The Theatre of the Absurd Paperback – January 1, 2001

This book is well organized and thorough. If you want to learn about the theater of the absurd, this is the way to do it. You will notice that the author is very defensive, constantly defending the right of the theater of the absurd to exist. This is because the book was originally written when it was still controversial, and it always will be to some people, but sixty some years after its advent, the plays are still being performed worldwide and their influence on today's theater continues. Thanks to two updates, Esslin was able to gain a better picture of the place of the theater of the absurd in the bigger picture of the history of drama. Without the end of chapter 8 and the entire chapter 9, the book would be very dated, but as it stands now, it will serve readers for a long, long time.

I have been looking for this book for awhile. It is an excellent resource if you are interested in scratching past the surface of Theatre of the Absurd by the guy who actually gave the genre its name. The book discusses the history of Absurdism as well as the authors and plays that created the category.

I read this first in High School. Then read a bunch of the plays. Re-reading the expanded version took me back to those plays, which still hold up brilliantly. A must have for drama peeps.

Don't remember who got this.

A classic, for which I only had earlier editions. There is no more knowledgable source on the subject than this text.

received in superb condition. thank you.

Looks brand new. No writing. Not messed up in any way.

If you have ever wished for one book to neatly package absurdist theatre, Mr. Esslin's book is the one. This book is readable, comprehendable, entertaining and engaging. In fact, it's rather difficult to put down. His introduction does wonders to dispel any myths as to what absurdist theatre is and isn't. He follows the introduction by individually highlighting those playwrights often associated with the absurd (Beckett, Adamov, Ionesco, Genet, and Pinter). Of interest is the fact that he does not overwhelm or bore the reader by providing an excess of information. On the contrary, each section is unbelievably tight. His section on Adamov is much appreciated, considering that finding anything on him is near impossible. He then continues with his "Parallels and Proselytes" in which he touches on "lesser-known" playwrights (Albee, Arrabal, and others). He follows this section with three more equally fascinating chapters. In short, Mr. Esslin packs a breadth of relevant information into 480 pages. "The Theatre of the Absurd" should find a welcome home on the bookshelves of actors, directors, dramaturgs, playwrights, or those with an interest in theatre. Buy it, you won't be disappointed.