, who is on the lam from a secret government project involving plutonium, they’re visited by Welch, an unctuous government bureaucrat from hell. His aggressive patriotism puts Frank, Emma, and Haynes on the defensive, transforming a heartland American household into a scene of torture and promoting a radioactive brand of conformity with a dangerously long half life.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Startling.... Apocalyptic.... A confident and unsettling scenario of surreal doom.” –The New Yorker

“A robust new farce that shows Mr. Shepard’s gift for finding deadpan surrealism in bucolic speech.” –The New York Times

“Deliriously entertaining and deeply scary.... A shivering work of existential mystery.” –Newsday

About the Author

Sam Shepard is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of more than forty-five plays. He was a finalist for the W. H. Smith Literary Award for his story collection Great Dream of Heaven, and he has also written the story collection Cruising Paradise, two collections of prose pieces, Motel Chronicles and Hawk Moon, and Rolling Thunder Logbook, a diary of Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Review tour. As an actor he has appeared in more than thirty films, and he received an Oscar nomination in 1984 for his performance in The Right Stuff. His screenplay for Paris, Texas won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival, and he wrote and directed the film Far North in 1988. Shepard's plays, eleven of which have won Obie Awards, include Buried Child, The Late Henry Moss, Simpatico, Curse of the Starving Class, True West, Fool for Love, and A Lie of the Mind, which won a New York Drama Desk Award. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Shepard received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy in 1992, and in 1994 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (April 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400096510
• ISBN-13: 978-1400096510
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #898,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sam Shepard was born in 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois. He moved to New York from California just as the off-Broadway theatre scene was emerging. He has written more than forty plays, of which elev en have won 'Obie' awards, besides collections of stories, prose writing and screenplays. His plays include Buried Child, The Late Henry Moss, Simpatico, Curse of the Starving Class, True West, Fool for Love, A Lie of the Mind, and States of Shock. His screenplay for Paris, Texas won the Golden Pa lm Award at the 1984 Cannes Film Festival and he directed his own screenplay, Far North, in 1988. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Shepard received the Gold Medal for Drama from the Academy in 1992, and in 1994 he was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Welcome the Menace of Our Gov't come to Roost, August 12, 2006

By 

Aco - See all my reviews

This review is from: The God of Hell (Paperback)

I am now feeling very thankful for the existence of Sam Shepard. Here is someone aware and in touch with the current state of American pseudo-Patriotism, and it's appropriation of the essentials of American "values."

Frank and Emma are Wisconsin farmers, raising cattle all alone in the Heartland. Though Frank has taken in an old friend, Haynes and let him stay in the basement. After Haynes arrives, Welch shortly appears, full of eerie entitlement, red, white and blue cookies, American flags galore and a suspicion of Haynes presence. Much to the chagrin of Emma, Welch thinks nothing of the house, the front door, the property and the conventions of any social etiquette (i.e. civil liberties). Haynes meanwhile is on edge and frightened at the static charges he emits when touched, the mention of an institution from which he recently left and The God of Hell.

What The God of Hell is I'll not mention, but the implications of the government, specifically the Bush Administration's willingness to advocate torture, the heightened disregard of the common man and his home, and the insanity of nuclear production and the decimation our own land are thick and clear.

Shepard has created a swift one act, three scenes, in one setting, a kitchen/living room of Frank and Emma's home, which itself radiates a tension of menace and: "We're suddenly stung by our duty to a higher purpose. Our natural loyalties fall in line and we're amazed how simple it is to honor out one true heritage."

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Play No Matter What You Believe, August 13, 2006

By 

C. Bell "chadcbell" (Little Rock, AR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The God of Hell (Paperback)

While it cannot compare with Shepard's other works, i.e. 'Buried Child' or 'True West', it is still a great play. I picked it up one evening and simply couldn't put it down. A dark comedy that will keep you on the edge of your seat. I am a republican and do not agree with the ties this play makes with the Bush Adminstration, but I think this play is about the dangers of an ill-informed public and abused power, even though the play was written to reflect present day politics. No matter what your political affiliation may be, there is something in this play for everyone.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From script to production, July 30, 2006

By 

T. G. Harpster "STAGE MANAGER" (LAS VEGAS) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The God of Hell (Paperback)

I liked the play so much, I talked a producer into making it

happen on stage at the Community College of Southern Nevada, Las

Vegas. We're having a lot of fun in rehearsals with THE GOD OF

HELL! But be warned, this play is NOT suited for everybody's

taste!!!