The Shape of Things
The Shape of Things
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 2001
Book Brief
Beta138
Play • Fiction
•
American Literature•
Modern Classic FictionContemporary Midwestern college town, United States
•
Education•
Love & Sexuality2001
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Paperback • 2001
Adult
14+ years
Super Short Summary
Neil LaBute’s play follows Adam, an undergraduate English student and museum security guard, who falls for Evelyn, a graduate art student at his college. As he begins changing his appearance at her urging, their relationship becomes entangled with the engagement of his friends Phillip and Jenny. The drama asks how far someone might go for love or art—and what those changes may cost.
Dark
Unnerving
Suspenseful
Contemplative
Humorous
Reviews & Readership
4,320 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
Reviewers admire LaBute’s intellectual ambition, compulsive theatricality, and willingness to probe the uncertain boundary between truth, fiction, love, and art. Several also find the dialogue witty and the central moral questions provocative. Detractors argue that the play announces large themes without exploring them deeply, substituting shock and moralizing for insight. Even sympathetic assessments suggest its psychological observations can feel shallow, while its manipulative, often unappealing characters may make the experience more chilling than emotionally engaging.
Who Should Read The Shape of Things?
Readers drawn to compact, contemporary dramas about morally fraught relationships should pick up The Shape of Things. Its central questions—how far people will go for love or art, what they will change, and what they may sacrifice—make it especially suitable for those interested in manipulation, self-reinvention, and artistic ethics. It should also appeal to readers who enjoy gripping character studies with dark humor. The opening follows a student entering a changing relationship with an art major as another couple’s engagement begins to unravel.
4,320 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
An outspoken graduate art student who meets Adam at his museum workplace, dates him, and encourages him to alter his appearance.
Adam’s friend and former roommate, engaged to Jenny; Evelyn’s abrasive personality immediately brings her into conflict with him.
Phillip’s fiancée and Adam’s friend, who becomes part of the tension created when Evelyn enters their social circle.
138
Play • Fiction
•
American Literature•
Modern Classic FictionContemporary Midwestern college town, United States
•
Education•
Love & Sexuality2001
Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Paperback • 2001
Adult
14+ years
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