Translation needs a lot of work, 26 Mar 2006
The play "No Exit" is fantastic... a kind of psychological thriller about how people can get inside other people's heads and torment them through their weaknesses. A strange portrayal of hell that is truly hellish. However the translation from French to English is really poor. I believe it is "transliterated"; translated almost word for word, which overlooks the meaning or expression of certain phrases. For ex., "That's so, isn't it?", from the French," C'est ca, n'est pas?" Is that correct English? Shouldn't it be.. "Isn't it so?" or maybe, "Is that so"? Another ex., "We use to go"...", instead of we USED to go. It is "translated" like that all the way through the play. I found it very distracting, at best, and ultimately quite confusing. I found myself guessing at what Sartre was really trying to say.

Good edition of Sartre's arguably best plays, 15 Apr 2003
For those of you (myself included) whose French abilities are not nearly adequate for enjoying such demanding, guilt-ridden dramas as 'Huis Clos'/'No Exit' in Sartre's original language, I strongly recommend this translation. Although I am personally at odds with certain aspects of Sartre's particular brand of Existentialism, I have to admit that he was in fact a rather good dramatist, and since his philosophy is quite tangible in all four plays, this collection should serve as a nice general introduction. I give this edition five stars for translation and for not coming apart after numerous re-readings (unlike so many of its brethren).

Sartre implicates us all..., 11 May 1999
These four plays by Sartre are all very different in style if not tone, but they all cut to the bone of meaning in delivering their sobering messages. The best play is also the most famous, No Exit, filled with brilliant language and dramatic fire. The situations and questions posed within aspeak directly to our age. Next, The Respectful Prostitute, which shows how funny existentialists can be, and how gut-wrenching comedy can be both funny and chilling. The Flies is a wonderfully inventive play that one can picture just by reading, with its harsh words, though in the guise of classical language, never missing a stab at the characters--or the audience. The weakest play, Dirty Hands, is still a compelling but rather cliched drama which is a little too ponderous for theatre, but dead on with its analysis of the human condition. Overall, a very worthwhile collection and a great introduction to Sartre, and existentialism.

not bad, for existentialism, 11 Mar 1999
I like existentialist writings, because they are almost always thought provoking, but I seldom agree w/ the thoughts or ideas presented. No Exit is of course the famous one. Since I know someone who considers being stuck in a room w/ me to be hell, I guess it is at least partially valid, though I personally would go crazy just as easily stuck in the room alone. I used The Flies for my Senior term paper in high school, comparing it to the classic Oedipus story [it was a contrast of style]. The Flies is Sartre's version of Mourning Becomes Electra. This play explores ideas of guilt, authority, and repentence. I think my favorite of the bunch was the Respectful Prostitute, because it brought to light contrasts between what we expect of people and who they actually are [the prostitute is more honest than the respectable people she finds her self around.] All the plays have the theme of a character trapped in a situation in which they must give in and compromise their beliefs/ standards, or suffer the consequences imposed by those in authority.The characters choices, and their reasons, are quite interesting. This summary merely touches on the ideas in the plays; you must read them to understand the thoughts and ideas of Sartre's philosophy.

Hell is other people, 14 Oct 1998
No Exit is a great play. The people are not incredibly evil or anything, they are just like us, with the same hopes and desires. They also make the same mistakes. One does wonder that if hell is other people, what is heaven?

Translation needs a lot of work, 26 Mar 2006
The play "No Exit" is fantastic... a kind of psychological thriller about how people can get inside other people's heads and torment them through their weaknesses. A strange portrayal of hell that is truly hellish. However the translation from French to English is really poor. I believe it is "transliterated"; translated almost word for word, which overlooks the meaning or expression of certain phrases. For ex., "That's so, isn't it?", from the French," C'est ca, n'est pas?" Is that correct English? Shouldn't it be.. "Isn't it so?" or maybe, "Is that so"? Another ex., "We use to go"...", instead of we USED to go. It is "translated" like that all the way through the play. I found it very distracting, at best, and ultimately quite confusing. I found myself guessing at what Sartre was really trying to say.

Good edition of Sartre's arguably best plays, 15 Apr 2003
For those of you (myself included) whose French abilities are not nearly adequate for enjoying such demanding, guilt-ridden dramas as 'Huis Clos'/'No Exit' in Sartre's original language, I strongly recommend this translation. Although I am personally at odds with certain aspects of Sartre's particular brand of Existentialism, I have to admit that he was in fact a rather good dramatist, and since his philosophy is quite tangible in all four plays, this collection should serve as a nice general introduction. I give this edition five stars for translation and for not coming apart after numerous re-readings (unlike so many of its brethren).

Sartre implicates us all..., 11 May 1999
These four plays by Sartre are all very different in style if not tone, but they all cut to the bone of meaning in delivering their sobering messages. The best play is also the most famous, No Exit, filled with brilliant language and dramatic fire. The situations and questions posed within aspeak directly to our age. Next, The Respectful Prostitute, which shows how funny existentialists can be, and how gut-wrenching comedy can be both funny and chilling. The Flies is a wonderfully inventive play that one can picture just by reading, with its harsh words, though in the guise of classical language, never missing a stab at the characters--or the audience. The weakest play, Dirty Hands, is still a compelling but rather cliched drama which is a little too ponderous for theatre, but dead on with its analysis of the human condition. Overall, a very worthwhile collection and a great introduction to Sartre, and existentialism.

not bad, for existentialism, 11 Mar 1999
I like existentialist writings, because they are almost always thought provoking, but I seldom agree w/ the thoughts or ideas presented. No Exit is of course the famous one. Since I know someone who considers being stuck in a room w/ me to be hell, I guess it is at least partially valid, though I personally would go crazy just as easily stuck in the room alone. I used The Flies for my Senior term paper in high school, comparing it to the classic Oedipus story [it was a contrast of style]. The Flies is Sartre's version of Mourning Becomes Electra. This play explores ideas of guilt, authority, and repentence. I think my favorite of the bunch was the Respectful Prostitute, because it brought to light contrasts between what we expect of people and who they actually are [the prostitute is more honest than the respectable people she finds her self around.] All the plays have the theme of a character trapped in a situation in which they must give in and compromise their beliefs/ standards, or suffer the consequences imposed by those in authority.The characters choices, and their reasons, are quite interesting. This summary merely touches on the ideas in the plays; you must read them to understand the thoughts and ideas of Sartre's philosophy.

Hell is other people, 14 Oct 1998
No Exit is a great play. The people are not incredibly evil or anything, they are just like us, with the same hopes and desires. They also make the same mistakes. One does wonder that if hell is other people, what is heaven?

Existential politics, 19 Oct 2004
This short little play can be read very quickly, but if compared to/ used with Sartre's existential philosophy and known left wing political sympathy, much can be taken from it. If you look at the play for its political points, or for its use as a philosophical vehicle, you will enjoy it. It is not the best play to just pick up and read in terms in terms of pure, basic enjoyment. This translation can seem a little dry and flat at times, but it expresses some intreging ideas if you look below the surface; Hugo's motive for murder is a good example of this. All in all its not a five star play, its simply not that well written and developed (at least in English) to give you that buzz, but it gets a four for its short yet powerful punch, providing you know what its trying to hit.

unentertaining, 20 Nov 2001
Was this supposed to be an entertaining book? This is a book written by a depressive for depressives. Satre is a man of such inteilligence you'd think he could muster a book that would be mildly optomistic. If you dont have something nice to say...
This is depression on a stick.

My A-Level lifeline!, 08 Nov 2001
This translation actually meant that I could take time out and ponder over all those political issues without panicking about whether I'd missed their real meaning anyway. How good... made a French modern masterpiece more easily accessible, although perhaps one shouldn't rely on it... Some of the translations don't quite hit the spot. But if read in conjunction with the French, all the better!

Translation needs a lot of work, 26 Mar 2006
The play "No Exit" is fantastic... a kind of psychological thriller about how people can get inside other people's heads and torment them through their weaknesses. A strange portrayal of hell that is truly hellish. However the translation from French to English is really poor. I believe it is "transliterated"; translated almost word for word, which overlooks the meaning or expression of certain phrases. For ex., "That's so, isn't it?", from the French," C'est ca, n'est pas?" Is that correct English? Shouldn't it be.. "Isn't it so?" or maybe, "Is that so"? Another ex., "We use to go"...", instead of we USED to go. It is "translated" like that all the way through the play. I found it very distracting, at best, and ultimately quite confusing. I found myself guessing at what Sartre was really trying to say.

Good edition of Sartre's arguably best plays, 15 Apr 2003
For those of you (myself included) whose French abilities are not nearly adequate for enjoying such demanding, guilt-ridden dramas as 'Huis Clos'/'No Exit' in Sartre's original language, I strongly recommend this translation. Although I am personally at odds with certain aspects of Sartre's particular brand of Existentialism, I have to admit that he was in fact a rather good dramatist, and since his philosophy is quite tangible in all four plays, this collection should serve as a nice general introduction. I give this edition five stars for translation and for not coming apart after numerous re-readings (unlike so many of its brethren).

Sartre implicates us all..., 11 May 1999
These four plays by Sartre are all very different in style if not tone, but they all cut to the bone of meaning in delivering their sobering messages. The best play is also the most famous, No Exit, filled with brilliant language and dramatic fire. The situations and questions posed within aspeak directly to our age. Next, The Respectful Prostitute, which shows how funny existentialists can be, and how gut-wrenching comedy can be both funny and chilling. The Flies is a wonderfully inventive play that one can picture just by reading, with its harsh words, though in the guise of classical language, never missing a stab at the characters--or the audience. The weakest play, Dirty Hands, is still a compelling but rather cliched drama which is a little too ponderous for theatre, but dead on with its analysis of the human condition. Overall, a very worthwhile collection and a great introduction to Sartre, and existentialism.

not bad, for existentialism, 11 Mar 1999
I like existentialist writings, because they are almost always thought provoking, but I seldom agree w/ the thoughts or ideas presented. No Exit is of course the famous one. Since I know someone who considers being stuck in a room w/ me to be hell, I guess it is at least partially valid, though I personally would go crazy just as easily stuck in the room alone. I used The Flies for my Senior term paper in high school, comparing it to the classic Oedipus story [it was a contrast of style]. The Flies is Sartre's version of Mourning Becomes Electra. This play explores ideas of guilt, authority, and repentence. I think my favorite of the bunch was the Respectful Prostitute, because it brought to light contrasts between what we expect of people and who they actually are [the prostitute is more honest than the respectable people she finds her self around.] All the plays have the theme of a character trapped in a situation in which they must give in and compromise their beliefs/ standards, or suffer the consequences imposed by those in authority.The characters choices, and their reasons, are quite interesting. This summary merely touches on the ideas in the plays; you must read them to understand the thoughts and ideas of Sartre's philosophy.

Hell is other people, 14 Oct 1998
No Exit is a great play. The people are not incredibly evil or anything, they are just like us, with the same hopes and desires. They also make the same mistakes. One does wonder that if hell is other people, what is heaven?

Existential politics, 19 Oct 2004
This short little play can be read very quickly, but if compared to/ used with Sartre's existential philosophy and known left wing political sympathy, much can be taken from it. If you look at the play for its political points, or for its use as a philosophical vehicle, you will enjoy it. It is not the best play to just pick up and read in terms in terms of pure, basic enjoyment. This translation can seem a little dry and flat at times, but it expresses some intreging ideas if you look below the surface; Hugo's motive for murder is a good example of this. All in all its not a five star play, its simply not that well written and developed (at least in English) to give you that buzz, but it gets a four for its short yet powerful punch, providing you know what its trying to hit.

unentertaining, 20 Nov 2001
Was this supposed to be an entertaining book? This is a book written by a depressive for depressives. Satre is a man of such inteilligence you'd think he could muster a book that would be mildly optomistic. If you dont have something nice to say...
This is depression on a stick.

My A-Level lifeline!, 08 Nov 2001
This translation actually meant that I could take time out and ponder over all those political issues without panicking about whether I'd missed their real meaning anyway. How good... made a French modern masterpiece more easily accessible, although perhaps one shouldn't rely on it... Some of the translations don't quite hit the spot. But if read in conjunction with the French, all the better!

dissapointed, 14 Nov 2008
i orderd this book as i am directing for my last year of uni and when it arrived it was all in french! so now i have to reconsider my options.

Wonderful and Enlightening, 15 Sep 2002
Although so aptly called 'No Way Out', this book does open doors for it's readers by keeping shut the door in the room which, for these three people, each from a different walk of life, is their hell.
As you read this play, many things appear to you, subtly said, and the wonderous comments it makes sink in even days after you have read it.
This book has encouraged me to expand my existentialist fiction reading even further, and has put forward fantastical possibilities and amazed me with its subtle wit and theories.
Enjoy!!

Excellent insight into the work., 30 Jan 2002
Succinct and to the point. Provides useful and orignal insights into the work. Recommended.

excellent, 01 Nov 2001
This book is one of the best I have ever read. Very easy to read, this short play is focused entirely on its fascinating characters, and explains - and convince you!- the very famous "Hell is other people". Shouldn't be missed.

A glorious exstension of sartres genius, 23 Jun 2001
This book of plays makes an excellent and neccessary companion to Sartre's other works, such as Nausea and the Road to Freedom Trilogy. This works undoubtly mark Sartre as one of the most influential philosophers and human beings of the twentieth century.

Translation needs a lot of work, 26 Mar 2006
The play "No Exit" is fantastic... a kind of psychological thriller about how people can get inside other people's heads and torment them through their weaknesses. A strange portrayal of hell that is truly hellish. However the translation from French to English is really poor. I believe it is "transliterated"; translated almost word for word, which overlooks the meaning or expression of certain phrases. For ex., "That's so, isn't it?", from the French," C'est ca, n'est pas?" Is that correct English? Shouldn't it be.. "Isn't it so?" or maybe, "Is that so"? Another ex., "We use to go"...", instead of we USED to go. It is "translated" like that all the way through the play. I found it very distracting, at best, and ultimately quite confusing. I found myself guessing at what Sartre was really trying to say.

Good edition of Sartre's arguably best plays, 15 Apr 2003
For those of you (myself included) whose French abilities are not nearly adequate for enjoying such demanding, guilt-ridden dramas as 'Huis Clos'/'No Exit' in Sartre's original language, I strongly recommend this translation. Although I am personally at odds with certain aspects of Sartre's particular brand of Existentialism, I have to admit that he was in fact a rather good dramatist, and since his philosophy is quite tangible in all four plays, this collection should serve as a nice general introduction. I give this edition five stars for translation and for not coming apart after numerous re-readings (unlike so many of its brethren).

Sartre implicates us all..., 11 May 1999
These four plays by Sartre are all very different in style if not tone, but they all cut to the bone of meaning in delivering their sobering messages. The best play is also the most famous, No Exit, filled with brilliant language and dramatic fire. The situations and questions posed within aspeak directly to our age. Next, The Respectful Prostitute, which shows how funny existentialists can be, and how gut-wrenching comedy can be both funny and chilling. The Flies is a wonderfully inventive play that one can picture just by reading, with its harsh words, though in the guise of classical language, never missing a stab at the characters--or the audience. The weakest play, Dirty Hands, is still a compelling but rather cliched drama which is a little too ponderous for theatre, but dead on with its analysis of the human condition. Overall, a very worthwhile collection and a great introduction to Sartre, and existentialism.

not bad, for existentialism, 11 Mar 1999
I like existentialist writings, because they are almost always thought provoking, but I seldom agree w/ the thoughts or ideas presented. No Exit is of course the famous one. Since I know someone who considers being stuck in a room w/ me to be hell, I guess it is at least partially valid, though I personally would go crazy just as easily stuck in the room alone. I used The Flies for my Senior term paper in high school, comparing it to the classic Oedipus story [it was a contrast of style]. The Flies is Sartre's version of Mourning Becomes Electra. This play explores ideas of guilt, authority, and repentence. I think my favorite of the bunch was the Respectful Prostitute, because it brought to light contrasts between what we expect of people and who they actually are [the prostitute is more honest than the respectable people she finds her self around.] All the plays have the theme of a character trapped in a situation in which they must give in and compromise their beliefs/ standards, or suffer the consequences imposed by those in authority.The characters choices, and their reasons, are quite interesting. This summary merely touches on the ideas in the plays; you must read them to understand the thoughts and ideas of Sartre's philosophy.

Hell is other people, 14 Oct 1998
No Exit is a great play. The people are not incredibly evil or anything, they are just like us, with the same hopes and desires. They also make the same mistakes. One does wonder that if hell is other people, what is heaven?

Existential politics, 19 Oct 2004
This short little play can be read very quickly, but if compared to/ used with Sartre's existential philosophy and known left wing political sympathy, much can be taken from it. If you look at the play for its political points, or for its use as a philosophical vehicle, you will enjoy it. It is not the best play to just pick up and read in terms in terms of pure, basic enjoyment. This translation can seem a little dry and flat at times, but it expresses some intreging ideas if you look below the surface; Hugo's motive for murder is a good example of this. All in all its not a five star play, its simply not that well written and developed (at least in English) to give you that buzz, but it gets a four for its short yet powerful punch, providing you know what its trying to hit.

unentertaining, 20 Nov 2001
Was this supposed to be an entertaining book? This is a book written by a depressive for depressives. Satre is a man of such inteilligence you'd think he could muster a book that would be mildly optomistic. If you dont have something nice to say...
This is depression on a stick.

My A-Level lifeline!, 08 Nov 2001
This translation actually meant that I could take time out and ponder over all those political issues without panicking about whether I'd missed their real meaning anyway. How good... made a French modern masterpiece more easily accessible, although perhaps one shouldn't rely on it... Some of the translations don't quite hit the spot. But if read in conjunction with the French, all the better!

dissapointed, 14 Nov 2008
i orderd this book as i am directing for my last year of uni and when it arrived it was all in french! so now i have to reconsider my options.

Wonderful and Enlightening, 15 Sep 2002
Although so aptly called 'No Way Out', this book does open doors for it's readers by keeping shut the door in the room which, for these three people, each from a different walk of life, is their hell.
As you read this play, many things appear to you, subtly said, and the wonderous comments it makes sink in even days after you have read it.
This book has encouraged me to expand my existentialist fiction reading even further, and has put forward fantastical possibilities and amazed me with its subtle wit and theories.
Enjoy!!

Excellent insight into the work., 30 Jan 2002
Succinct and to the point. Provides useful and orignal insights into the work. Recommended.

excellent, 01 Nov 2001
This book is one of the best I have ever read. Very easy to read, this short play is focused entirely on its fascinating characters, and explains - and convince you!- the very famous "Hell is other people". Shouldn't be missed.

A glorious exstension of sartres genius, 23 Jun 2001
This book of plays makes an excellent and neccessary companion to Sartre's other works, such as Nausea and the Road to Freedom Trilogy. This works undoubtly mark Sartre as one of the most influential philosophers and human beings of the twentieth century.

dissapointed, 14 Nov 2008
i orderd this book as i am directing for my last year of uni and when it arrived it was all in french! so now i have to reconsider my options.

Wonderful and Enlightening, 15 Sep 2002
Although so aptly called 'No Way Out', this book does open doors for it's readers by keeping shut the door in the room which, for these three people, each from a different walk of life, is their hell.
As you read this play, many things appear to you, subtly said, and the wonderous comments it makes sink in even days after you have read it.
This book has encouraged me to expand my existentialist fiction reading even further, and has put forward fantastical possibilities and amazed me with its subtle wit and theories.
Enjoy!!

Excellent insight into the work., 30 Jan 2002
Succinct and to the point. Provides useful and orignal insights into the work. Recommended.

excellent, 01 Nov 2001
This book is one of the best I have ever read. Very easy to read, this short play is focused entirely on its fascinating characters, and explains - and convince you!- the very famous "Hell is other people". Shouldn't be missed.

A glorious exstension of sartres genius, 23 Jun 2001
This book of plays makes an excellent and neccessary companion to Sartre's other works, such as Nausea and the Road to Freedom Trilogy. This works undoubtly mark Sartre as one of the most influential philosophers and human beings of the twentieth century.