Heartbreak House Audiobook (Unabridged)

" Fascinating...Exceptional...Beautifully Scandalous...Showing true side of dual-face society... "

" Complex, funny transplant of Chekhovian listlessness to pre-war England. "

" Heartbreak House was not what I would consider the best of George Bernard Shaw's plays. The Preface, in particular, was difficult to get through, but after a time it began to get interesting. The idea of the play was to write about World War I from a civilian's perspective -- the point of view of one seeing the War as a novelty rather than the tragedy that it truly was. The play takes place over (two? one?) night at a country manor in the shape of a ship, symbolic of a leisurely Europe sailing into the new century. The play covers the mundane topics of everyday life in Britain in the time, various satirical references to the young lady's marrying for wealth and wealth alone. Each character is torn down to the bare minimum of what they are, ending in an amusing scene in which the "practical businessman" deigns it proper to strip bare since already he has been stripped to his mere morality. The play ends with shots being fired and bombs being dropped near the house, the War that nobody mentioned prior to this point in the play being brought home and perhaps knocking the unaware to their senses as to what really matters. "

" A great play, for sure, but also a slippery one, as there is a purposeful and artful aimlessness to the whole affair-- with a haunting conclusion. "

" Couldn't understand it. "

" Some cannot abide Shaw's pedantic and eternal dialogue, and while I see the inherent weaknesses of it, I confess a fondness for his verbose Britishisms. Heartbreak house is a marvelous parody of early twentieth century English society. "

" "Heartbreak House" is my pick as Shaw's greatest. He used Chekov as a model and lets his soul flow. He's lamenting as well as mocking the times he lived in and that makes for true theatrical greatness. "

" cannot remember "

" just AWFUL! "

" Hmmm... Not quite as engaging as George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara, but it still has its moments. But the ending... Oh, the ending... A WTF moment if Shaw ever wrote one. Yes, that's it: the ending ruined it for me and left a weird taste in my mouth. "

" Have I ever read a Shaw play that seemed 5 star? Proabably not, but that may be because his world view and mine are so different. He was very clever, and his work is alway challenging. Read it and think about the sort of person you are. "

" Not one of my favorites by Shaw, but still good. "

" I'm disappointed in you, GBS. Your plays are usually awesome. This was utter filth. It was like a mixture of Victorian melodrama and modern teen angst. You must have been in a very bad mood. "

" Would love to see this one performed, although even reading the stage directions made me laugh out loud. "

" Hardbound. Found in: Bernard Shaw, Selected Plays pg 611 "

" A classic Shaw play dealing with humanity on the brink of war. "

" Captain Shotover: Unashamed. Read while studying at San Francisco State University, living on and off campus. Up with the collective, the co-hort, open and embracing all people. "

" The Captain may be my favorite character in all of literature. "

" One of the best comedies ever written. Shaw is absolutely brilliant and this is probably my favorite of all of his plays. "

" Not fan. At all. And now I understand why: Shaw fashioned it after Chekhov. Not my cup of tea. "

" Decadence of senses and relationships "

" This play is insane, but still interesting. "

" I didn't get into this one as much. Can't remember why. "

" this is one of my favorite plays. "

" Hardbound. Found in: Bernard Shaw, Selected Plays pg 611 "

" Have I ever read a Shaw play that seemed 5 star? Proabably not, but that may be because his world view and mine are so different. He was very clever, and his work is alway challenging. Read it and think about the sort of person you are. "

" One of the best comedies ever written. Shaw is absolutely brilliant and this is probably my favorite of all of his plays. "

" I'm disappointed in you, GBS. Your plays are usually awesome. This was utter filth. It was like a mixture of Victorian melodrama and modern teen angst. You must have been in a very bad mood. "

" quirky. Shaw at his best as a critic of Western hypocrisy. "

" A classic Shaw play dealing with humanity on the brink of war. "

" Not one of my favorites by Shaw, but still good. "

" Some cannot abide Shaw's pedantic and eternal dialogue, and while I see the inherent weaknesses of it, I confess a fondness for his verbose Britishisms. Heartbreak house is a marvelous parody of early twentieth century English society. "

" "Heartbreak House" is my pick as Shaw's greatest. He used Chekov as a model and lets his soul flow. He's lamenting as well as mocking the times he lived in and that makes for true theatrical greatness. "