Customer Reviews

In the Heart of America and Other Plays

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a collection of plays. i first became aware of wallace when my university did one flea spare, which i was extremely impressed with for its depth, creativity, emotional focus, and brechtian wit. i really enjoyed one flea spare on the printed page; i truly believe this is a play that deserves to be put in the same class as the other american greats, such death of a salesman, mourning becomes electra, and the crucible. in one flea spare the action involves four people impatiently waiting out a quarantine sentence at the time of the great plague in london and its themes include the loss of innocence and class and gender struggles. the final play, trestle at pope lick creek, is definitely the second best of the plays. set in a rural community, the play's unflinching look at a world of poverty and lack of opportunity is chilling and memorable. there were parts of the other 3 plays that were also well done, although in general they were not as tightly scripted. it is interesting to see wallace's general style becomes more apparent in reading these plays, in her language and her use of such devices as playing with time. in the heart of america is set during the gulf war and the the war boys concerns three men watching the mexican-american border for illegal immigrants. slaughter city is about workers in a slaughtering factory who are trying to preserve their union. all in all this is definitely an impressive collection of plays by a modern master.