The Good Person of Szechwan (Penguin Classics)

By Bertolt Brecht

Book Overview

The authorized, definitive editions of two of Bertolt Brecht's most enduring works The Good Person of Szechwan is one of Bertolt Brecht's most popular works. When three gods come to earth in search of a thoroughly good person, they encounter Shen Teh, a goodhearted but penniless prostitute, who offers them shelter. Rewarded with enough money to open a tobacco shop, "Angel of the Slums" Shen Teh soon becomes so overwhelmed by the demands of people seeking assistance that she invents a male alter ego, "Tobacco King" Shui Ta, to deal ruthlessly with the business of living in an evil world. The Good Person of Szechwan is a masterpiece of minimalist design and elegance that shines a light on human nature and social mores. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700?titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the?series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date?translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 014310537X
• ISBN13: 9780143105374
• Release Date: May 2008
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.7" x 0.5" x 5.0"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 12 and higher

Customer Reviews

How to be good in the world we live in

"First comes eating and then comes morality". One day three Gods come down to Earth in Szechwan China in the early part of the 20th century. They meet an indigent man, a water carrier named Wang and ask him to find someone who will put them up for the night. They are travelling the world in search of good persons. They find one. After getting refused repeatedly, Wang at last finds someone to host these gentlemen, a prostitute named Shen-Teh. At some expense to herself, as she is expecting a client, Shen-Teh selflessly lets them stay with her. Pleased they were able to find a good person, they give her 1,000 silver coins. With this money Shen-Teh buys a tobacco shop. Immediately people start taking advantage of her. An entire family moves into the shop. People make claims, saying she owes them money. Facing swift ruin, Shen-Teh creates a fictitious cousin, Shui-Ta. She dresses up as him, and he's able to put people off in the way she can't. Shui-Ta can say no. Shui-Ta helps her out then leaves. Shen-Teh continues on, trying to make a living with the shop. On a rainy evening Shen-Teh meets a man Yang Sun. He is about to commit suicide. She speaks with him and prevents it. She falls in love with him. That's the basic plot setup. I'll just add that Shui-Ta is forced to come back again. Things just keep conspiring against good Shen-Teh. It's unconventional, as Brecht frequently is. Characters will break into song every once in a while. They'll talk directly to the audience. Sylistically, it's part fable/parable, part farce, part tragedy. I read the tone as semi-humourous, semi-serious. It's absurdist, but I agree with the idea that you can't have great comedy without a serious undercurrent and that comedy enhances a serious subject. I had a few minor quibbles - towards the end it got a trifle confusing, there are a lot of minor characters that I had some trouble keeping track of, and I found Yang Sun a tad cryptic.

Very Recommendable!

"The Good Woman of Sezuan" is my favourite play of Brecht's and I really recommend it to anyone who is interested in german literature and plays. It's also a good one to start if this is your first contact with Bertolt Brecht!

A good work of honesty

I had to read this for my theatre department at school. But as I did I found that through the course of this play, Brecht gives a sense of honesty in all of the chracters. Weather that honesty is good or bad, it is a truthfull play that brings forth many aspects of seraching for what is good and bad.

Good book

Well written, talented authors! I really liked it!