Purple Heart & The Infidel

by Bruce Norris, John Guare (Foreword)

In Purple Heart, Carla, a Vietnam War widow deep in drink and depression, is living with a troubled son and her controlling mother. One day a stranger arrives at the door, a soldier with one hand who is seemingly connected to her late husband and comes to offer condolences to the grieving family. The soldier's mysterious visit is solved in graphic and bloody detail at the end of the play. Norris uses these quirky and flawed characters to provide a humorous yet very dark view of war and the human condition.

Loosely based on a true story, The Infidel tells of a charismatic and well-respected state Supreme Court justice who is faced with disciplinary action after his out-of-control affair with a young Latina junior staffer. He confers with his friend and attorney as he examines the consequences of his behavior and tries to judge the most difficult case of his life-his own. With dark irony and sharp, cutting dialogue, Bruce Norris explores sexual obsession and the legislation of human behavior.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've pretty much liked every play Norris has published, but these two, his earliest works, although promising, don't quite live up to the later work. One can see the influence of Orton and Pinter in these, but they have some languid sections, and neither come to much of a satisfying conclusion.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce Norris is fast becoming my favorite living playwright. The simplicity of his language against the technicality of his plot and structure make for very interesting reading, exciting in the mind when imagining the possibilities of its production. Purple Heart is especially enticing with the character of a war veteran with a fake arm that gets pulled off when he attempts to prevent the fall of the 12 year old son of the plays ingenue, a grieving alcoholic widow, from a ladder the boy is using to adjust the clock's time from daylight saving to standard. I love these plays, not only for the technical, but the emotional breath of his ideas about grief and pain, too.

[Frankie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh- Purple Heart had no real story line, but it had some great one liners. The Infidel was fun and I can see how it could be fun to watch unfold but there is a lack of resolution.., even to a creative mind. I enjoyed The Infidel more but can visualize Purple Heart more clearly.