Under Milk Wood (edició 2019)

Under Milkwood. by Dylan Thomas (1954) ( )

A radio-play thats part beatnik poem. It describes a day in the life of a small village starting with their dreams as they sleep and following them until they sleep again.
The beatnik style can take a little getting used to, and i have a dislike of the surreal so the opening dream-sequences were a little jarring. Overall though its pretty funny and a bit moving in places. ( )

"Under Milk Wood" is a radio play and while I am used to reading plays and have also read a handful of radio/audio plays, I realized after a couple of pages that this one must definitely be listened to. My husband was sitting next to me reading his fantasy novel and I disturbed him every few minutes because I wanted to read a passage to him. These words and sentences simply beg to be read aloud, and I tried doing this in my head as well as I could, but I still think that the experience is only a fraction of what listening to it might offer. Every word carries meaning, there are so many puns and word plays, and I think that I read it far too quickly (because that is my pace even if I try to read more slowly) to even appreciate half of it.
The story is set in Wales in the small town of Llareggub (read that in reverse!) and we follow the inhabitants through their day - from their dreams during the night when we learn about their secrets, their desires and fears, until the next evening. It is funny, sad, disturbing, sometimes incomprehensible to me (I think that will get better when I listen to it), crazy and still so true to life in many aspects. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep up with them and to tell them all apart, but that is another aspect that I think will be better when one listens to it. ( )

I've listened to the BBC recording of the audio play so many times. It has so much life and character in the language - definitely something that gets better when read aloud or listened to. ( )

Just a fun, quick read of a play that brings to life the day of a Welsh town. The prose and writing is enjoyable and trying to read the Welsh sayings, names, and things, in your head is one of the best joys of the work. I can only imagine what a proper reading of this would sound like, and it sounds like it'd be greatly enjoyable. ( )