Jack Matthews (1) (1925–2013)

Interview with the Sphynx is a gem if you understand the source material. The play by Jack Matthews follows a one-act structure following a man sitting in the dark attempting to interview a woman who won't give a straight answer to any questions. The woman is the Sphynx. The man is, well, that's a secret.
This is a great play for mythological history buffs, with plenty of jokes, references, and an amusing reveal at the end that can only be described as the purest form of tragic comedy. Lovers of wordplay will appreciate some of the arguments, and the voice cast does a good job as well. As described, or forewarned, if you prefer, the play is deeply irritating and I really appreciate the effort that went into making it so.
Thanks to Robert Nagle with Personville Press for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review, it was very much appreciated.… (plus d'informations)

In the model of philosophy posing as fiction, two people sit in the dark and argue about the meaning of words. A sphinx and an interviewer (who is no more a real person than the sphinx) debate the meaning of truth, reality and perception without ever doing anything more than turn on the lights. "All riddles are questions, but not all questions are riddles." I've waded through several of these - Daniel Quinn's Ishmael, Ichiro Kishimi's The Courage to Be Disliked - both come to mind. This might be better than those because it is shorter and more contentious. At least this one sets aside the 'wise teacher'-'eager student' dynamic. There's conflict aplenty here (which undercuts what we're supposed to believe that the interviewer is an experienced professional from nearly the first exchange). But what I want from a play is characters who are strongly drawn, who are really people with lives and backgrounds that brought them to this moment. I want them to interact, come into conflict, and to be changed by the resolution.
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This was far more amusing than I could have imagined. The Sphinx kept giving convoluted, nonsense answers, much to the annoyance of the interviewer. When he’d try to do it back, she’d just shrug it off, which made it even more hilarious. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire time.

A big selling point of this audio play is easily the narrators. They did a superb job, it really is like listening to a real play, just without the visual aspect. I recommend this to anybody who wants a good laugh.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.… (plus d'informations)