Reviews for The cemetery of Europe

The average rating for The cemetery of Europe based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-02-20 00:00:00 Ellen Fitzgerald Despite the horrid title, this book is so important, so unique. I learned how unusual the authors were from the book "Spain in our Hearts". These two amazing women were intrepid war reporters; Cowles even reporting from BOTH sides of the Spanish Civil War- an incredibly dangerous thing to do should anyone want my opinion. This short play was meant to be funny and loosely based on themselves. It is a book wherein the women, yes, Steinbeck - the women, are the multidimensional characters with the men playing somewhat predictable roles, poised to drive our reporters crazy and so demanding creative problem solving (short skirts?). If they hadn't used what they had, they would have failed miserably. Men want women to be cute, flirty - but should those behaviours facilitate the finagling of a scoop? Then the men are furious that they were cute and flirty. Ah, war time - and we are thrilled when our heroines do not follow the command to Obey. Or, as stated in the afterword by Sandra Spanier,"...their womanhood is something that they have never been allowed to forget, (so) they have great fun flaunting it…" Women, then and now, are taught - you can never lose "being female", but simultaneously they mustn't Use It (to their own benefit, must never exploit, just suffer from). Like Thelma and Louise these two women, were making it in a man's world on their own terms...the men in the story don't matter,"they are treated as figures in the landscape through which these characters pass, and as such are essentially powerless." Much like women in road movies have always been treated. The London run of "Love Goes to Press" was a smash hit - not so in New York. from the intro by MG: "Everyone in those London audiences knew about real war; they had lived through it, either in uniform or as embattled civilians. Knowing the real thing, they were free to laugh at this comic, unreal version of war. Everyone longed to laugh in the first cold winter of peace. Everyone was tired, and peace did not bring any letup in daily hardship….nothing to buy...scant unappealing food all on ration cards. Laughter was life saving escape." The theater was warm and cheap. But when they attempted a run in New York it failed miserably. The Americans who did not live the war didn't understand the need for their kind of humor - just to survive, and so, in typical American fashion insulted them, accused them of a kind of blasphemy. "The play was written as a joke. American critics didn't get it." They were accused of callousness, of treating war frivolously, by people who hadn't been there, hadn't seen it. I am glad i got another chance - i found it delightful, hilarious & very necessary. I only wish they'd written more humor.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-11-21 00:00:00 Guillaume Letourneau The their title was slapped on without the authors' consent! Getting past this, Gellhorn and Cowles have written a thoroughly enjoyable, humorous play starring versions of themselves as female war correspondents covering WWII. I would call it a battle of the sexes but the guys don't stand a chance. The girls lead, the guys are fun, loveable followers The girls are smarter, braver and work harder to get the better stories. The guys sit around and mostly say stupid shit, like that the girls are getting access due to their sex appeal (maybe a bit, but they also work their butts off). I greatly admire Gellhorn and Cowles war reporting. This play is proof of their all-around genius. It was well received in London but, sadly, the US audience and critics didn't get it. It was too ambiguous (the girls like men and have sex lives but they also want careers without interference, imagine that?) and they weren't ready to laugh about war. The play holds up well over time. A fellow male journalist mansplains to the Gellhorn character why she's receiving the cold shoulder from the British military guy in charge of the press when she arrives on the scene: "You've got to be more tolerant, Annabelle. The poor guy's been away from England for three years, fighting to protect womankind from the horrors of war. And then womankind walks in on him. He may as well have spared himself the trouble…." Annabelle replies: "If there's anything I really loathe, it's a woman protector." The play and the British reviews also amusingly refer to Brits vs Yanks ways and habits, which I love. One reviewer "it is difficult to believe that none of the American characters chews gum." Personal note on hackneyed stereotypes: If I read one more thing about what slobs we Americans are when we travel, I'm gonna burst. I live in heavily touristed San Francisco. Most visitors here, including the Euros (yes, the French, too), dress horribly. We are pigs who don't care about food quality? I was recently approached by an Italian couple asking me to point them to McDonald's. I was like, In San Francisco? Are you kidding? I tried to send them to a neighborhood with independent, charming cafes but they decided to head for Ghirardelli Square, tourist central, ISO fast food! Not an isolated occurrence. Apparently, we are not alone in our depravity.