Nocturne

A Play

Adam Rapp

Faber and Faber, Inc.

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"Fifteen years ago I killed my sister."

So begins Adam Rapp's highly acclaimed play Nocturne, in which a 32-year-old former piano prodigy recounts the tragic events that tore his family apart.

With a keen eye for human relationships and a deft ear for language, Rapp explores the aftershock of this unimaginable event. The father is so incapable of forgiveness he puts a gun in his son's mouth; the mother so shattered, she deserts the family and eventually takes leave of her sanity altogether; the son--only 17 years old at the time--sets out for New York City. There, he seeks an uneasy refuge in books and reinvents himself as a writer. Across the decade and a half that follows he tries to cope with the ramifications of his own anguish and estrangement while making a desperate search for redemption.
A devastating, elegant, and gripping dissection of the American dream, Nocturne signals a brave new voice in American theater.

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Nocturne
IFifteen years ago I killed my sister. 
There. 
I said it. 
I can change the order of the words. My sister I killed fifteen years ago. I, fifteen years ago, killed my sister. Sister my killed I years ago fifteen. 
I can cite various definitions. To deprive of life: The farmer killed the rabid dog. To put an end to: The umpire killed the tennis match. To mark for omission: He killed the paragraph. To destroy the vital essential quality of: The dentist killed the nerve with Novocain.

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Reviews

Praise for Nocturne

"A brilliant, terrifying, perceptive, occasionally funny play . . . bold, daring and succesful." --Donald Lyons, New York Post

"A playwright . . . to watch with keen interest." --Markland Taylor, Variety

"A startling, unnerving work of art that fiercely pushes the boundaries of theater."--Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

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About the Author

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays and young adult novels. He lives in New York City.

Adam Rapp

art by George O'Connor
Adam Rapp

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Available Formats and Book Details

Nocturne
A Play
Adam Rapp
Award

Saroyan Writing Prize - Finalist

Trade Paperback

Trade Paperback
Faber & Faber
Faber and Faber, Inc.
February 2002
Trade Paperback
ISBN: 9780571211326
ISBN10: 0571211321
5 1/2 x 8 1/4 inches, 96 pages
$14.00
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e-Book Agency
Faber & Faber
Faber and Faber, Inc.
February 2002
e-Book Agency
ISBN: 9781429998253
ISBN10: 1429998253
96 pages
$9.99
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