The Importance of Being Earnest

I picked up this book on a rainy morning because it was exactly the length I could devour in a short span of time. Boy, did Mr. Wilde deliver! I've only read abridged versions of Shakespeare's plays, but if I didn't know any better, this could very well have been written by him. The farcical comedy of errors, the confusion, the familial elements - they all point to Oscar Wilde's deep admiration of the English bard. It is no surprise that I found multiple sources claiming that he LOVED Shakespeare to the point of obsession, even writing a story called "The Portrait of Mr. W. H." in an attempt to identify Mr. W. H.— the mysterious figure to whom Shakespeare dedicated his book of sonnets. Coming back to the play, it is set in three scenes, following two men - Mr. Algernon, and Mr. John Worthing who engage in a fair amount of bunburying that lands them in an exceptionally comical situation. In the interest of not giving out spoilers throught this review, I adored the entire setup. However, I'm slashing an entire star because there's definitely an element of a cold open with this play. There's no backstory on how the two men became acquaintances or knew each other socially, the audience has to conjure it up. Additionally, with respect to the female characters, since they're written by a man, they're a product of the perspective they're written from & lack dimensionality or character. But overall, I am very pleased with the book because I like the pervasive Shakespearean elements sprinkled throughout and because, it was a super quick read.