The Tooth of Crime & Geography of a Horse Dreamer

by Sam Shepard

Genres: Plays, Drama

Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Sam Shepard was an American artist who worked as an award-winning playwright, writer and actor. His many written works are known for being frank and often absurd, as well as for having an authentic sense of the style and sensibility of the gritty modern American west. He was an actor of the stage and motion pictures; a director of stage and film; author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs; and a musician.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did Geography. Another of my favorite appearances on the stage. Opening night I burst on stage, accidentally fired a half load shotgun directly into the face of another actor instead of the air. I was so shook up by this error I prematurely fired my second round into the floor. A moment later when I was supposed to kill the other actor I had to club him because I was out of ammo. I intended to pad the stock of the gun with my arm, but instead I hit him a good one with the wood. After that the rest of the run went fine.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Geography of a Horse Dreamer*

I really enjoyed this one, and felt like it came closer to Shepard's strongest works so far by virtue of its comparative simplicity. His characters here are not overly verbose or given to nonsensical ramblings, and they're not obnoxious or aggressively scatalogical. They have a clear goal, and the general metaphor of someone with a supernatural gift being sucked dry by the incessant greed of others is neither overwrought nor unwelcome.

[Rae Diaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

an overdrawn metaphor of age that should have ended before it was born, mighty bouncy dialogue! mighty clever schemes.

[Carac Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sam Shepard occupies a special place in the roster of Great American playwrights. Few have been as prolific and almost no one has been so consistently creative.

Shepard's plays are powerfully visual. They are fevered hallucinations, worried dreams, diseased fantasias.

"Geography of a Horse Dreamer" is one of my absolute favorites. The alternative reality presented is convincing and silly at once. It's murderously funny.

It's not performed very often. But it's a quick and rewarding read.

Carac