There is not, and to my knowledge has never been, a playwright like Wallace Shawn. His plays are not the least bit entertaining, nor were they intended to be. They are the intellectual equivalent of dining on razor blades.

This collection is a nice balance of his early, sexually and emotionally explicit plays -- imagine "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" meets "Oh, Calcutta" -- along with his two great works of political and moral philosophy, "Aunt Dan and Lemon" and "The Fever".

It's hard to describe the latter works, hard to convey their brilliance, difficulty, and, finally, their tremendous ability to disturb. "The Fever" is a monologue and "Aunt Dan and Lemon" relies as much on monologue as dialogue, so neither has ever been much of a hit with audiences used to soundbites and smash cuts. Both could also be said to be assaults on the audience, for you cannot sit through productions of them or read them without having some fundamental beliefs questioned and, if you've really paid attention, upset. At their heart, these works seek to undermine a simple belief which most of us take for granted: that we live a relatively moral, decent life and that we are, at heart, a good person.

There are very few writers who I think are truly necessary, writers without whose voices I would feel absolutely bereft, even less human. Wallace Shawn is one of those writers.

Wally Shawn is truly a genius, unsung, who has influenced a number of important playwrights and writers. Peremptorily odd plays and not for everyone, but artful, articulate, risky and amazing...he'll be appreciated postmortem, but read him now, and pray that he gets produced more often in the US.

Wallace Shawn doesn't get produced much in America; in fact several of his earlier plays were never produced and are now impossible to find. This must be because they're so unnervingly original. They take on subjects other playwrights fear (such as whether writing a play is worthwhile), and they include monologues which any actor would drool over. They also radicalize form, enabling a much wider range of topics and possibilities within a single play than I've ever seen elsewhere. I'm very excited that this book has reprinted one of Shawn's long-lost early plays (too ugly for the NEA!) along with his newer, starker work. I also strongly recommend his newest play "The Designated Mourner".

It's difficult to avoid hyperbole when discussing this highly disturbing but exhilarating play. Its main theme is the death of high culture at the hands of a newer, "low" popular culture. The setting is an unnamed country, where the balance of power has shifted violently, and the theme is personified by monologues and dialogues of three characters: a celebrated writer, who is out of favor with the new regime; his doting daughter; and the daughter's husband, the title character who is left to mourn the passing of the highbrow world. The play traces the husband's journey from his inconsequential, powerless place within the rarefied writer's world, to his abandonment of that world for a more debased existence. By play's end, he is the only individual left on the cultural landscape who can comprehend this higher, more humane, intellectual world that has passed out of existence.

Perhaps most impressive about this work is that Shawn has profoundly dramatized his theme through character. His ideas about the decline of high culture - and who prospers, who gets along, and who perishes because of it - are always vibrantly present, because they are told through the characters, all of whom are fully realized and ambiguously sympathetic throughout. Mr. Shawn has written real human beings, not cardboard allegories; and he has set them, via his graceful and succinct language, within beautifully evoked environments. The experiences of the husband as he leaves the high for the low, and his resultant dehumanization, are etched brilliantly. He moves from his intelligent wife to a younger, simpler woman, to a mangy dog, to what he refers to as his "little friends" - images in adult magazines. The endings of the writer and his daughter are even darker, and they are told in beautifully evocative yet simple language, in direct contrast to the ugliness described. It should chill you to the bone.

"The Designated Mourner" was performed last year in New York for a limited run. It was (here comes the hyperbole) perhaps the best piece of theatre I've seen. If it's performed again, make every effort to see it. In the meantime, content yourself with the film version (directed by David Hare, with great performances by Mike Nichols and Miranda Richardson), which lacks some of the masterly power of the Andre Gregory stage production, and read and re-read this extraordinarily resonant text. Shawn elevates our own civilization by superbly dramatizing how it could (may?, will?) plausibly fall apart. He is undoubtedly the most exciting playwright working now.

This is a stunning play.

By all means buy this book, and try to see A Designated Mourner performed on stage if you get the chance. You can also rent the recently released video of the London production starring Mike Nichols as Jack.

As you watch the drama unfold you may cry for the death of love, the death or art. Or -- who knows -- you may feel as if trapped in a humiliating nightmare where you have to watch yourself betray what you value most.

Far, far scarier than the most ruthless death squad is the creeping suspicion that you may actually have less in common with Howard (who dies for art and social justice) or Judy (who dies for love) than with good old Jack (who chooses to live on happily without any of those things.)

Or you may decide that each of the three characters mirrors an aspect of your personality. In that case, the work may reflect a dazzling light on a central drama of your own existance, your internal stuggle to order your values and to express them as you live on in a world which, increasingly perhaps, really couldn't care less.

I recently had the opportunity to meet Wallace Shawn at a book signing/reading. He is an unusual man who seems uncomfortable with people, but a wonderful reader. The play itself is worth reading on your own, too. I've never read a play quite like this one. The three characters--Jack, Judy,and Howard--actually speak to the audience. It is monologue after monologue. Yet somehow it all comes together beautifully. Humor abounds in The Designated Mourner. It has recently been made into a film, although I believe it is only being presented in Seattle, Washington at this time

Well, I'll add my praise to the other two reviews of this wonderful little book. It's hard to characterize The Fever - I guess it's a long short story, all told from the point of view of an affluent American who, for various reasons, finds himself alone, and physically and mentally very unwell, in a small unstable 3rd World country. What Shawn's done is rather like what Peter Singer did in a recent essay in the NYTimes - he has taken the one of the hoariest of moral problems -- distributive injustice -- and breathed new life into it. Both Singer and Shawn seem to accomplish this by returning to a rather simple, almost naive approach to the guilt of affluence and tranquillity in a world of scarcity and terror. Both insist that we must end our narcissistic attention to our precious feelings and instead subject our actions in the world to a clear and unforgiving critique, a critique that will ideally lead to a new and enlightened set of actions based upon humility and generosity. Perhaps this comment makes The Fever sound like a hectoring sermon -- it's anything but. The prose is fast, funny, quirky, and provocative. I keep coming back to this book...

This brisk read is one of the most provocative pieces of short fiction that I've read. The narrator gradually strips away the varnish of deceit and self-deception that have come to define his day-to-day existence and meaning of his life. As he does so, he begins to see with gut-wrenching clarity his economic, social and political relationships with friends, family, nation, and the world. Intended as one person play for small groups, this monologue reads as well as it is experienced theatrically.

This is a refreshing way to spend your time listening to some of the best interviews from the show. I like the show but sometimes don't have time to catch it on NPR. This audio set gives me lots of the memorable interviews I've heard or partially heard over the years. It's a great collection of some of the folks who are major influences in their work. The inquisitive and probing questions of Terry Gross really open up conversations with the likes of Tracy Ullman and Dennis Franz, they sound like us. These are wonderful snippets of real life.

Machiavelli is known (and pretty much only known) for "The Prince", but take that as his definitive work and you get a picture of him as some kind of apologist for despots. That is as far from the truth as it gets. Machivelli was not Machiavellian and this brilliant play proves it. A biting and amusing satire against, of all things, corruption! Machivelli wrote this to prove that there was more to him than "The Prince", but, sadly, no one listened. If you study "The Prince", study this as well. It fills out the picture of Machiavelli as an honest, devout, and patriotic visionary. Read the Mandrake, and forget everything you think you know about Machiavelli!

...but Wallace Shawn has it in spades. I read Fever in an hour. Short solid piece that would be claustrophobic to put on the way he wants. (In groups of 10-12 people in homes, rather than in a theater) But the theme has been done just as well, in other plays and monologues.

Marie and Bruce- harsh, visceral funny, and I can't think any work that better illustrates the worthlessness of language. Miscommunication is my favorite theme, and this play shows it's hand at that in different ways (party banter, "lover's" spat, what isn't said but hangs in the air like an albatross about to meet it's fate) to great effect. People have misread it before (not here, I haven't read these) claiming Marie to be a shrew, and there to be nothing going on or that the play goes "nowhere" without letting the play fully unfold before them.

All communication inevitably and inherently lacks. It is the great leveling field. Watching the characters NOT interact, and go nowhere hits like a sucker punch, for we're all suckers aren't we. Fools to think we have meaning. Laughable that we assume we are connecting. Yeah, I laughed 'till I cried with this one. Wouldn't miss it for the world.

Fans of Semiotext(e)USA might like this.

do you believe killing is wrong? have you ever killed a cockroach? even if you answer no, and say that killing anything under any circumstances is wrong, wouldn't you change your mind if your home were absolutely infestated with cockroaches? if the cockroaches were dropping from the ceiling and crawling en masse up your arms and legs? then you might do something, no?

aunt dan says the nazis were simply defending their homes and that killing for them was a moral and honorable action. outrageous? come see what else aunt dan has to teach.

"lemon" wastes away in her apartment with the vivid memories of her aunt while she weighs morals, politics and the value of life.

I unwantingly began reading this play as a class assignment and by page 3 I was captivated. I couldn't put it down. It made me think about morality and question my own ethics. Aunt Dan helped me understand the concept of ideology, knowing my "role" in society and how morality and ethics shields each of us from seeing ourselves, really seeing who we are. I look forward to reading it again...

One of the most thoughtful and disturbing plays I've read, and so vivid in my mind that I'd swear I'd seen it myself -- or even lived it -- but no, I just read it. Last week I read it again, to confirm how good it is, and you know what? It's damn good. The afterword, "On the Context of the Play," is great too -- I'm going to give it to my ethics students a CUSTOMER-ID:909877 EMAIL:davidrolfe@earthlink.net DISPLAY-EMAIL:source USER-LOCATION:Pasadena, California NOTIFIED:NO TIME:949734716 RATING:4 PRIORITY:2500 SUMMARY:Time to reconsider "The Dice Man" REVIEW:I feel about "Dice Man" a bit like I feel about Ayn Rand's novels: Both begin in our real world and proceed to carry us towards an alternate (superior?) life structure envisioned by the author. I can't see either vision as a complete blueprint for re-forming my life, and yet the ideas are extremely thought-provoking and powerfully expressed. The original "Dice Man" is a great fantasy. This follow-on, set 20 years later, is a (somewhat) more realistic examination of the implications of dice living. True, it's a bit less fantastic than the original, but if you really found the dice notion interesting, you should read this as well. I enjoyed it, both for its ideas and as a novel.

I once read the thing that makes a movie great is when your done watching it, you'd like to meet the characters in the movie in real life. Louis Malle's "My Dinner With Andre" is one of those types of movies. "My Dinner With Andre" is filled with philosophical ideas and theories. We ourselves would like to have a conversation like this with a friend or a boyfriend\girlfriend, husband or wife. Infact as we watch the film we wish we could somehow join the conversation in the movie and offer our own ideas!

For some odd reason I've never really paid attention to the films of Louis Malle. I've seen some of course, but, he never really striked me as one of the greats. Well recently I find I've been caught in his film world. I'm very eager to watch some of his films over again, and some for the first time. I feel his sensibilities as a filmmaker match my own. I don't know if that makes any sense. What I mean to say is, what he finds to be sympathetic and interesting I do too.

Many people before watching this film always seem to find it odd how the film's plot can be enjoyable. For those who don't know, the story is merely about two friends meeting having dinner. They talk about their work (They both work in the theathre), about their families, religion, and just in general, life. What people should and shouldn't do. "My Dinner With Andre" is so fascinating that at times we just my forget the the movie only revolves around two characters. That we are actually just watching a movie about a conversation. Which I admit on the surface does seem boring. But, after you've seen this movie you'll be very impressed.

My only complaint with this movie is the first 40 minutes of conversation between Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn. Only because what Gregory is talking about doesn't seem to connect with the audience. He's talking about his soul-searching days travellling to foreign countries. This is not a theme everyone who watches the movie can relate to. Or maybe it was just me. It's after all of this that the two start to discuss the more universal issues that we can relate to; work, family, trying to find happiness...ect. But still in all, "My Dinner With Andre" is a movie I would recommend everyone make an attempt to see. It will turn out to be a rewarding experience.

Bottom-line: Probably the most accessible film by filmmaker Louis Malle. A rare movie experience that rewards us in ways we may not have thought possible. A modern classic.

I don't know about the quality of the picture on the DVD, but I would rather stare at snow and just listen to Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn talk than never experience this movie.
Someone else said that Gregory was a narcisitic bore, but the movie is about his experiences over a couple of years. Kind of hard to do without mentioning himself.
The conversation is awesome, and the ideas therein are probably not too unfamiliar to anyone nowadays who might watch it, but it is still incredible to hear them articulated so well.
I recommend reading the screenplay too, as there are a couple of Andres stories that got left out of the final cut of the movie. Although they don't change the basic message of the movie, they are interesting, especially if you can find the book used.
All in all, this is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen, and would recommend it to anyone who has ever wondered if our society has gone a little nutty.

First saw this movie when it came out. Went to see it with a group of friends. After the movie we went to an all night coffee shop and talked about the film and how it related to our lives until the sun came up. This film made me laugh, contemplate life then cry at the end when Andre talks about how one day his son was just a little boy and before he knew it, he saw his grown adult son standing before him and he wonders, where did that young child go? Where did that time go?

This film is not for everyone. Have watched this film with people who wondered when the two characters were going to finish dinner, and when would the action pick up? Other people were left in the dark because they had never read "The Little Prince" and had no idea what Andre was talking about when he referred to the book. However, if you are someone who questions life and looks to find meaning or purpose in your life, you will be pleasantly surprised. At the end of the movie, I always need to talk with friends and loved ones about the issues that are always raised watching this film. For me, this is a film I have watched yearly (usually more) because it allows me to concentrate on what really is and is not important in life. This movie always puts life and all the "things" that happen in my life back, into perspective.

Although Andre's adventures seem rather abstract at times, he eventually brings the conversation to a point where Wallace Shaw can understand what he is saying because he starts using examples and situations in every day life. He explains that you don't have to go to Tibet to meditate or be buried alived for the night in Poland to truly experience life and what it is all about.

This is, by far, my favorite film and will always be my favorite film. Watching this movie is a gift I give to myself.

I have no other option but accepting most of the negative reviews submitted to this book ( Graphics Programming with Perl and GNU software ). The book is definitely one of the horrible books that O'reilly was ever unfortunate enough to publish. I believe a similar title by "Manning" publication does a better job than this one. If you need the facts, read on.

If you want to purchase this book to learn how to program web graphics with Perl, stop right here and go to CPAN.org. Search for GD, GD::Graph and ImageMagick and read their manuals. That's all this book does any ways.

The only chapter I enjoyed was chapter one, "Image File Formats", which at least taught me something I hadn't known before.

Outlines of the chapters follow.

Chapter one - "Image File Formats" covers most of the basics you need to know to understand the anatomy of graphics, their compression algorithms and different formats available for the web, as well as their pros and cons. This is the chapter I enjoyed most. The chapter lasts over 30 pages.

Chapter two - "Serving graphics on the Web" talks a bit about serving images from within Perl. Talks how the browser loads the images, image load time and image caching. Shows the tag, and its attributes. Lasts another 30 pages.

Chapter 3 - "A Litany of Libraries" lists references to some of the graphics libraries available on the web. I would expect to see this chapter as an appendix.

Starting chapter 4 - "On-the-Fly graphics with GD" is the start of all the disappointment, and to some extent, annoyance. After a clumsy introduction to GD and some of its classes and methods, starts coding a chess board. The application itself is not so useful, but the code is worth consideration. The chapter also lists all the methods available through GD classes with some description of each.

Chapter 5, 6 and 7 are written in the same style as the above sibling. They concentrate on Image::Magic (also known as PerlMagick), GD::Graph (previously known as GIFgraph ) and Gimp respectively. Chapter 7 teaches how to write Gimp Plug-ins. You might consider this chapter if you're a Gimp user/fan.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I can only stand to grab data out of a text file so many times... I have never done graphics programming before and found this book to be a nice introduction. I did notice that there wasn't a lot of troubleshooting information in the book so if you are experienced programming graphics, this book is probably a waste of your time and $$$, you would be better off busting out your lazerjet and printing the man pages...

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book and plan on using ImageMagick in my next project!

If you want something thats a slight change of pace, give this a try!

This is not an art book. There are not even any color illustrations. Rather, there is uniquely definitive and comprehensive coverage of the most important freeware graphics tools useful for web development. There is a strong bias toward programmatic tools, those which can be controlled from server-parsed HTML or CGI using Perl, which allow drawing graphics interactively with the user on the fly. One example with source code is a Perl "biorhythm" calculator, where the user enters a birthdate and the web page draws a customized GIF bar chart with a sinusoidal envelope, emulating the coin-operated "biorhythm" machine at the Vince Lombardi Rest Area on I-95 in New Jersey. This basic technique can be used for charts of stock performance, server activity, and any other on-demand drawing. The ImageMagick tool, which can be run from a command line to do batch processing (such as thumbnailing) or through a Perl API, is also well covered, showing how to draw text labels onto images and do other tasks essential to good web practice. The GIMP, a web-friendly freeware clone of Adobe Photoshop, is covered primarily from the point of view of its relatively unknown Perl API, but this is not a book about the GIMP and there are better choices of books (especially those with color) if interactive use of the GIMP is your main concern. However, use of the GIMP to create basic web elements such as flaming marbles or imploding cats is covered. This book stands in a class by itself on its subject matter, and is destined to become one of the classic O'Reilly references. While it does have copious pointers to web information via URLs, the book's most serious deficiency is certainly that it is heavily tied to the current snapshot of available tools, and the freeware tool development pace will doubtlessly necessitate frequent revisions of this book, possibly as often as annually. The author is also to be commended for not flinching from discussions of technical issues where appropriate, such as image compression, interlacing, and the internals of GIF, JPEG, and PNG file formats, but these discussions are not essential to the book if the reader has little interest in technical issues and wants to get right to the cookbook graphics recipes.

I just finished Teching this play, and i've fallen in love with it. While the script does leave a lot up to the director, it is full of witty, crazy, and sometimes downright distrubing dioloug. It is the story of a morrocan hotel and all it's inhabetents. It is true theatre of the absurd, with no true plot, but still a delightful thing to watch. Dozens of charactors enter, each with their own story and personality. Through these many disjointed plot lines, the central charactor, the clerk, weaves his way, all the while developing his own charactor. Each of the minor parts, while often very small, is an inventive and individual creation. An amazing play.