The World of Samuel Beckett, 1906-1946 [Hardcover]

Professor Lois Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 21, 1996

Samuel Beckett, whose play "Waiting for Godot" was one of the most influential works for the post-World War II generation, has long been identified with the debilitated and impotent characters he created. In this book, Lois Gordon offers a new perspective on Beckett, challenging the prevalent image of him as reclusive, self-absorbed and disturbed. Gordon investigates the first 40 years of Beckett's life and finds that he was, on the contrary, a kind and generous man who responded sensitively and even heroically to the world around him. Gordon describes the various places and events that affected Beckett during this formative period: war-torn Dublin during the Easter Uprising and World War I, where he spent his childhood and student days; Belfast and Paris in the 1920s and London during the Depression, where he lived and worked; Germany in 1937, where he travelled and witnessed Hitler's domestic policies; prewar and occupied France, where he was active in the Resistance (for which he was later decorated); and the war-ravaged town of Saint-Lo in Normandy, which he helped to restore following the liberation. Gordon also portrays the individuals who were important to Beckett, including Jack B. Yeats, Alfred Peron, Thomas McGreevy, and, most significantly, James Joyce, who was a model for Beckett personally, artistically and politically. Gordon argues that Beckett was very much aware of the political and cultural turmoil of this period and that the creative works he wrote after World War II can, in fact, be viewed as a product of and testament to those tumultuous times.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Gordon's treatment of the modernist master and author of Waiting for Godot is less harsh than the influential 1978 biography by Deirdre Bair, in which Beckett was represented as neurotic, cold, and hermitic. Gordon's study presents Beckett as an alert, even compassionate observer of his times and an heir to the Great Tradition of literary heavyweights. Much of the book focuses on the times rather than the life, summarizing political and intellectual history. Beckett once said that while James Joyce worked toward "omniscience and omnipotence as an artist," he himself worked from "impotence, ignorance." Gordon's work belies that modesty.

From Publishers Weekly

Gordon, professor of English and comparative literature at Fairleigh Dickinson University, looks at the circumstances that shaped Beckett's writing. She begins with Beckett's native city, Dublin, how he viewed it as a Protestant among Catholics and the effect the Irish Rising of 1916-1922 had on him. She discusses Beckett's life in Paris during the 1920s and his relationship with James Joyce. She paints a pleasant portrait of Joyce the family man and artist; considers Beckett's friendship with Jack Yeats, the poet's brother; and recounts Beckett's time in London during the early 1930s. The most gripping chapters are about the WW II occupation of France and Beckett's heroic role in the Resistance, which was inspired, according to the author, by the spirit of the great Irish revolutionary Michael Collins. Although there are annoying inaccuracies (e.g., Joyce and Irish politician Eamon DeValera do not, as the author claims, share the same birthday), this meticulously footnoted bio serves as a sober corrective to many of Deirdre Bair's more speculative theses in Samuel Beckett. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1ST edition (February 21, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300064098
• ISBN-13: 978-0300064094
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,735,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dueling Academics, May 9, 2006

By 

Erstwhile (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of Samuel Beckett, 1906-1946 (Paperback)

Gordon adds significant insight into this period of Beckett's life, and her book details the times and environment very well. However, I can't help but think that her primary reason for writing it (other than to publish rather than perish) is a personal vendetta against Bair. She seems determined to demolish the latter's biography, point by point. Worth reading anyway.