Conversations with Stoppard (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Brings the reader up close to Tom Stoppard. For more than twenty years the two have been meeting to talk about Stoppard plays and the people and ideas that have helped to shape his career. The transcripts of nine of their conversations are published here, while three additional lengthy interviews, conducted especially for this book, have never before appeared anywhere.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 146 pages
• Publisher: Limelight Editions (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879101954
• ISBN-13: 978-0879101954
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,226,405 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Stoppard the ego, February 8, 2001

By	Apollo Fishhorn (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations With Stoppard (Paperback)

I like Tom Stoppard's work a lot, so I was curious to find out a little more about the man. I stumbled across this book, and picked it up on a lark. I recommend it to anyone curious about how the great playwright views his work.

I was particularly interested in hearing Stoppard's views on the role culture (and more specifically theatre) plays in shaping the world around us. Stoppard's background in and views about journalism lends an interesting perspective to some of the plays he's written (in particular I'm thinking of Night and Day).

I was surprised to find out how witty Stoppard is in his day to day life. This is most apparent when other people stop in to chat during the interviews. The banter between Stoppard and his acquaintances is very funny. I am also surprised at Stoppard's ego. He's been highly succesful, and is very good at what he does... unfortunately he is highly aware of this, and makes no bones about it (although he pays heavy tribute to Pinter and Beckett among others).

All in all a good read. His conversations with Gussow (and this is a testament to Gussow's ability as an interviewer) provide substantial insight into his motivation and attitudes. Rereading Stoppard after reading this book put much of his work in a new light for me. It makes me want to read conversations with Pinter.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius Playwright, January 18, 2003

By	"plattypus" (Paradise Valley, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Conversations With Stoppard (Paperback)

Tom Stoppard is one of, if not the, most important living playwrights. His writings have covered a large range of subjects such as love, imperialism, chaos theory, horticulture, philosophy, theology, and literature among many, many others.

In this collection of interviews between Gussow and Stoppard, the reader is let into Stoppard's mind, and the playwright relates how he chooses subjects, his approach to writing, what art means to him, some of his philosophies on life, among much else. Stoppard is witty and pithy, and Gussow is a wonderful interviewer.

This book is a must for any Stoppard lovers, as it gives one complete access to his thoughts, and is highly recommended for anyone interested in the theatre or playwrighting.