Malone Dies (Modern Classics S) [Import] [Paperback]

Samuel Beckett (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (March 26, 1970)
• ISBN-10: 0140016910
• ISBN-13: 978-0140016918
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,387,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Samuel Beckett was born in Dublin in 1906. He was educated at Portora Royal School and Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated in 1927. His made his poetry debut in 1930 with Whoroscope and followed it with essays and two novels before World War Two. He wrote one of his most famous plays, Waiting for Godot, in 1949 but it wasn't published in English until 1954. Waiting for Godot brought Beckett international fame and firmly established him as a leading figure in the Theatre of the Absurd. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969. Beckett continued to write prolifically for radio, TV and the theatre until his death in 1989.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drama and Meaning without Plot, April 22, 2011

By 

CJA "CJA" (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Malone Dies (Paperback)

This is a remarkable monologue, told by man who knows he is dying. He drifts in and out of consciousness and interacts with no one. The story is one of his thoughts only, and when he dies he just stops talking.

Beckett does not envision one's dying thoughts along the classic lines of one's life flashing before his eyes -- more or less chronologically remembering one's childhood, first love, then adulthood. Beckett is more interested in philosophy than relationships, and for Beckett man's relationships with things seem to define him. The most remarkable passage is one where Malone recalls a menial farm task -- one that a person could stay up all night doing with no hope of finishing. Yet, some progress on the task is still a positive good and something worthwhile. This is Beckett's metaphor for life.

It's a difficult book to read, though the tension and drama of a man's dying thoughts makes up for the lack of plot.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is another Beckett masterpiece., October 25, 2011

By 

Wobert (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Malone Dies (Paperback)

Even though the subject matter is utterly depressing--I've rarely read such a vivid depiction of abject loneliness and physical and mental degradation, as the narrator and his protagonist progressively rot into nothingness--I found the book to be incredibly exhilarating and uplifting. The earthy realism, pessimistic wisdom, dark humor, and liquid poetry made me feel as if I'd not merely read a book, but lived and suffered, and learned some deep truths about human existence that I can't even express in words.