The Pillowman

While still in his twenties, the Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh has filled houses in New York and London, been showered with the theatre world's most prestigious accolades, and electrified audiences with his cunningly crafted and outrageous tragicomedies. With echoes of Stoppard and Kafka, his latest drama, The Pillowman, is the viciously funny and seriously disturbing tale of a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child-murders occurring in his town.

I will never forget the day that I was fortunate enough to discover Mr. McDonagh's work of genius, "The Pillowman." I was skulking around a bookstore, looking for something to read in order to kill the time, and I happened to end up in the drama section. I browsed the titles and once I came across this one, I was immediately intrigued. I read the synopsis and I had no choice; I had to buy it. As I sat in my car reading, I was literally pulled into the dark, grim, fantastic, entertaining, and twisted work that I held in my hands. I read it straight through and could not put it down. When I finished, I was, quite simply, breathless.

Summing up such a many-layered work is a sort of injustice, but I shall try, anyway: Katurian's life consists of working at a slaughterhouse, minding his mentally impaired brother, and writing lots stories...hundreds of them, in fact. It is because of these stories that two police officers become very interested in Mr. Katurian. Unfortunately for him, several children have been murdered in ways that are gruesomely similar to the ones that occur in some of Katurian's fiction. And it is Katurian's wonderfully sadistic stories that become the focal point of the investigation (and the play!), as the officers try to understand the motives for the killings and figure out where the final victim might be. As readers, we are allowed into Katurian's creative world, which includes a few of his short fiction pieces and the black-secret childhood nightmare that inspired what is possibly the greatest short story he has ever written, the titular "Pillowman."

Throughout the narrative (and the performace, too, I am sure), we have the privilege of delving into the full text of some of his stories (among them, the wonderfully twisted and fairy tale-esque "The Tale of the Town on the River") and are given disturbing and intriguing summaries of others ("The Three Gibbet Crossroads," for example). Several of the stories are even written to be acted out as scenes, which are shocking and highly fascinating.

And if all this weren't enough to captivate a reading-audience, there are still questions, both moral and political, that "The Pillowman" asks. Are writers responsible for the content of their work and what that work might inspire others to do? Is it all right for police to resort to brutality to get the vital information they need? Is life truly horrible? Are there times when murder can be viewed as an act of mercy? These are but a few of a smorgasborg of questions that a reader or essayist is confronted with in the play.

As a whole, McDonagh's work is interesting, well-paced, and filled with twists and unpredictable turns that keep it incredibly exciting. The ending, for me, was like a punch to the stomach that I truly didn't see coming. I have recommended it to both family and friends and am always delighted by the different things they notice and the different interpretations they have ("Pillowman" lends itself to many).

I have not read anything THIS GOOD in years. If I could have given it ten stars, I would have gladly done so.

- The Stalwart Pageboy

I saw Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges" and absolutely loved the film. The dialogue was fantastic and the blend of comedy with dark and twisted violence is done perfectly. I purchased "The Pillowman" because I heard that it was one of his best plays. It is amazing. I loved reading every second of it. The main character makes such an incredible transformation throughout the play. In each act his objectives are constantly changing, and it was quite an experience to see the many layers to Katurian. Perhaps even more impressive is that the three other characters are just as rich and fleshed out. This is a play that has a lot to say, but very rarely directly says it. The themes and questions are all there, but McDonagh allows the audience and readers to form their own opinions and fill in the missing bits of information. The plot twists are thrilling, and the humor is side-splitting. This is a definite 5-star play by one of the best playwrights out there today.

Product was shipped promptly and item was in condition promised by seller. Overall, I am very happy with this purchase.

I guess i did the reverse of "Burying the lead" there. ("Leading the bury?") This play is a piece of peerless brilliance. I'm buying it today, to read and memorise.

I saw it twice (in the same, final day) at Stage West, in Fort Worth, Texas. I can tell that the brilliance of the play is more than the greatness of the cast/crew/director - and that is higher praise than i can generally allow myself to give.

Emotional, hysterical, terrifying - to list the adjectives would break the spine of a dozen thesauri - and do no good whatsoever.

Read it, or better yet - go see it, if possible. The change it made in me was a profound improvement.

(Sorry if i lay the praise on thick, it is well earned.)

I thank Mr. McDonagh, and the brilliant ensemble [ stagewest . org ] for the best day i've had in years.

-Keith Hale-

I changed address during the shipping of this book, but these guys use DHL shipping which doesn't forward things. I never got the book.