What do you think?
Rate this book
Thief River
Book by Lee Blessing
72 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2002
15 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
October 27, 2022
Thief River exerts a real fascination. It tells the story of Gil and Ray, two young men who live in a rural community in the American Midwest. We first meet them in 1948, when they are eighteen years old, in an abandoned farmhouse not far from the river of the play's title. Gil rushes in, bleeding and terrified, followed soon after by Ray. Once Ray tends to Gil's wounds, he learns what has happened: Gil has been the victim of what we could call nowadays a gay bashing; to make things worse, he shot his assailant in the hand.
But that's only the beginning. Before this night is over, Gil and Ray will be visited by an evil-minded old drifter named Harlow, and by Ray's hard, reactionary grandfather; more important, they will be forced to come to terms with their relationship, which as you have probably guessed is a sexual one. But it's also a passionate one, based in real, honest love, a love that, for Ray anyway, seems frightening and forbidden. How Gil and Ray decide to deal with that passion--and how it alters the course of both their lives--gets revealed, little by little, in the remaining scenes of Blessing's intriguing play.
The playwright moves us, skillfully and purposefully, back and forth from 1948 to 1973 to 2001, from that initial momentous night to the next two times when Gil and Ray meet. The occasion for the first reunion is the wedding of Ray's eldest son; Gil brings his young boyfriend Kit along, with explosive results. The final meeting, with both men at seventy or so, is prompted by a strange request made by Harlow's son-in-law. Telling more will reveal too much of Blessing's story, which is structured precisely like a murder mystery. What got murdered here is not so much a man but a possibility: Thief River is mostly about squandered lives, victims of fear and intolerance that--one fervently hopes--no longer can cause such brutal damage.
Blessing has created compelling characters in Gil and Ray, who, as lovers and as adversaries, reveal much about the consequences of fear, compromise, hypocrisy, and homophobia. This is a rich, challenging play that should spawn plenty of interesting conversation.
But that's only the beginning. Before this night is over, Gil and Ray will be visited by an evil-minded old drifter named Harlow, and by Ray's hard, reactionary grandfather; more important, they will be forced to come to terms with their relationship, which as you have probably guessed is a sexual one. But it's also a passionate one, based in real, honest love, a love that, for Ray anyway, seems frightening and forbidden. How Gil and Ray decide to deal with that passion--and how it alters the course of both their lives--gets revealed, little by little, in the remaining scenes of Blessing's intriguing play.
The playwright moves us, skillfully and purposefully, back and forth from 1948 to 1973 to 2001, from that initial momentous night to the next two times when Gil and Ray meet. The occasion for the first reunion is the wedding of Ray's eldest son; Gil brings his young boyfriend Kit along, with explosive results. The final meeting, with both men at seventy or so, is prompted by a strange request made by Harlow's son-in-law. Telling more will reveal too much of Blessing's story, which is structured precisely like a murder mystery. What got murdered here is not so much a man but a possibility: Thief River is mostly about squandered lives, victims of fear and intolerance that--one fervently hopes--no longer can cause such brutal damage.
Blessing has created compelling characters in Gil and Ray, who, as lovers and as adversaries, reveal much about the consequences of fear, compromise, hypocrisy, and homophobia. This is a rich, challenging play that should spawn plenty of interesting conversation.
Displaying 1 of 1 review