A Memory of Two Mondays (1955) - by Arthur Miller

A one-act play that examines the heartbreaking reality of capitalism.

Arthur Miller is the quintessential American playwright. His work delves deep into the American psyche, and tries to find meaning amongst the downtrodden and injured. His most famous works: The Crucible and Death of a Salesman are brilliant works that take aspects of American history (witch-hunts) and American idealism (the American Dream), and put them on-stage in way that is hauntingly entertaining. A Memory of Two Monday is Miller's most auto-biographical play, as it takes place in an auto-parts warehouse, which is where the playwright worked before going to college. It is a story full of contrast, taking the coldness of American society during the Depression and juxtaposing it with the warmth that can be found in the workplace. The characters on the one hand hate coming to work every Monday morning, but manage to find a family-like environment there, coming to rely on their colleagues to survive.

The story is broken into three periods: a Monday during 1933, another Monday about a year later, and the following Tuesday. These auto-parts workers come from a mixture of backgrounds, reflecting the melting-pot makeup of American society. The main character is Bert, a young packer who is trying to save enough money at the warehouse to go to college. He sees his co-workers coming to work everyday, talking about the same things, and moving through life slowly with no variation, and wonders how they can do it. Many of the people he works with are not happy with life, Tom is a drunk at the beginning of the play, and is on the verge of being fired. Gus has a very ill wife, whom he has neglected, and then she dies at the end of the first section. Many of the other characters have troubles too, but they find comfort in each other.

By the second section, even though their lives are ultimately the same, coming to work every Monday, and carrying on with the same tasks, there are noticeable changes. Gus is now the drunk, after his wife dies and he feels guilty for not being there for her. Tom has recovered, and is not full of enthusiasm that grates against his co-workers. Bert almost has enough money to leave, but is worried about the people he feels are his second family. At the end of the second section, Gus dies after an elaborate night out spending his life's savings.

The third section is simply Bert saying goodbye to his colleagues. Their reaction however is less than noticeable. They resent him for moving on, and leaving them in their dull lives with no prospects. Even Kenneth, the person closest to Bert fails to drum up any sentiment about the boy leaving.

The play was written in the 1950s, a time in the US where McCarthyism and the Cold War were prominent aspects of American society. Citizens were being encouraged to spy on their neighbours, to watch for any signs of communist activity, and to trust no one. Miller decided to write a play about a not-so-long ago past, where the American people were working together to try and get their country back on track, and to rely on each other. It is ironic that after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the American people were united in their grief, trying to end their misery, and yet, after the Second World War in 1945, the USA became a massive superpower, with economic might, and yet the turmoil of the Cold War caused its people to turn on each other.

It is an excellent play, full of great characters. However, the one-act structure allows for little development, and the plot seems haphazard. Moments of sadness and comedy seem too infrequent, and by the end some viewers/readers may feel unfulfilled. Worth a read for die-hard Miller fans, but if this is your first encounter with the great playwright, I suggest Death of a Salesman it is deservedly his most acclaimed work, and is one of the finest plays of the 20th Century.

Babylon Revisited (1930) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The aftermath of wealth, affluence and greed.

F. Scott Fitzgerald is a master of words. His prose makes the modern writer squirm in his leather swivel chair, as he sits there wishing he was as talented. Fitzgerald's short story Babylon Revisited is a superb piece of writing based on the author's real life experiences.

It is set almost directly after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and see one man's struggle with his new situation. During the 1920's, Charlie enjoyed the prominence of his status. He also developed an addiction to alcohol. Now he is clean and sober, but also defeated by the end of his reign in power. He seeks to gain guardianship of his daughter Honoria. His sister and her husband are the current guardians of Honoria, and they are worried that Charlie's vulnerable condition will damage the young girl.

It is an excellent short story, written with a brilliance that only the most gifted of writers can achieve. Fitzgerald has a penchant for understated drama, that reeks of problems concerning the rich and wealthy. In the same vein as Arthur Miller's critique on the working class of America, Fitzgerald examines the top of the social ladder, as they have further to fall.

Dreams From My Father (1995) by Barack Obama

One of the most influential politicians in the last one hundred years produced a book before his political career went into overdrive, Dreams From My Father is an exceptional story written by a gifted writer.

Following Obama's story from his humble childhood in Hawaii, through to his time at college, then in New York and Chicago, and finally his trip to his homeland in Kenya, the book is a telling memoir that addresses issues of race, family, hope, heritage and the future. With great family members, friends and acquaintances, whom Obama meets along the way, the book is filled with laughter and entertainment, the book is not a dry, nostalgic boast about "look what I have done", but rather a modest and self-critical analysis of Barack's life, and how his journey to find his place in the world, led him through challenges and discoveries which would shape his extraordinary character.

No one can doubt this man's intelligence. His words act like sharpened spears to penetrate the readers heart, whilst keeping them hooked to his story. His ideas about life, and the future for the U.S. are heartfelt, whilst his attacks on the injustices of the world are aimed universally at people, not races.

This is an incredible book. An amazing story, with engaging characters, glued together with the genius of a man who is the inspiration for the world.