"This is an odd assemblage of plays, for which gathering-together there is no overarching thematic justification. Because several of the plays deal with death, and one of the death-plays deals as well with money, and the last play deals with taxation, we're calling the book Death & Taxes. But all plays, directly or indirectly, are about death and taxes, so this title explains little..." –Tony Kushner
This stunning new collection by Tony Kushner, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Angels in America, showcases his masterful explorations of form and style. A rich and vibrant collection from one of our greatest American playwrights, Death & Taxes includes the following treasure trove of works:
In Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh, six playwrights come together to bury their contemporary and friend, Ding. They discuss and brood on their lives, writings, and loves. Theatre critic Dr. David Nowlan calls Reverse Transcription “rich in allusion, elegant in language and satirically funny” (Irish Times).
Hydriotaphia or The Death of Dr. Browne begins at one man’s deathbed and becomes an epic farce spanning Heaven and Earth.
“Karl Marx said that history occurs first as tragedy and then as farce. In Hydriotaphia, Tony Kushner says that history is tragedy and farce at once. Ben Jonson meets Bertolt Brecht in this brilliantly funny and dark knockabout play of the rise of the entrepreneurial spirit. As in all of Kushner’s work, the play teems with ideas.” –Robert Hass, former U.S. Poet Laureate
“The play flourishes Kushner’s trademark ability to mix up wildly diverse tonalities and ideas — bawdy humor, theological and class warfare debate, fourth-wall-breaking, dizzying monologues, fantasy and domestic intrigue all whirl like a juggler’s pins.” -Variety
Inspired by Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 75,” Terminating or Sonnet LXXV “is a delirious, scatological encounter between a psychotherapist, her madly besotted patient and their lovers, which contains some dizzyingly fine writing” (Variety).
“Tony Kushner at his most fanciful and eclectic ... fierce, strange and clever theatre.” –Evening Standard
East Coast Ode to Howard Jarvis is a one-man show featuring two dozen characters’ involvement in a tax evasion scheme.
“Surreal, confrontational and funny.” –Prospect Magazine (UK)
"There is such clarity conveyed not just in the language but in the rhythm and the nuance. Ideas and phrases honey drip from the script. Listening is an indulgence.” –The Stage
Notes on Akiba has been performed at The Jewish Museum and other venues during Passover. Fictionalized versions of playwright Tony Kushner and director Michael Mayer reimagine aspects of Jewish history, tradition and myth.
G. David Schine in Hell was originally published in New York Times Magazine. Featuring an appearance by Kushner’s fictionalized Roy Cohn of Angels in America, this short play revisits Cohn and several other American Conservatives of the McCarthy era as they adjust to an afterlife in Hell.
评分
评分
评分
评分
这部作品的叙事节奏像极了夏日午后那场突如其来的暴雨,一开始只是远方隐隐的雷声,随后便是铺天盖地的倾泻,将所有人物的心绪彻底涤荡。作者对细节的捕捉简直令人惊叹,那些看似微不足道的日常场景,比如主角在清晨拥挤的地铁车厢里紧紧攥着一个磨损的钥匙扣,或者他习惯性地在每次感到焦虑时轻敲左手食指的指关节,都像是一块块精雕细琢的马赛克,最终拼凑出一段令人心碎又无比真实的人生轨迹。故事情节并非那种高潮迭起的惊悚剧本,它更像是一部深刻的心理写真集,探讨的是现代都市人那种无处不在的疏离感和被时间洪流裹挟的无力。我特别欣赏作者对于内心独白的处理方式,那些内心戏的转折和挣扎,毫不矫揉造作,充满了哲学思辨的味道,让人在阅读过程中不得不停下来,反思自己生活中的那些“未竟之事”和“理所当然”。整本书读下来,感觉自己陪着主角经历了一次漫长而疲惫的朝圣之旅,虽然旅途终点带来的不是豁然开朗的喜悦,而是一种沉甸甸的、关于存在的深刻理解。
评分我是在一个连绵阴雨的周末把这本书一口气读完的,那种感觉就像是被困在一个巨大的、充满回音的密室里,周围的一切都模糊不清,只有书中的人物和他们的困境清晰可见。故事的内核探讨的是“责任”这个沉重的主题,但它巧妙地避开了说教式的口吻,而是通过一系列看似随机的事件来展现责任如何像藤蔓一样,一点点缠绕住一个人的自由意志。其中有一段关于家庭遗产处理的描写,极其精妙地展现了亲情与物质纠葛之间的微妙界限,那种无声的抗争和妥协,比任何激烈的争吵都更令人窒息。更让我印象深刻的是,作者对时间流逝的处理手法,它不是线性的,而是像水波纹一样,过去的回响不断地在现在响起,使得人物的每一个决定都背负着沉重的历史包袱。读完后,我感觉自己对周围的人和事都多了一层难以言喻的理解,那是一种带着疲惫感的清醒。
评分这部小说的世界构建得非常真实,以至于我一度怀疑作者是不是偷窥了我的邻居的生活。场景描写极其写实,从老旧公寓楼里发霉的味道,到街道拐角那家永远灯火通明却从不招揽生意的咖啡馆,都刻画得入木三分。这种强烈的“在场感”是许多小说难以企及的。然而,在这写实的表象之下,作者却埋藏了大量的象征和隐喻,使得故事在解读层面又充满了多义性。比如,书中反复出现的一个关于“锁和钥匙”的意象,究竟代表着封闭的自我,还是对某种特定答案的执着寻找?不同的读者很可能得出截然不同的结论。我尤其欣赏作者笔下那些配角,他们虽然戏份不多,但每一个都鲜活得像是随时会从书页里走出来,他们以各自独特的方式,映射出主角内心的某一侧阴影或光明。这本书就像一块棱镜,将日常生活的平庸和隐藏在其中的戏剧性光芒,以一种近乎残酷的美感折射了出来。
评分阅读体验的过程,与其说是享受故事,不如说更像是一种智力上的角力。作者在叙事结构上玩弄了不少“诡计”,比如信息的不对称披露,以及时不时地插入一些看似无关紧要的档案或信件片段,这些碎片化的信息迫使读者必须成为一个主动的侦探,去拼凑出事件的全貌。这种阅读方式极大地提升了代入感和参与度,让人完全沉浸在“解谜”的过程中。不过,这种结构也意味着它可能不适合那些偏爱直线性、易于消化的故事的读者。它更偏向于探讨人类在面对不可抗力时的反应机制,它没有传统意义上的英雄,只有一群在各自的泥沼中挣扎的普通人。读到最后一页时,那种感觉不是“故事结束了”,而是“我终于理解了作者设置的那个复杂的迷宫是如何运作的”。这是一种非常独特且值得回味的阅读成就感,尽管过程充满挑战,但收获的认知深度是毋庸置疑的。
评分不得不说,这部小说的语言风格犹如陈年的威士忌,初尝时可能有些辛辣难懂,但细细品味后,那种复杂的回甘和醇厚感便会占据你的味蕾。作者似乎对每一个词语都有着近乎偏执的挑选标准,句子结构时而极其工整对称,时而又故意打散,制造出一种节奏上的错位感,这极大地增强了阅读的挑战性,但也带来了无与伦比的文学享受。我发现自己常常需要放慢语速,才能跟上作者构建的那些复杂而精妙的意象——比如,将城市夜晚的霓虹灯比喻为“被遗忘的旧梦在玻璃幕墙上投下的苍白幻影”。这种文学性的强度,使得它远超一般的小说范畴,更像是一种对人性困境的诗意解读。它没有给出廉价的答案,而是将所有的问题赤裸裸地摆在你面前,逼迫你直视那些你试图逃避的真相。对于那些追求文本深度和语言艺术的读者来说,这本书无疑是一场盛宴,但它要求读者付出与之匹配的专注力和耐心。
评分 评分 评分 评分 评分本站所有内容均为互联网搜索引擎提供的公开搜索信息,本站不存储任何数据与内容,任何内容与数据均与本站无关,如有需要请联系相关搜索引擎包括但不限于百度,google,bing,sogou 等
© 2026 book.wenda123.org All Rights Reserved. 图书目录大全 版权所有