Sunday, November 1, 1998

The 306 Greatest Books #10 - Death of a Salesman

I am going back and posting all of my previous book reviews so that they are listed on my site in chronological order. The reviews are dated for the time when I read the book, hence the reason many of them will be listed for times before this website existed. 

The next up on my reading of the 306 greatest books is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. This book can be found on the Sybervision Book List.



Death of a Salesman is often considered to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. The play is about a a salesman named Willy Loman, who undergoes severe depression that quickly spirals out of control as he sees his life crumbling apart. The best part about the play is that it is made up of real life characters, whom the viewer (reader) can sympathize with. It is the strong emotion and the treating of the characters as if they are real people in real-life situations that has made this play resonate with so many. The story offers a view into the real-life world of depression and what could go wrong if nothing is done to help the depressed. Heartbreaking to say the least.