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assimbya's review
2.0
One's enjoyment of this book is going to depend entirely on their taste. Do you like nineteenth century French comedy? Then you probably will have fun. If it's not exactly your cup of tea, as I'm discovering, then your reactions will likely be more mixed, if not neccesarily downright negative.
Of the four plays here, A Peculiar Position and A Scrap of Paper are outright farces, and thus, in my opinion, don't work particularly well on paper, even if they're wonderful when performed. The Glass of Water is a comedy, but less of a farce, and its unusual setting in Queen Anne's court in the eighteenth century lent a level of interest to it. La Dame aux Camelias, better known as Camille, is of course fragile and sad, and I loved it. Olympe's Marriage seems to be in the volume for the sole reason of being a direct critique of the morals that La Dame aux Camelias espouses. Having thus liked its target, I thought I would dislike Olympe's Marriage, but it was clever, and eventually won me over, even if I never agreed with its ideology.
Know your taste then, and read this book or not accordingly.
Of the four plays here, A Peculiar Position and A Scrap of Paper are outright farces, and thus, in my opinion, don't work particularly well on paper, even if they're wonderful when performed. The Glass of Water is a comedy, but less of a farce, and its unusual setting in Queen Anne's court in the eighteenth century lent a level of interest to it. La Dame aux Camelias, better known as Camille, is of course fragile and sad, and I loved it. Olympe's Marriage seems to be in the volume for the sole reason of being a direct critique of the morals that La Dame aux Camelias espouses. Having thus liked its target, I thought I would dislike Olympe's Marriage, but it was clever, and eventually won me over, even if I never agreed with its ideology.
Know your taste then, and read this book or not accordingly.
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