August: Osage County – Jonna Stewart

Book Review >>> Jonna Stewart August: Osage County

Tracy Letts. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2008. 138 pp.

Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize winning drama, August: Osage County, is the story of the dysfunctional Weston family told in three acts. One of the reasons readers will enjoy it is because almost everyone can identify with the family in some way. The prologue introduces the family patriarch Beverly Weston, an alcoholic former poet, as he interviews a potential caregiver for his wife, Violet. We get our first true glimpse of the Weston family as Beverly explains, “My wife takes pills and I drink. That’s the bargain we’ve struck” (11). August: Osage County is a dark comedy that reveals the struggle of a family dealing with past mistakes and present regrets. In the first scene of the play, we learn that Beverly has been missing for five days. As a result of his disappearance, the family all gather in the Weston home. Letts prefaces August: Osage County with an excerpt from Robert Penn Warren’s All the King’s Men. The first line of this excerpt gives us an idea of the main theme, “The child comes home and the parent puts the hooks in him.” Although composed of several different themes, this drama is very much about family. Readers will find that the dysfunction of the Weston Family is not so far from home. In this multi-generational collection of characters, readers will find someone with whom they can identify. Mattie Fae, is the overbearing aunt, who is just as harsh as her sister, Violet. Charlie is her henpecked husband. Their son, Little Charles, is the underachieving cousin who is respected only by Violet’s middle daughter, Ivy Weston. Ivy is the only one of the Weston children who did not leave home. At age forty-four, Ivy is unmarried, and often chastised by her mother on that point. Her younger sister, Karen, arrives at the Weston home with her new fiancé, Steve, who is not the type of guy Karen thinks he is. Also, the oldest Weston daughter, Barbara, arrives with her husband Bill and her daughter Jean. For three acts these characters are trapped together in the same house on the brink of tragedy. As they each begin to unravel, they give the reader an intimate view of their desperation. As the plot develops we watch as these characters struggle with their insecurities as secrets are gradually revealed. There are quite a few unexpected twists in the story, which reveal even more about the characters. The themes of August: Osage County are extremely relevant to readers, because they reach across generations. The plot shows the inner workings of an American family. The raw honest quality of the characters exposes the dark and buried issues with which each of them struggle. The theme of family issues is one that is inescapably relatable to readers. Although Letts presents this theme to an amplified degree, its authenticity will not escape the reader. Letts does a wonderful job of representing the fragility of humanity. Other themes are guilt, addiction, secrecy, and escapism, and it would be difficult to find a reader

that would not feel that these themes resonate with them. Each of the characters has some kind of discovery, whether it is a self-discovery or something they would prefer to have never known. Nevertheless, the characters grow, which is one of the qualities that gives the reader fulfillment in spite of the dark subject matter. The other quality that fulfills the reader is, of course, comedy. Letts is able to manifest such oppressive themes in a way that, at times, lets the reader laugh at the extreme dysfunction, while still leaving moments of disturbance, sincerity, and compassion. August: Osage County is very similar to Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night, which was also a Pulitzer Prize winning drama. Both of these dramas present the picture of a family dealing with addictions, secrets, and regrets. All of these themes that made Long Day’s Journey into Night relatable to readers are present in August: Osage County, yet Letts’ gives us a completely original story. Both of these wonderful dramas show not only an alcoholic patriarch and a drug addicted matriarch but also the effect of the dysfunction on their children. This portrait reveals an honest view of human nature. Letts has a wonderful insight into human nature, and it is made apparent to us through his wit and talent as a playwright. Although it is a fictional story, it is an honest portrayal of life from which we can learn and recognize a bit of ourselves. This is what makes August: Osage County an important piece of literature. Of course, dramas are written to be performed. Perhaps the full impact of August: Osage County can only be experienced by watching a visualization of the action and characters. However, the characters are well-developed and the story is real enough to make this drama a very worthwhile read. August: Osage County is an essential read for anyone interested in modern theater or literature. Readers will find that August: Osage County is valuable and far from forgettable.