Fences

Fences

August Wilson

Publisher:

Penguin

1986

FTC: This is a school book. I am not being compensated in any way for reviewing this.

Characters 20/20

Plot 20/20

Setting 20/20

Cover 10/20

Ending 20/20

Total grade: 90% A

Sexual content: mild

Violence: mild

Drugs: none

Underage drinking: none

Swearing: heavy

Total rating: 14+

Summary: (Barnes and Noble)

Troy Maxson is an angry man. He is an embittered ex-con who has built inner fences around his emotions that no one—neither his son Gory, his wife, Rosa Lee, nor his best friend, Jim—can cross. A proud and bitter man who was prevented by racism from playing major league baseball, Maxson is at fifty- three years of age a garbage collector. While his job allows him to successfully provide for his family, handling garbage represents for him a grim metaphor of his life. As he did during a bit in prison, he once again feels confined, and those who love him most, who depend on him most, suffer most for it.

My Thoughts:

Anyone who knows almost anything about me knows how I feel about assigned school literature. We wonder why so many kids and teens hate reading but the books we force down their throats at school only feed the hatred. I did not feel that way about Fences.

It was a great book that I felt offered real life lessons as well as educational. You could read it as a play or a book. I read it as a book. The characters were so vivid and bold. Nothing was left to the imagination when it came to them. The plot was honest and true.

I adored the ending. I felt that it was perfect and brought all to a close. The only thing I didn’t like was the cover, but I try to remember that covers weren’t so important in the 80’s.

I recommend this book to everyone.