Beckett: Waiting for Godot (Landmarks of World Literature) [Paperback]

Lawrence Graver (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521357756 | ISBN-13: 978-0521357753 | Publication Date: November 24, 1989

This is a fresh, comprehensive critical study of Samuel Beckett's first and best-known dramatic work, Waiting for Godot, which has become one of the most frequently performed, widely discussed, and influential plays in the history of the theatre. Professor Graver discusses the play's background and provides a detailed analysis of its originality and distinction as a landmark of modern theatrical art. He reviews some of the differences between Beckett's original French version and his English translation, and discusses the liberating influence of Godot on such important playwrights as Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, and Athol Fugard.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This volume offers a comprehensive critical study of Samuel Beckett's first and most renowned dramatic work, Waiting for Godot, which has become one of the most frequently discussed, and influential plays in the history of the theatre. Lawrence Graver discusses the play's background and provides a detailed analysis of its originality and distinction as a landmark of modern theatrical art. He reviews some of the differences between Beckett's original French version and his English translation. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (November 24, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521357756
• ISBN-13: 978-0521357753
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,325,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Question your existence with one book, October 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Beckett: Waiting for Godot (Landmarks of World Literature) (Paperback)

Beckett's Waiting for Godot is on of the most intense existential works since existentailism was founded. The characters may be "stagnant and colorless" (See previous review)- but this is all on purpose - Beckett is showing us how stagnant and colorless our lives are as we wait in our tiny universes for a God to come along and tell us what to believe in. Beckett challenges us to look around, take control of our lives and quit waiting around everyday for something that will never come - no matter how hard you want to believe.

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars ignore the stars, please, November 7, 2001

By 

Kirk R. Anderson (Norton, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beckett: Waiting for Godot (Landmarks of World Literature) (Paperback)

I just received this book and haven't read it yet. It looks quite good.

HOWEVER! because I read the description too quickly, and because I was misled by the other reader reviews, I thought that the actual text of the play was here, in both languages, in addition to a critical apparatus. Not so!

All of the other reader reviews are about Beckett's play itself, which is not part of this book!

1.0 out of 5 stars Worst Play by Worst Playwright Ever, January 1, 2012

By 

AlphaKid42 "alphakid42" (Alameda, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beckett: Waiting for Godot (Landmarks of World Literature (New)) (Hardcover)

I love live theater, reading plays, watching video of plays.
In all sincerity, this play is the worst play ever by the worst playwright ever.

The core idea of the play is that life is meaningless, something you "get" 5 minutes into it.
But the playwright makes us experience that life is meaningless, in slow-motion.

I would rather experience open heart surgery without anesthetics than to ever endure this play again. It's that bad. No, it's worse.