Reviews

Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill, Harold Bloom

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ghostrider's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

gadicohen93's review against another edition

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5.0

Ahhh. Quite the excellent read. I love the way O'Neal develops this--how we slowly but surely grow accustomed to the alcoholism, the morphine addiction, the yelling and the crying and the arguing, as if we ourselves are slowly trying to tolerate this family's horribly tragic flaws.

andievillegas's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

queen_perfection's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

chelsea2020's review against another edition

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5.0

One of the most unique plays I've ever read. You could practically read it like a novel. Knowing that it was based off of events in the author's life, narrating a day of his family life, made this so much more intimate and captivating to read. Everything was very clearly and precisely written, with the added bonus of seeing into the characters' emotions on top of their actions.

Mary is a morphine addict who longs for a life outside of her loving family. Since marrying Tyrone, she has scarcely known the companionship of a friend. With recent events regarding her son, she finds reality increasingly difficult to live in.

Tyrone (James) is an alcoholic with a cheapskate personality. Once a fine actor, he spends his days going after the cheapest deals that life has to offer, from property to medical treatment for all that ails his family.

Jamie is Mary and Tyrone's eldest son. Also an alcoholic, he is the "voice of reason," as it were, in the Tyrone household. Despite the family's determination to ignore the harsh realities they all face, Jamie is constantly reminding them that you cannot solve a problem by pretending it does not exist.

Edmund, the youngest son, is sick with consumption (tuberculosis). He, along with his mother, are sure that it is nothing more than a summer cold—Until Edmund is forced to accept his pending fate. He seems to be the morbid one of the family, if his father is to be believed. He may struggle to accept the reality of his mother's sickness, but he has no illusions to his own.

This family of broken spirits and hopeless souls. They've been through a lot together, and there is so much pent-up resentment between them all. The Tyrone family pulls no punches in this single day in a life long-ago lived. In all, very depressing. But so, so real.