The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Publisher: Penguin Books | Modern Classics

Publication Date: 1 July 2009 (first published in 1945)

Series or Standalone: Standalone

ISBN-13: 9780141190266

Format: Paperback

Pages: 92

Websites:

Tennessee Williams - Official Site

Tennessee Williams - Goodreads

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Overview:

Abandoned by her husband, Amanda Wingfield comforts herself with recollections of her earlier, more gracious life in Blue Mountain when she was pursued by 'gentlemen callers'. Her son Tom, a poet with a job in a warehouse, longs for adventure and escape from his mother's suffocating embrace, while Laura, her shy crippled daughter, has her glass menagerie and her memories. Amanda is desperate to find her daughter a husband, but when the long-awaited gentleman caller does arrive, Laura's romantic illusions are crushed. The Glass Menagerie, Tennessee William's evocation of loneliness and lost love, is one of his most powerful and moving plays.

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The Glass Menagerie was a very gentle, beautiful story. Beautiful is exactly the word I would use to describe it because it was so so sweet. Laura was especially sweet. Although I did find her shyness a bit too extreme at times, I still appreciated the gentleness and tenderness with which she cared for her glass animals and the love with which she looks at her family and the world around her. Despite her being 24 years old, in my mind I would picture her as a very young, innocent, shy and beautiful little girl, not older than 20.

Something else I have to comment on is the plot twist at the end. I did not see it coming and I was shocked with what was revealed. While reading the scene I felt so happy and hopeful for Laura that I was smiling and suddenly i was like "what? what? WHAT?". To quote Amanda (Laura's mother) "Things have a way of turning out so badly" and may I add so unexpectedly.

Challenge(s): 2012 TBR Pile Reading Challenge, 2012 Off The Shelf Challenge