Florian Zeller

Two Dark & Tragic Plays
Review of the Faber and Faber 2017 paperback edition.

It would be a spoiler to describe the methods that Florian Zeller uses to portray the experience of dementia in theatrical form in The Father> but they are devastatingly effective and anyone who has experienced them in their own family will likely recognize actions and reactions which they have personally lived through.

The Mother with its portrayal of empty-nest derangement syndrome may not share as much of a common show more experience with the audience and therefore comes across as an extreme farce in comparison.

The English translation by Christopher Hampton reads very well. show less

An interesting novel about a young writer on a trip to Egypt with a Swiss writer who becomes increasingly frustrated, sexually & culturally. On his return the Swiss writer writes a critique of islam & is murdered for it, similar to Theo van Gogh. It is a serious meditation on western views of islam, & the tendency to misdiagnose islamic societies with our own ills. But ultimately it is an urgent plea for the right to criticise, and by extension the right for fiction to exist.

Juilen Parme is almost 15 and fancies himself a writer, lady's man and adventurer. But he is none of these things. This book tells of a few days and nights in Julien's life, and really goes nowhere. It could be called a character study, except the character is mostly an insufferable little twit who can't tell the truth to save his life. Rarely engaging, this book was a huge disappointment to read.

A fun read, humorous and serious at the same time, interjecting dialogue with the narrator's reflections on historical events and personalities. The character of our age, according to the author, is an unwillingness to sacrifice, illustrated by sexual gratification over commitment to relationships. The quality is high but the book is very brief.