U.S. Drag

by Gina Gionfriddo

Two young women in Manhattan seek love and happiness, but they ll settle for rent money. Along the way, they volunteer for a community advocacy group called SAFE ("Stay Away From Ed") named for an elusive serial attacker terrorizing the city. (There s a hefty reward for his capture ) Their new circle of "friends" includes their ruthless, socially stunted roommate; the celebrated author of a fictional memoir; a lonely man who feels a kinship with crime victims; and a mousy "Ed survivor," reveling in her fifteen minutes of dubious fame. Everybody is looking for salvation in the arms of another in a group where no one has very much to give. And who is this "Ed" anyway? No one s ever seen his face, and everyone onstage is beginning to act eerily "Ed-like" "

Genres: Plays, Drama

56 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Miranda Marquez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I forgot I read this earlier this year lol. Super interesting and wacky as hell characters. I definitely need to reread it, but I am drawn towards characters who aren’t necessarily morally good. And boy does this story have a lot. I was a bit tipsy on the first read through, but would love to read again another time. I like Gina Gionfriddo’s work and will definitely read more.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my thing but I am enjoying Gionfriddo’s true crime takes.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great. The dialogue is laugh-out-loud awesome, the plot is simple but super intriguing and poignant. Everything breaks down toward the end, when Gionfriddo over-explains everything, as if the reader didn't understand the central themes. I did, and I wanted the rich, colloquial language to speak for itself. Sure, at times things get SLIGHTLY heavy-handed, but not until the end was I bothered. Moves between scenes deftly; I understand this was modified slightly from the original, and that this is how Gionfriddo wanted it staged. Would love to see how this is pulled off live. I'll read more of Gionfriddo's work.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angela and Allison need to find jobs and throw a party before they get kicked out of their apartment. Ned let them move in because they said they would throw parties. Ned works in Wall Street and doesn’t have time to meet people. Angela gets a job at a bookstore and meets a dramatic author named Christopher. They all begin to frequent a group called SAFE. An acronym that stands for “stay away from Ed.” Ed is a criminal who has been assaulting people after asking them for help. Romance, witty dialogue, drinking, and being young in New York makes everyone begin to look like Ed. Angela gets attacked by Ed and Allison writes a book about it. Is Christopher right, was it a collective hallucination or is Christopher Ed?

[Syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

i don't know how many stars to give it but i will say i read this with my friends drunk as hell and had the time of my fucking life .. GOOD LUCK BABE!!