Complete Plays, Lenz, and Other Writings (Penguin Classics)

Many decades before Emile Zola codified what naturalism in theatre and in prose was and should be, and his German contemporaries Otto Brahm and Gerhart Hauptmann helped define and illustrate this newly ascendant dramatic "-ism", as well as many decades before the emergence-or even the formulation, of symbolism, surrealism and expressionism, there arose the works of a momentarily forgotten genius on the German stage, whose plays, few in number but powerful, if ambiguous in performance, still merit appreciative audiences. This genius was Georg Buchner (1813-1837), who before his early death at 23, wrote three plays that provided posterity with a dramatic exit from the previously dominant Romantic idealism of Schiller, Goethe, and Hegel. It would take many years following his premature death from typhus in 1837, even many decades, for Buchner's plays to receive the appreciation, understanding and performances they deserved, but today he is generally viewed as one of the founders of the modern Western stage. Two of his plays, "Danton's Death" (1835), and "Woyzeck" (1836/7) are superior to a great many plays written and performed today, and they will doubtless be performed for many decades to come. John Reddick, Buchner's translator, has here provided not only splendid versions of these two great plays, but Buchner's remaining two fictional works, the farce "Leonce and Lena"; and "Lenz", the first, startling description of schizophrenia; as well as his early revolutionary proclamation, "The Hessian Messenger"; the introduction to a lecture he gave "On Cranial Nerves" in late 1836 in Zurich; and a selection of his letters. "Woyzeck" and "Danton's Death" clearly are the highlights of this translation ("Danton's Death", my own favorite work of his, anticipates the remarkable many-sided spectacle treating the French Revolution and truth, "Marat-Sade" from 1964.) but for one's first acquaintance with this nearly-forgotten pioneer of the modern stage, one can not do better than read this anthology.

I bought the Kindle edition of this, primarily for "Woyzeck." The editor's notes are comprehensive, even exhaustive, and much more illuminating than those of other editions I've looked at. The prefatory material (biographical background, etc) is equally fascinating and thought-provoking. Buchner was a genius, as this volume handily proves. I'm looking forward to reading the letters and non-dramatic writings (especially "The Hessian Messenger") all of which are included here. I'm still looking for a variorum edition of "Woyzeck" -- I very much want to see the differences between the four manuscripts. I had hoped to find that here; while I'm disappointed in that one respect, it seems a small issue when considering how satisfied I am overall with this book.

Item arrived in excellent condition, exactly as described, on time.I bought this for a class and didn't think much of it.Great read; has lots of annotations that are very thorough, which helps a great deal. I didn't find this too difficult of a read (English is my third language and I generally have a little bit of trouble with texts like these) and enjoyed it much more than I'd expected.

This is the standard translation available now. However, I doubt that a stage would choose this for acting. I may be wrong, but the translation doesn't have the rhythms of common speech. I may be wrong, but it seems that way right now.

Good price and condition.

As advertised. Came promptly

The Penguin version of Buchner's works is quite good, especially if you're in a "one-stop-shopping" mindset: the annotations and notes are excellent, both elaborate and illuminative. (One might object that the translator is a bit heavy handed in offering interpretations and scholarly opinions; however, they're useful as a starting point.) In terms of the translation itself, it definitely wields a certain visceral force. I think it is far superior, for example, to the Mueller version. I highly recommend this version. (Bonus opinion: A friend of mine prefers the Oxford World Classics version, which is also quite good, if not as excessively annotated. This friend claims that there are some nuances of language that are better translated in the Oxford. Having never done a side by side comparison with the German, I can't refute his statements.) -For what it is worth, I am currently a graduate student in English Literature, with a concentration in Drama and Performance studies. I'm currently doing some work with _Danton's Death_.

Lenz, the short novel, is an absolutely disastrous mess in this Kindle version. Parts of the text are duplicated, large sections are omitted, the pagination is nonsequential. It is a disgrace that the return window closes long before anybody could possibly have reached this section of the book which is towards the end. If Amazon are reading this will they please refund info my payment.

The book arrived promptly, in great condition, and is exactly what I was looking for. It's a great resource for A Level drama students, especially for wider reading in preparation for university interviews.

I have discovered this author only recently due to a univerisity lecture and now I can't stop reading it. In my opinion,Buchner is one of the most underrated (was actually unknown in his period) and also one of the most talended writers of the german literature. This book in particular is excellent: the notes are exaustive and well explained, and this is really helpful for such writer. There are also some hints and peculiarities about the author and his plays, which there are not in other editions that I read. If you want to discover more about the father of Woyzeck, this book is for you.