tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post111257491153585608..comments2024-03-28T05:13:13.921-04:00Comments on Books, Inq. — The Epilogue: A play by Mr. Maugham ...Frank Wilsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112706087684925002005-04-05T09:01:00.000-04:002005-04-05T09:01:00.000-04:00I was unfamiliar with the Orwell quote. Too bad. I...I was unfamiliar with the Orwell quote. Too bad. I could have used itlast year when I wrote about "Ulysses" in celebration of the Bloomsaday centenary.Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112705930262432702005-04-05T08:58:00.000-04:002005-04-05T08:58:00.000-04:00I think the best way to become acquainted with Mau...I think the best way to become acquainted with Maugham's plays is to get to the Walnut and see "The Constant Wife." Far better than reading a play is to see it staged. And this is such a fine production! I had never seen or read one myself before Saturday night, so I'm in no position to recommend any others. But there is <BR/><A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0413713105/qid=1112705349/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/104-2197554-3223167?v=glance&s=books" REL="nofollow">Maugham Plays 2</A>.<BR/>By the way, I have heard that "The Razor's Edge" was the most popular novel among GIs in WWII.Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112675304374722942005-04-05T00:28:00.000-04:002005-04-05T00:28:00.000-04:00The Razor's Edge is my favorite novel, but I've ne...<I>The Razor's Edge</I> is my favorite novel, but I've never read any of his plays. Are they available? What ones would you recommend?Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03301077496668834657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112675175314227022005-04-05T00:26:00.000-04:002005-04-05T00:26:00.000-04:00That's a great quote. Ever see Orwell's comment on...That's a great quote. Ever see Orwell's comment on Joyce?<BR/><BR/>"I managed to get my copy of Ulysses through safely this time. I rather wish I had never read it. It gives me an inferiority complex. When I read a book like that and then come back to my own work, I feel like a eunuch who has taken a course in voice production and can pass himself off fairly well as a bass or a baritone, but if you listen closely you can hear the good old squeak just the same as ever." (Letter of Sept. 1934)<BR/><BR/>Thanks too for the Ibsen link.Andrew Ervinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09200850063193548908noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112667624416258802005-04-04T22:20:00.000-04:002005-04-04T22:20:00.000-04:00"Little Eyolf" was also a personal favorite of Jam..."Little Eyolf" was also a personal favorite of James Joyce, who said that "I am sorry I have never seen Little Eyolf. The first act is pure wonder." As for a translation, looks like there's one here at <A HREF="http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/7942" REL="nofollow">Project Gutenberg</A>Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112666384537012042005-04-04T21:59:00.000-04:002005-04-04T21:59:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Frank Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18410473158808750903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10178279.post-1112632328776150172005-04-04T12:32:00.000-04:002005-04-04T12:32:00.000-04:00Re. Ibsen, "Little Eyolf" is my personal fave. The...Re. Ibsen, "Little Eyolf" is my personal fave. The RSC did it a few years ago in the Pit at the Barbican--AMAZINGLY bleak production, in a cramped & clausterphobic space--and I seem to remember reading that it was the first performance in English in half a century. Could be wrong about that. But that'd be one play to look out for, or for some bold producer to take on. Sadly, I can't even find a decent translation. Any idea where to dig one up?Andrew Ervinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09200850063193548908noreply@blogger.com