Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

by Tennessee Williams and Illustrated by Cover Art Williams, Tennessee

Book Overview

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof first heated up Broadway in 1955 with its gothic American story of brothers vying for their dying father's inheritance amid a whirlwind of sexuality, untethered in the person of Maggie the Cat. The play also daringly showcased the burden of sexuality repressed in the agony of her husband, Brick Pollitt. In spite of the public controversy Cat stirred up, it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Drama Critics Circle Award for...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0811216012
• ISBN13: 9780811216012
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: New Directions Publishing Corporation
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

An emotional and gripping family drama

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof is Tennessee William's highly-acclaimed, Pulitzer Prize-winning play that stands on equal footing with the best American dramas ever written. While uniquely American, it is also inherently universal. Set in the American South, Williams plays out a kind of Southern King Lear. The drama that plays out is, in its details, distinctly Southern, but the implications and the deeper themes of the story reverberate in the hearts and minds of anyone who has ever been in the midst of a family struggle. A dialogue-only play that features no narration, Cat is quite a unique play for two different reasons. First, it takes place entirely in real time, with no lapses between scenes or acts -- thereby adhering to the Aristotelian unity of time and place, something that isn't seen much in post-classical drama. Also, it maintains a very high level of emotional content throughout the entire play. It starts out quickly, soon reaches a fever pitch, and never lets up. To quote an early review of another book, Joseph Heller's Catch-22, in what was supposed to have been an insult, "The book seems not to have been written so much as shouted onto the page." Consequently, this is the rare play that not only works wonders on the stage, but is also a great work of literature: it reads very well (one can only imagine the emotional intensity of actually watching it being performed.) The book moves along at a breath-taking pace, and is a very quick read, as most plays are; there is, however, a lot more depth to it than appears on the surface. The themes it deals with are timeless and have been mined by many other playwrights, including Williams, before; indeed, they probably always will be. And yet, they endure. The story of this family struggle speaks to us in ways that few plays can from the page. A true classic of literature as well as the theatre, this work will not be lost on the reader. Williams succeeds brilliantly in his goal to capture the moving, evanescent essence of a family's interactions in motion. The gain is ours.

Southern passion and pain

"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is another masterpiece by Tennessee Williams, who was truly one of the 20th century's greatest playwrights. This play was presented in New York in the 1950s, and in book form it is an excellent read.I haven't looked at other editions, but the Signet edition contains two different versions of Act 3, along with a note by Williams explaining how director Elia Kazan persuaded him to write a second version. This feature makes the book particularly useful for teachers and students."Cat" takes place on a Southern plantation, and deals with a wealthy, but very dysfunctional family. Williams creates stunning dialogue for his characters: Brick, the bitter, alcoholic ex-athlete; Brick's frustrated wife Margaret; "Big Daddy," the patriarch, who is dying of cancer; and the rest. Williams also establishes the plantation's original owners as a haunting presence through the lines of his characters."Cat" is an explosive family drama about greed, secrets, guilt, alcoholism, and sexual frustration. Williams' characters are larger-than-life, and even grotesque, but Williams never loses a grasp on their essential humanity. An important book for those with a serious interest in American drama.

sultry like the south

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof swelters with the fire of longing for that wispy shade of happiness. The fierce currents of discontent, jealousy, and mendacity surge through this piece, leaving the reader to fend for himself on an emotional and gripping roller coaster. The struggle between Maggie the Cat and her husband Brick is the universal struggle to love and be loved through the deceptions and misconceptions that can wreck a chance at happiness. The external struggles mirror the internal struggles, for each character seems to be battling despair and a sense of worthlessness. All in all a superb read.

A beautifully constructed drama of the lie of life and death

Tennessee Williams's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" is a reverie filled drama of lust, greed, and death that puts emphasis on the interaction of families. Williams creates universal characters that are pathetic yet familiar and therefore warrant the reader's sympathy. He writes with such deceptive simplicity that he masks his characters's inner turmoil initially, making the turnout of such characterizations intriguing. The play presents that humanity isn't beautiful while attempting to shed light on the emotional lies that govern the interaction of families. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"'s intertwining themes of the lie of life and the deception of death provide the reader with insight towards the amblivalence of life. To say so much within such a short piece is a mystery within itself. The sheer power of the plot is testimony of Williams's genius. The play is beautifully constructed and hits upon many themes and emotions with clarity and precision, making it an enjoyable read while having substance. I did an analysis of this book for my junior Reading class, and recommend the read to anyone seeking high drama and a well rounded take on death.