A writer and his disabled brother are at the center of the investigation of a series of grisly child murders when it is discovered that the murders resemble the dark but lovely fables that the writer creates.

My god, people. Never before has reading a play taken me to such beautiful, horrifying new places. Never have torture, child murder and fairy tales come together in such a fascinating way. I don't usually read plays for pleasure to begin with, but I will be reading this again, and I think it would work really well as a novel. ( )

Disturbing, unique, and weirdly weirdly beautiful.

I've never read a play that I'd legitimately qualify as a thriller or horror story, but this one reaches that level. You'll read it in one sitting, and find it unpredictable and frighteningly fascinating throughout.

If you're a fan of Law & Order And reading--you should read this now. If you're a fan of darkly comic literature--you should read this now. If you want, simply, to read a contemporary worthwhile play--again, you should read this now.

Warning: I'm not kidding when I say this is dark--but I will say, when you're Tempted to stop reading, DON'T. It's not what you think. ( )

This is a great contemporary play. At the same time it is morbidly funny and deeply disturbing. "The Pillowman" starts in the tradition of Harold Pinter. It seems to be yet another treatise on power and abuse in language and relationships. But Martin McDonagh achieves more than this. "The Pillowman" is a great contemporary morality-play dealing with the interactions of an author's life-work with a deeply absurd and cruel world. Can‘t wait to read it a second time. ( )

Recommended by a co-worker who had seen it performed locally. Interesting, though rather gruesome and not exactly uplifting. ( )