Reviews for Bourgeois Gentilhomme: A New Version

The average rating for Bourgeois Gentilhomme: A New Version based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2009-05-06 00:00:00 Bryan Evers Ok, so I did not read this in French and therefore am afraid that a bunch of the wit got lost in translation. There is enough however (despite the full-on mastery of a language in this whimsical play) that is universal here to still feel relevant. It's so impressively relevant in fact, some 400 years after it was written, that I suffered chills and, better yet, muffled many laughs (!!). Moliere must be the Oscar Wilde of his country (or is it the other way around?). Indeed the structure of this very astute play incorporate what I've observed in Wilde's creations: smart asses, heavy issues belittled or underplayed in a light matter, ubermemorable situations, un-serious allegory, & overdone farce. The Bourgeois "Gentleman" is like that dumb Emperor from "The Emperor's New Clothes." He's a buffoon and everyone, including the reader, laugh wholeheartedly at his constant, utter retardation. It is a fun read which questions whether the bourgeois are really "all that."

Review # 2 was written on 2020-01-09 00:00:00 Chris Moreton The best thing about this book was that we read it aloud as a class while I was studying in a castle in the Czech Republic. It was a rainy day during the Five-Petaled Rose Festival and we were all in Renaissance costume, seated around the table in the study centre, each reading out a role. There were quite a few acting students in that class and overall people got really into it, which the experience so much more enjoyable. The play itself is very humorous and fun, but that experience just made it a lot better, and therefore I have very good memories associated with Le bourgeois gentilhomme, and it deserves a good rating.