REVIEW: Bus Stop by William Inge

Date Premiered: March 2, 1955

Having both read and worked on this particular show, I have found I quite like this work. 

Inge has done a marvelous job of creating characters that actors can create stories for to give more weight to the choices made through the play and enough subtext for readers to impress their own visions onto them. The experiences of seeing the play and reading it are two very different but rewarding things, both giving new depth to the way one can look and understand the characters. 

For a show that takes place in the 50s, it does a fairly good job of creating universal characters and a story that contemporary audiences can still appreciate. Grace is a fantastic example, as she is a woman before her time that readers and viewers might be able to liken to someone they may have met before. She is strong and fierce in a coy way, someone who does not need to explain herself or her actions. 

My biggest qualm with the script is the finale, where it seems that Inge plays into the cliches of RomCom and tosses away any sort of conviction Cherie may have had. This also depends on how the role is played on stage, but it leaves much to be desired in terms of a satisfactory conclusion. 

Overall, it is a great work that creates a compelling story and nuanced characters that bring a lot of great elements to the table.

★★★★✩

RE-READABLE: Tomodachi no Hanashi by Kawahara Kazune and Yamakawa Aiji

Published: 2010 

No. of Volumes: 1

Every so often there comes a series so compelling that I feel the need to just keep reading it (over and over and over).

Tomodachi no Hanashi is one of those. I was drawn in by Yamakawa's unique take on the shoujo style - a bit of a stylized realism that you don't find often among the wide-eyed, pretty faced heroines of the genre. It is a nice blend.

The story itself focuses on two best friends, Eiko, often considered a "plain jane" by their classmates, and Moe, who is super popular with boys. It chronicles the type of friendship that comes around once in a lifetime, the kind that creates a type of love that transcends the line of best friend. For Moe, it even trumps the possibility of having a a shot at a real relationship (by her own choice of course). 

Eiko and Moe.

Being so popular, Moe's one rule for dating her is that her boyfriend must pay the same attention, if not more, to Eiko. The only one to do so is the sweet Tsuchida. When things do not go according to plan in Moe and Tsuchida's relationship, the reader is then treated to the point of view of Tsuchida's best friend, Narugami. 

 Tsuchida and Narugami.

The relationships in this series are touching as they intertwine and breathe a life of their own. Different types of love, both romantic and friendly, are represented in a way I feel is often misconstrued in the shoujo genre. It feels genuine instead of contrived. 

Tomodachi no Hanashi also touches on other subjects such as first loves, bullying in all its forms, revenge on behalf of a loved one, and how everything that happens in someone's life will build the person they will become. Kawahara's story brings these tropes together in a unique way that really touched me.

It's a short and sweet series that will please fans of shoujo, slice of life, and realistic romance. 

★★★★★

REVIEW : The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Published: January 10, 2012

I was a bit behind TFiOS bandwagon. It took the release of the movie and urging from my sister to finally jump on this one. So, I took it with me on my recent trip out to California and blasted through it on my six hour flight. 

I regret nothing.

The premise is simple enough, two young teens fall helplessly in love with one another - except for the fact that Hazel has cancer and Augustus is a cancer survivor. That in itself raises the stakes for their love affair. 

At first, I was put off by Hazel. She's a passive-aggressive misanthrope who's only real friend (besides her supportive parents) is a book about a girl with cancer. I didn't expect her to be anything less, but her narrative voice is one that takes getting used to. Once comfortably settled into her pacing, I was pretty impressed with Green's handy work. 

The events of the book and the characters reactions to them are raw and believable. It's a different voice speaking to the same old topics - cancer battles; navigating young adulthood; falling in love; dying. Hazel, Augustus, and their blind friend Isaac all present unique perspectives to the things many people hold for granted. Green has given up a piece of work representing bleak hope; a small infinity called the present moment. 

I still can't say I enjoyed the inflections used in the main narration, but they do reflect the way a young person would typically speak. The thing that did impress me most was Green's avoidance of taking the obvious route (based on other people's reactions, I'm sure you've assumed someone dies). Even this choice felt honest, not just a plot device making the book about kids with cancer even more upsetting. I felt that this pivotal event mirrored Hazel's sentiments about the weeding out of kids in the cancer support group early on in the novel, as well as speaking to the harsh realities of cancer. 

Overall, I was really please with the book. It was worth crying in an airplane next to total strangers. 

★★★★✩

Want more John Green? Check out his YouTube 

channel.