A Long Day's Journey Into Night-Eugene O'neill

I thought, since I read more than the average person, that I should probably start doing book and author reviews here. Often people come to me asking for a good book and often I can't think of one because there are so many. I think back on my college career–soon to come to a close–and there are to many authors to even think about; they are currently categorized in my mind by semester or by class. Thus...

We just finished reading Eugene O'neill's autobiographical play, A Long Day's Journey Into Night. It has an extremely sombre tone, and so if you are looking for something to make you feel good, probably not this one. The basic story is about one day in the life of a family of four, Mary and James and their two sons. Lots of dialogue and detailed stage direction make the piece unfold quickly and questions the reader has in the beginning slowly come to light throughout the story. 

The dynamics of this family are complicated and they are "trapped within each other by the past" and it seems to be a "never ending battle moment by moment" for each of them. They are "forgiving, but still never able to forget". I think if I wrote down a summary you wouldn't want to read it. However after reading it and pushing through the redundancy there is an incredible work on the other side. The way O'neill captures the characters, their relationships, and puts his heart on display is captivating. Published posthumously it won a Pulitzer Prize. 

"The fog was where I wanted to be. Halfway down the path you can't see this house. You'd never know it was here. Or any of the other places down the avenue. I couldn't see but a few feet ahead. I didn't meet a soul. Everything looked and sounded unreal. Nothing was what it is. That's what I wanted–to be alone with myself in another world where truth is untrue and life can hide from itself. Out beyond the harbor, where the road runs along the beach, I even lost the feeling of being on land. The fog and the sea seemed part of each other." 

-Edmund, Act Four