Book Review - Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller

Hi again!

A few weeks ago, I decided to take on a really fun challenge, called 52 Books in 52 Weeks. It doesn't take a whole lot of explaining to understand what it is about, since it basically just is what it says: You do your best to read (at least) one book each week, for a whole year. That makes a total of 52 books, in 52 weeks.

I'm a few books behind, but I intend to catch up on that during the weekend. Please head over to the site of the challenge, and see if this is something for you - it's a whole lot of fun, especially checking out what other people have been reading that week.
And it's never too late to join in - you can catch up in a matter of few weeks, for example by reading shorter novellas.

I will be doing book reviews here on Miss Diorista when I finish a book in English, German or maybe Danish, if I feel that I have something to say about the book. I probably won't write about Icelandic books, although I do read a whole lot of those as well as in other languages, since most of my audience comes from abroad.

To start this off, I am reviewing Arthur Miller's famous play, Death of a Salesman. If you are interested in seeing what I am reading at the moment, you can check that out on the right side of the site.

The play was first published in 1949, has been very successful and still is, to this day. No wonder - reading it, as well as watching it, is a pure joy.
It is a tragedy of the best kind, with Willy Loman as the protagonist. His name is a play with words - it represents his low status in society. He is very unhappy, a little over sixty years old, and hasn't accomplished anything of what he thought he would. Worse yet, his sons, in whom he had great faith, haven't met his expectations either. Throughout the play, he slowly sinks deeper and deeper into a storm of dark thoughts: What could have been?
His wife, Linda, is a very strong character in the play, and my personal favorite. She loves Willy very dearly - more than so, actually - despite the fact that he isn't always very nice to her. As he gets sicker, and more lost, all she thinks about is trying to help him - she is even willing to sacrifice all contact with her own son. Whether or not you agree with her strategy there, the way Arthur Miller molded this character, is simply extraordinary.
As you can hear, I do wholeheartedly recommend this play. It is written very, very well, and with a sharp eye for human nature.

What are you reading these days? I'd love to know, looking for more books to read!

Love,
Miss Diorista