A Company of Three

by Varley O'Connor

When Robert, Patrick, and Irene met in New York, they were all determined to become actors, and it felt as if the city--indeed, the world--could be their oyster. Robert was the good-looking, ambitious one. Patrick was tall, ungainly, but naturally dramatic. And Irene, a former rodeo star out of Kansas, was the beautiful ingenue. They were young, talented, and passionate, and they soon became inseparable. But as it happens, their careers don't take...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565123735
• ISBN13: 9781565123731
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Algonquin Books
• Length: 310 Pages
• Weight: 1.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

highly recommended

A wild ride through the passionate and somehow dehumanizing scene of aspiring actors circa 1970's. O'Connor has a real knack for creating flesh and blood characters. The story provokes some hard to answer questions. Idealism in a practical world. Duty to art and its toll on human kindness. The lure of and addiction to pain and suffering. Looking forward to O'Connor's next probe. Highly recommemded.

Loved it!

I became engrossed in this book from the minute I started reading it. Ms.O'Connor has that uncanny knack of being able to write insightfully about both men and women, and as I grew to know them intimately and experience their emotions and passions, I found myself deeply rooting for each of them. Their attitudes towards the theatre and towards each other kept growing and changing -- always with a wit underneath that was enormously appealing. I felt as if I had spent many hours with friends I cared about. I hated finishing this book...

A beautiful book!

A Company of Three kept me reading non-stop until the end. The beauty of O'Connor's writing in this tightly knit story draws the reader into the lives of the three young and aspiring actors, who each try to live their passion and struggle to find their way within a complex and tough New York acting world with its own rules and chances. O'Connor's love for acting and her inside knowledge of the acting scene shines through in every sentence. I highly recommend this wonderful book.

The Art of Acting, The Art of Loving

Company of Three is a moving, funny, wise story of acting and the 70's that is itself a work of art. It is an inside look that is both illuminating and that tells the truth.