A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

'I once went out with a doll who said to me, "I am the glamorous type, I am the glamorous type!" I said, "So what?"'

Set against the steamy backdrop of the New Orleans old quarter, this atmospheric tale depicts the conflict between a fading Southern Belle from an old colonial family and the brash lower class family her sister has married into.

This edition contains notes and activities to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of the play.
--back cover

Whew! What a ride. What a terrible ride into the lives of three sad, miserable lives. Blanche comes to stay with her sister, Stella, after Blanche's life deteriorates. Stella has married and is expecting a baby, but her life is anything but cozy and warm. Stella's husband, Stanley, beats his wife and drinks heavily. Everything in this story echoes, No Way Out, and You are Doomed to Misery.

This was a light and fast read and im sure there's some moral to this story but it's confusing as hell. Over all enjoyable though.

Strong, and raw. A book everyone should read at some point. Stellaaaaa!

Reading A Streetcar Named Desire differed a lot from Cat on a Hot Tin Roof which made it a pleasure reading. Tennessee Williams once again proved his craft in the world of play writing with his protagonist Blanche Dubois. A schoolteacher from Mississippi, Blanche moves down to live with her sister Stella and her husband Stanley Kowalski in New Orleans. She tries to cover up her flaws with a “rich” persona, and her bossy, superior attitude; only to reveal later on that she loses the plantation that her family lived on, the Belle Reve due to foreclosure, indicating financial issues, and her alcohol problem indicating insecurities about herself.

Class struggles, power, deception and identity are some of the major themes that make the play the critically acclaimed piece that it has become. Blanche's desire to stay strong and youthful, disguising the pain and tragedy in her life and illuminating her own world which leads her to a mental institution at the end keeps the reader anxious for more out of the captivating character. Stanley's bestiality nature and Polish descent, a note of high criticism, disrupts the relationship between Blanche and her sister, Stella and Stanley, and Blanche and her one time boyfriend Mitch. Stella's soft, inferior attitude is the key to Blanche and Stanley's control, and the whole storyline in general definitely keeps the reader turning the pages for more.

I would recommend this book to anyone because its a quick read, but something that you have to take your time to understand even the smallest of details, since they will go unnoticed, leaving you with questions to wonder in the future.