Gnit

by Will Eno

A faithful, unfaithful, willfully American misreading of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt , a nineteenth century Norwegian play which is famous for all the wrong reasons. Watch as Peter Gnit makes bad decisions on the search for his True Self, which is disintegrating. A rollicking and very cautionary tale about, among other things, how the opposite of love is laziness.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

96 pages, Paperback

First published August 27, 2013

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Subtitled "A fairly rough translation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt" Gnit is actually a pretty free form absurdist modern adaptation of such. Eno's very droll, deadpan humor actually compliments Ibsen's original more than you might think, and it would be a very interesting play to actually see performed.

[. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really simple and enjoyable. Writing is really fun and easy to understand. It felt like i was watching a movie.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read Peer Gynt, so flying blind here. Couple moments of beautiful sentiment—the closing story into intermission of a son to his dying mother is stunning—and otherwise just a unique portrait of a singularly self-centered individual.

[Jeremy Cummings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I haven't read the book, but rather saw it performed.

Will Eno has a beautiful way of mixing comedy and tragedy that expresses some of the most poignant, hopeless, and introspective thoughts imaginable. I was completely floored by this existentialist take on a biography of the self.

[Ross Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really sure how to rate this. On the one hand, Eno's wackiness comes through, on the other hand, Peer Gynt is just as annoying as ever. In some ways they're a good match, but I prefer Eno straight and my Ibsen post-Gynt.

[Rebecca Lartigue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not familiar with Peer Gynt, but this stands on its own as a weird / wonderful modern morality tale with no simple morals but great humanity and (odd) humor throughout.

[Not Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Play.

[By The Cover · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny poignant look on what it means to search for your sense of self-using dry humor inspired by the classic Peer Gynt

[Mauro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vintage Eno dialogues. Replace GNIT with yourself and check if you are living right.