 
|
|
Paperback
Publisher: Dover Publications
A stunning, controversial work that immediately outraged audiences with its scatological references during the 1896 premiere, the farce satirizes the tendency of the successful bourgeois to abuse his authority and become irresponsibly complacent. Championed by Dadaists and Surrealists as the first absurdist drama, Ubu Roi features a main character that is cruel, gluttonous, and grotesque--the author's metaphor for modern man.
| Customer Reviews: |
|
| |
| Not a worthwhile edition |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
 |
|
"Ubu Roi" is surely Jarry's most widely known work, and it is an excellent and fun read indeed. However, this edition on New Directions is, unfortunately, badly done.
The translation here is by Barbara Wright, who's translations (of Jarry, Queneau, and others) I generally enjoy. I'm sure this one is equally good, but it is difficult to tell. The entire text of "Ubu Roi" is presented here in hand-written form (scribbled is more like it), with a pen the size of a sharpie. Add to that inane drawings (not Jarry's) around and behind the text on every page. Not only is this very distracting, but some words are not really legible. If you try hard enough you can read it, but it is a very tedious process and completely takes away the fun of reading "Ubu Roi".
With that said, there are a few additional texts in this volume that are printed normally, and which are worthwhile. First is Barbara Wright's useful introduction, and at the end are two essays on the theatre by Jarry, as well as his "Song of Disembraining". The two essays can be found in the Methuen edition, but the "Song..." I have not seen in any other easily available Jarry volume.
I'd highly recommend that any interested reader avoid this edition and pay a few more dollars for the Methuen edition. The translation there (by Connolly and Taylor) is excellent, includes the two subsequent Ubu plays, and features a lengthy introduction and larger selection of Jarry's essays on the theatre.
|
| A turd of a translation. |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
|
|
Not the greatest translation of Jarry's masterpiece.
As a Dover thrift edition, it is thrifty and cheap. . . you get what you pay for.
I would recommend the Cyril Connelly/Simon Watson Taylor version in it's place.
|
| Ubu Forever! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
 |
|
At $ 3.99 a copy you can't go wrong. I found this in the bargain bin at a local bookstore and thought I was in an absinthe delirium. The brilliant beginning of avant-garde theatre. Don't miss it.
|
| Roll over Dover |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
Silvermom's review of Ubu Roi on this site is misleading. It refers to the New Directions edition of the play, now unfortunately out of print. The Dover edition does not have the delightful line drawings, nor the added essays on theatre by Jarry. Also, I don't much care for Dover's gratuitous (and inaccurate) translation of "Ubu Roi" as "King Turd." On the other hand, as far as English translations go, Dover's is pretty much the only game in town. And Jarry's game is wonderfully worth playing, full of rambunctious anarchic high spirits. Just so you have a better idea of what you'll actually be getting.
|
| Not just Ubu Roi! |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
|
|
1991 22nd printing includes; Ubu Roi, a Drama in 5 acts; The Song of Disembraining by Alfred Jarry; 2 essays on the theatre by Jarry - "Questions of the Theatre" and "Of the Futility of the "Theatrical" In the Theatre";2 portraits of author by L. Lantier and F. A. Cazals;several drawings by Jarry and Pierre Bonnard;204 drawings by Franciszka Themerson doodled on lithographic plates. Fascinating book!
|
|
