Murphy [Paperback]

Samuel Beckett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 1994

'Murphy', Samuel Beckett's first published novel, was written in English and published in London in 1938; Beckett himself subsequently translated the book into French, and it was published in France in 1947. The novel recounts the hilarious but tragic life of Murphy in London as he attempts to establish a home and to amass sufficient fortune for his intended bride to join him.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sublime recording." -- Steven Leigh Morris, L.A. Weekly, November, 2000

From the Publisher

The San Quentin Drama Workhop presents the first audio book of any of Samuel Beckett's novels in a limited first edition of 1000, the first 150 of which were donated to prison libraries throughout the world.

Approved for publication by the Beckett estate, this is a twenty voice recording featuring Fionnula Flanagan, Colm Meaney, Bairbre Dowling, Morgan Sheppard, Hamilton Camp, Fredd Wayne and Nora Masterson. Many members of the companies of Dublin's Gate Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and Britain's National Theatre are included in the cast.

The San Quentin Drama Workshop was Samuel Beckett's American Theatre company of choice. He directed his three most famous plays, "Waiting for Godot", "Endgame", and Krapp's Last Tape" for them. These productions toured throughout the world before being released on video by the Smithsonian Institution.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press; 12th edition (January 20, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802150373
• ISBN-13: 978-0802150370
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #631,182 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

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comic-tragic masterpiece, October 10, 2005

By 

Q (Q Continuum) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murphy (Paperback)

Murphy is a novel unlike any other. Quite deliberately, Beckett's characters are not portrayed with realistic fullness, and the plot is fragmented and incomplete. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable read if conventional expectations are suspended. Beckett's early work is often compared to Joyce, but they are actually very different. Beckett's works are essentially tragic-comic. There is one passage that perfectly encapsulates the problem of desire:

"I greatly fear," said Wylie, "that the syndrome known as life is too diffuse to admit of palliation. For every symptom that is eased, another is made worse. The horse leech's daughter is a closed system. Her quantum of wantum cannot vary."

Beckett considered this passage important enough to repeat twice in his novel. Murphy, the protagonist of this novel, realizes in effect that desire can never be satisfied, and so he simply withdraws from life, attempting to reach a state of catatonic stupor. His girlfriend tries with tragic pathos to draw him back into life, but her attempts are doomed to failure. Murphy's friends are all similar to himself, fragmented and incomplete. The novel's vision is absurdist, tragic, and existentialist--humans are "windowless monads," doomed to isolation and misunderstanding. Beckett's achievement consists primarily in the brilliantly original language used to communicate his vision. Like Shakespeare or any great poet, his work cannot be summarized but must be experienced.

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Come to Nothing, January 16, 2000

By 

David Benioff (Otisville, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murphy (Paperback)

Murphy, as these other Amazon critics have suggested, is not Beckett's greatest work. Perhaps, though, it is his most lovable book, the last time he seemed to care so deeply about his characters. The final chapter even verges on sentiment-- and whoever accused Beckett of that?

This is Beckett before he became the Beckett of fame, before he began stripping away all excesses. This is Beckett before the war, when he was still writing in English, when he was still under the influence of Joyce. Others have noted the facts. But the truth is that Beckett, even in the adolescence of his genius, was a strong enough writer to forge his own consciousness.

A writer below commends the first sentence, and I concur. It's a beauty, recalling the verses of Ecclesiastes and foreshadowing the grim honesty of Beckett's future sentences.

For a reader curious about Samuel Beckett, Murphy is a good place to start.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beckett is laughing at us all, October 16, 1999

By 

Ryan White ([e-mail]) (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murphy (Paperback)

What is fascinating about a work such as this is the absolute division of opinions regarding the importance of this book. Murphy is a style unto itself. It is a story without an internal plot. The character Murphy is fueled only by his desire to desire nothing, and in search of this goal seem to get nowhere. The real message of the book is based solely in the question of existence. While Beckett does borrow and steal quite a bit of idealology form other notables, his expression of the Mind/Body Split and the concepts of the Id, Ego, And Superego, leave me stunned and hollow inside. An intense read, I reccomend a single sitting of about 5 hours, and have a friend or two read it seperately, then discuss. It can change your life. P.S. Beckett would think it absurd that I feel this strongly about his book.