Book Review: Fury by Phoebe Eclair-Powell

Title: Fury

Author: Phoebe Eclair-Powell

Genre: Plays

Number of Pages: 64

Rating: B-

Recommended?: Yes

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This was a quick read but also very emotionally heavy. The set-up is interesting because it’s a realistic ‘social realism’-type drama but it’s also written with a Greek chorus offering input about the characters. The main character, Sam, is a single mother and perpetual screw-up who abuses and neglects her two young sons. Her neighbor Tom threatens to call CPS on her and he ends up blackmailing her and sexually assaulting her.

At first I wanted really hard to sympathize with Sam but by the end I thought they were both horrible and unredeeming people. There’s no justification for Tom’s vile actions but I ended up thinking the characters who were really voiceless were the two little boys Sam abused. Overall this was a really compelling play that makes you think; the only weak point was the over-the-top ending. What could have been a cliché story of the ongoing cycle of abuse and poverty is given a unexpectedly fresh and thoughtful treatment.