Perfection is not the basis of what Im talking about; says a member of the Cassandra family; which forms the center of Denis Johnsons plays; Hellhound on My Trail and Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames. The character could be speaking for his creator; because human imperfection is one of Denis Johnsons specialties -- in his critically acclaimed novels; short stories; and nonfiction; and; now; in two brilliant new plays.These two works present a dramatized field guide to some of the more dysfunctional and dysphoric inhabitants of the American West: a sexual-misconduct investigator who misconducts herself sexually; a renegade Jehovahs Witness who supports his splinter Jehovean group by dealing drugs; the Cassandra Brothers and their father and their grandmother; thrown together at a family reunion/wedding/melee at their shabby homestead in Ukiah; California.When Shoppers Carried by Escalators Into the Flames was performed in San Francisco in 2001; the Chronicle said; "Theres an enormous appeal in Johnsons bleak-comic vision of a semi-mythic American West." That appeal derives from the authors perfect vision of imperfection; embodied with such energy and courage in these marvelous pieces of theatre.
#596085 in eBooks 2009-02-04 2009-02-04File Name: B001RLTFEI
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Small history of Sedalia MissouriBy Marj.I though this little book was very interesting; especially since I was born in Sedalia and lived the first twelve years of my life there. I still have cousins there and visit ever so often; for a small book it was very informative.
