by Neil LaBute
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| List Price: | $14.00 |
| Average Rating: |  |
| Lowest New Price: | $14.00 |
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Product Description
A startling dissection of cruelty and artistic creation from the author of In the Company of Men and Your Friends and NeighborsIn a modern version of Adam's seduction by Eve, The Shape of Things pits gentle, awkward, overweight Adam against experienced, analytical, amoral Evelyn, a graduate student in art. After a chance meeting at a museum, Evelyn and Adam embark on an intense relationship that causes shy and principled Adam to go to extraordinary lengths, including cosmetic surgery, and a betrayal of his best friend, to improve his appearance and character. In the process, Evelyn's subtle and insistent coaching results in a reconstruction of Adam's fundamental moral character. Only in a final and shocking exhibition does Evelyn reveal the nature of her interest in Adam, of her detached artist's perspective and sense of authority--to her, Adam is no more than "flesh.... one of the most perfect materials on earth. Natural, beautiful, and malleable." Labute's latest work is an intense and disturbing study not only of the uses of power within human relationships, but also of the ethics involved in the relationship of art and life. To what extent is an artist licensed to shape and change her medium or to alter the work of another artist? What is acceptable artistic material? At what point does creation become manipulation, and at what point does creation destroy? Or, is the new Adam, handsome and confident if heart broken, an admirable result of the most challenging artistic endeavor? The Shape of Things challenges society's most deeply entrenched ideas about art, manipulation, and love.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
 Not his best..., 2008-06-26
...but it has some great scenes. If you love Labute's messed-up characters, Evelyn is not one to be missed!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 Outstandingly deep, 2007-06-07
This play can be viewed as heavy-handed if one wishes to see it that way. One can assume that the play is simply about the nature of art and relationships. That isn't the main issue of the play. The play forces the perceptive viewer to address the meta-ethical question of whether there can be some sort objective morality to life. If one doesn't believe in an objective morality then one cannot hate 'Jenny' but simply disagree with what she did (if that!). The ultimate question this play forces one to confront is whether one can believe in an objective morality after god has died. Unless a reader may assume I am a christian raging against godless, immoral, post-modernist, I don't believe in god or in an objective morality (not that I'm a relativist). Jenny could morally justify her actions in many different ethical systems, but not in any deistic systems. This play is superbly subtle if one has enough patience to see it through to the end and really think about it.
0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
 Not as clever as it tries to be, 2006-12-03
This play attempts to make the audience think about the meaning of art and life, but in the end one feels that certain characters are simply cold and that the point is lost in a silly dynamic. Rather than use a more subtle method, the play's major themes are quite literally speeled out near the end. Rather than allow for self-examination or reflection, the audience instead is boxed into one of a few simplisitic mindsets. It would have been better if the play asked the same quesions in a less cheesy, final reveal format and instead tried to analyze the real inner-workings of human interaction, relationships, and friendships. Rather than being deep, it comes off as trite and maudlin. Topped with awkward dialouge, this play is neither entertaining nor intelecutally stimulating.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
love it!, 2006-01-02
I have seen the movie so many times then decided to buy the book. The movie is of course after the book since the book is really a play/screenplay. I thought it was great. It added so much more depth. I am in love with the movie. I am in love with the book. Do not pass it up! its a must read!
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Wow, 2004-07-22
OK...I read this book in college in acting class b/c we were going to perform the play...first of all, its a very easy and enjoyable read...its about these four college kids...2 couples...this one guys girlfriend seems a little mysterious at times...he is severely whipped, like most other college guys with girlfriends, OK so he's a little more whipped than most people...anyway I read the book and was like, "OK this is just a story about everyday life, nothing unusual at all, sounds like a lot of other people I know," and then at the end you are like "HOLY $***!" At least I was, some people say they knew what was going to happen but I didn't see it coming...and here's the best/worst part: Labute has things happen in this book where you kinda know what happened but not exactly...it will drive you crazy...you will want to know what was said...what happened...I've been kind of obsessing over the story the past couple weeks, and I often find myself wondering, "What would have happened if Adam hadn't done this, or if he had done that..." I would really like to ask Labute a few questions, but I am sure he wouldn't tell me anything b/c that would kind of ruin the whole point. I found I could really relate to the characters, it seemed very realistic to me, like Labute was a kid once too...except of course, for what happens at the end...I was shocked that this person would do this! What did they do? You must read it to find out...and read the book before seeing the movie...they are very similar but I think it's more fun that way and I noticed some very important things that were in the book but not in the movie and vise-versa.
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