The Visit

author:	Friedrich Dürrenmatt (1962)
date read:	2009-01-01
pages:	112
lists:	german, stage-play
rating:	★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Cover of The Visit.

Dürrenmatt will always punch you in the face. This time he’s talking about corruptability and the corruption brought about by wealth. It’s the terrifying story of a man sold out by his entire community for the promise of wealth. It’s about ethics and justice and avarice. I loved it. Seeing it on stage when I was 17 was transformative.

Cover of Draußen vor der Tür.

Draußen vor der Tür

by Wolfgang Borchert · published 1947 · read 2007-06-01

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Both born from having to deal with the world after WW2. Both harsh and depressing and great.

Cover of The Good Woman of Setzuan.

The Good Woman of Setzuan

by Bertolt Brecht · published 1953 · read 2011-02-01

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Brecht tackles the exact same topic, ten years earlier and with a wildly different approach.

Cover of The Wave.

The Wave

by Todd Strasser · published 1981 · read 2006-11-01

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

Another take on how people can be coerced and tempted into unethical conformity.

Cover of Die Panne.

Die Panne

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt · published 1956 · read 2021-01-17

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

A short story, a bit more focused on themes of personal responsibility, but also about culpability.

Cover of Die Physiker.

Die Physiker

by Friedrich Dürrenmatt · published 1962 · read 2007-02-01

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

An equally snarky, equally disturbing stage play by Dürrenmatt.

Cover of Animal Farm.

Animal Farm

by George Orwell · published 1945 · read 2008-07-01

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

A more boring, more coercive scenario, but dealing with similar questions.