Customer Reviews

Stirrings Still

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Stirrings Still is also available as Beckett Short No. 11 where it is paired with What Is the Word. Stirrings Still, a study of death and movement - constrained, absence and free, I have already reviewed. What Is the Word is a short and effective piece on aphasia as, perhaps, brought on by a stroke. Both pieces are brilliant, vintage Beckett.

What th???? thoughts, fearful examination of the insanity and ecstacy of self-refective perception. disjointed. razors, withered weathered fields of obsessive compulsion

It is almost a shame that 'Stirrings Still' ended up not being Beckett's final publication as it would have been the perfect dénouement to his great literary career.

Beckett was always the master of all that is bleak and effectively, beyond hope in the human condition. In 'Stirrings Still' we see his skills on this subject refined to near perfection. Beckett spent his entire career trying to pear language down to express everything he wanted to in the barest possible manner. This work is clearly the pinnacle of that entire life's effort.

The physical surroundings are also, of course, perfect for what Beckett was trying to achieve. The small confines of a one windowed room, echoing the solitude of the protagonist. Also evident is the echo of Beckett's earlier work 'Endgame', however this time with a single person and a single window.

As Beckett's legendary style goes, 'Stirrings Still' is about as refined and honed as it gets and is an absolute must read.

This is a book I recommend only if you are interested in the experimental use of language or interested in everything Beckett.

I found I needed to read this small volume multiple times before the repeated images, the disjoint non-sentences, the crisp objectiveness of the language began to congeal into an interesting study of self-awareness. Even the first reading leaves one knowing they are in the hands of a master wordsmith. Well worth the time but certainly not for everyone.