Hotel Room Trilogy: Tricks/Blackout/Mrs. Kashfi

By Barry Gifford

Book Overview

From the award-winning author and screenplay writer, a trio of one-act plays depicting the spooky, strange, and tragic passage of guests through the same New York City hotel room (number 603).

"The dialogue has the evocative spareness of Pinter, and the] control of mood is] menacing, mesmerizing." --TIME

The tangible mystery of these stories is grounded in the peculiar relationships that unfold slowly, producing an unrelenting uncanny atmosphere. In each play, a family member has recently died and the survivors are left to deal with the consequences.

In "Tricks" Gifford approaches the psychological territory of Kafka. We meet two men looking for something more than just sex from a prostitute. Are the men two halves of a severed personality? In "Blackout" Danny and Diane, an Oklahoma couple of the 1930s, cannot move beyond the grief of a personal tragedy. Refusing to accept the death of her son, Diane seeks refuge in low-level deliriums. In "Mrs. Kashfi" a young boy experiences a spooky visitation while his mother voyages into the sea of clairvoyance with a fortune teller.
Written for David Lynch's 1993 drama Hotel Room for HBO, two of these stories, "Tricks" and "Blackout" were nominated for the Cable Ace Award.

"Gifford's night people are a strange mix of utter weirdness and bedrock humanity, rampant eccentricity, and absolute individuality. Some things in life are beyond analysis, and Barry Gifford is one of them." --Booklist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 164421394X
• ISBN13: 9781644213940
• Release Date: October 2024
• Publisher: Seven Stories Press
• Length: 76 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.1" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Gifford's stiking dialogue leaps off the page.

Gifford's "Hotel Room Trilogy" contains the two incredible plays filmed by David Lynch for HBO and a third, lesser play. The tangible mystery of these stories is grounded in peculiar relationships that unfold slowly before us, producing an unrelenting atmosphere of the uncanny. In "Tricks" Gifford approaches the psychological territory of Kafka. We meet two men looking for something more than just sex from a prostitute. Are the men two halves of a severed personality? "Mrs. Kashfi" is the story of Charlie, a young boy who must amuse himself in the apartment of a fortuneteller while his mother consults the woman. This is the play that was not filmed, and though it is perhaps the least engaging work in the trilogy, the story does contain one unforgettable twist. "Blackout" remains my favorite of the plays, and is a story I will cherish forever. Danny and Diane, have come to New York in 1936 to meet a doctor, a specialist. Diane has a mysterious problem that has shaken her sanity and dragged the couple through a crucible of grief, burning away everything but an intense, clear-eyed, and sincere love for each other. In the end, "Blackout" is story rooted in a very basic relationship, and Gifford packs every line with texture and meaning-a style deeply reminiscent of Faulkner.