3 out of 4 stars
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Hoard is a short fictional play authored by Thomas Coyle in 2016. It tells a story that clearly illustrates how greed and covetousness can quickly lure humans into heinous crimes.
Set in a dilapidated house within an old residential neighborhood, the play opens with a scene showing Cally, a middle-aged woman, cleaning the house and Marilon, another middle-aged woman who has stopped by to check on the owner of the house. Marilon decides to help with the cleaning. She soon finds out that the work is very tedious as the house is positively akin to a rubbish heap. Their mutual friend, Connie, who is the house owner, is someone who hoards everything from books to the dead bodies of her family members. There is something more interesting to be found, however; lots of cash, totaling close to seven hundred thousand dollars. Discovery of the money leads to an unexpected twist and the events following bring the play to a climax that will have the audience waiting for more.
This story goes to show that there is no inhibition to just how far people will go for money. Worldwide, money motivated crimes are the reason why a staggering number of people are either behind bars, or dead. Although the play doesn't tell us why Connie had all the dead bodies in her house, the subsequent actions of the women who found the bodies and money leave much to be desired. Marilon, for example, is a well-to-do woman with some valuable property of her own; she has no real need for the money. But she is willing to go the whole nine yards to ensure she gets to keep it. I love the fact that the theme of this story is so relatable.
The book is written much like a script, so I totally had to imagine myself acting out the play in order to fully understand what was happening. At first, that was a little difficult, but as the book progressed I didn't mind at all. Also, the narration was concise, and that made it easier to understand the story. Staging this play should not be difficult, due to the fact that every scene is set in Connie’s house. It can also be staged successfully on a tight budget, as the characters do not change clothes, and most of the props required are clutter and boxes.
I think I rather enjoyed this book in spite of the light plot. It was a little boring at the onset, but it gets interesting towards the end. Hence, I give it a rating of three out of four stars. I also found a few typos and grammar errors, so proofreading again is surely not a bad idea. This book is perfect for people trying to develop an interest in crime stories; it isn't too intense, and I believe it will groom their interest in the genre.
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Hoard
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I'm a fan of crime fiction, and I'm very curious to see how differently a crime plot plays out on stage, VS in prose.
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