Nocturne: A Play

By Adam Rapp

Book Overview

A devastating, elegant, and gripping dissection of the American dream, Adam Rapp's Nocturne signals a brave new voice in American theater.

"Fifteen years ago I killed my sister."

So begins Adam Rapp's highly acclaimed play Nocturne, in which a 32-year-old former piano prodigy recounts the tragic events that tore his family apart.

With a keen eye for human relationships and a deft ear for language, Rapp explores the aftershock of this unimaginable event. The father is so incapable of forgiveness he puts a gun in his son's mouth; the mother so shattered, she deserts the family and eventually takes leave of her sanity altogether; the son--only 17 years old at the time--sets out for New York City. There, he seeks an uneasy refuge in books and reinvents himself as a writer. Across the decade and a half that follows he tries to cope with the ramifications of his own anguish and estrangement while making a desperate search for redemption.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B00B9ZQI2O
• ISBN13: 9780571211326
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
• Length: 96 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

One Man's Journey back... to Hope.

"Fifteen Years ago, I killed my sister..."From the visceral opening statement to the hopeful final moments, Mr. Rapp envelops the reader in a journey of tragedy and triumph. The young protagonist, the "resiliant narrator" of this story has decided that this is the place, and now is the time to recount the past fifteen years of his life. From the horrible accident involving his sister, his mothers emotional disconnect and his father's violent actions, we see a downward spiral of events prompting the young man to relocate to the East Village in New York City. Having found comfort and solace in the used works of literature his job at the bookstore allows him, our hero begins to make a life for himself, writing the events that led him to his current state. The pure hope and will of the story effortlessly comes out of his failed relationship with 'the beautiful red headed girl with the grey-green eyes' and his father reaching out for an intimate connection to his diparate son. I am a director who believes one must love a play for what it is and what it says in order to effectively direct it. I am directing this play right now.