Mud

Mud was by far one of the most depressing things I'd ever read. When I read the description of the characters, I didn't realize that by "simple," the author meant simple-minded and so even as I started reading the play, I was kind of going "Oh, dear," in my head. While we're on the subject of the character description, I didn't think he seemed good-hearted at all. He seemed vindictive and mean, and from the first scene I didn't realize why Mae put up with him. I'm glad Henry put Mae in a position where she had to explain why she and Lloyd lived together because I was leaning toward the assumption that they were siblings, though there was this weird sexual tension going on between them. I didn't like any of the characters. They all seemed off to me, even though that was obviously the point, I just disliked all of them. They were all too human, I guess. Everything I see that has a mentally challenged person (I'm assuming this about Lloyd) in it has someone that's a dedicated caretaker for them, and it didn't seem to me that Mae had done a very good job.
Of course the other obvious thing to talk about is the ending, which both surprised me and didn't. Mae leaving was probably the best thing she could do, but I didn't expect her to be shot! Henry raising no objections also threw me - though he was uneducated and depended on her, I thought he was at least somewhat moral. I don't know the time that passed between them living together, but he must have had somewhere to live before he moved in there.