Angels in America
Nov. 29th, 2008 04:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyAngels in America was the last book for my queer book group. It is a play in two parts, "Millenium" and "Perestroika," about the AIDS crisis and the gay male community. When I started the play I thought I knew two things about it - that it involved Mormons and that it had to do with baseball. Only the former proved to be true. As for the latter, I think I may have had it confused with Angels in the Outfield. My bad.
This is a play, and I can find reading plays to be a bit awkward. But it is compelling, and there were few enough characters that I didn't get confused. The plot centers around two struggling couples - Louis and Prior and Joe and Harper. Prior is very sick. Harper is emotionally unstable. Their partners each look for something to hold on to, in the midst of chaos.
I found this play to be a bit bleak, but then, it's about the AIDS crisis. Bleak makes sense. My favorite character was actually that of Roy Cohen, who is based on a real person. Not that I liked him, but I enjoyed hating him in that way that sometimes we enjoy despising fictional villains. The play is well-written, and I would be interested in seeing it performed, though I'm less sure about watching the movie. Three stars - a C+ in the new system. I think it deserves craft points though I didn't enjoy it as much as a four or a B.
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omnia_mutantur, who is also in the book group, suggested that we all bring lists of the books we would have chosen for the group to our last meeting. We are also going to bring one or two favorites "in the binding" as it were. My top two choices are Companion to Wolves and The Merro Tree. What would yours be?
This is a play, and I can find reading plays to be a bit awkward. But it is compelling, and there were few enough characters that I didn't get confused. The plot centers around two struggling couples - Louis and Prior and Joe and Harper. Prior is very sick. Harper is emotionally unstable. Their partners each look for something to hold on to, in the midst of chaos.
I found this play to be a bit bleak, but then, it's about the AIDS crisis. Bleak makes sense. My favorite character was actually that of Roy Cohen, who is based on a real person. Not that I liked him, but I enjoyed hating him in that way that sometimes we enjoy despising fictional villains. The play is well-written, and I would be interested in seeing it performed, though I'm less sure about watching the movie. Three stars - a C+ in the new system. I think it deserves craft points though I didn't enjoy it as much as a four or a B.
omnia_mutantur, who is also in the book group, suggested that we all bring lists of the books we would have chosen for the group to our last meeting. We are also going to bring one or two favorites "in the binding" as it were. My top two choices are Companion to Wolves and The Merro Tree. What would yours be?