Beckett

John

Keeping in mind what time of the century it is, I bought the complete dramatic works of Beckett yesterday. Started reading Waiting for Godot today and I'm just about finished. I have to say, going on this so far I'm sorry I've ignored his work for so many years. Anyone have anything to day about him? (good or bad)

chillywilly

em just a question, where did you buy the complete dramatic works and how much.....i want to get into reading beckett aswell!! thanks

John

I got mine in the Old Library in TCD after going to the Beckett exhibition there (you have to pay into the Book of Kells to see it). Great exhibition if you're into old notebooks, photos and letters (I am). I saw it in Hodges and Figgis too, they have a Beckett table with loads of his stuff on it.

muesli_offire

Hope it wasn't the faber & faber edition with its stupid chronology. Beckett plays are a bit of a crap read imho, far prefer the handful of peformances I've seen in the real world, but to each his own. Which is lucky anyway because I puked on the book so its stained a greeny-biley colour that just smacks of existential angst and stereotype. The prose is glorious.

John

It is the F&F one. I don't mind just the text, I like to have read a play before I go see it, just like I like to read the book before I see the movie. Not quite the same I know but that's me.

jrey1981

Feel I have missed out on Beckett too, will have to have a browse when I am next in Dublin.

simu

I studied French at college and ended up doing quite a bit of Beckett. He really rocks! It's incredible how much he manages to squeeze into what seem, initially, like very sparse works. I'm thinking of Krapp's Last Tape/La derniere Bande in particular here.

I want to read more of his prose works this year as we focused more on his plays in class.

John

I would like to read his stuff in French (most of it was originally in French wasn't it?) but I don't think my French is up to it. Although I've got it all in English I should be able to read both.

Catullus

I have to say I still think is best work is found in the novels. The trilogy is an absolute masterpiece. I seriously have to read at least a little of this almost every day. The plays work on a completely different vibe I think, a lot of which is just wasting you time in a public place, which i love, but the books waste private time, even better again.
Overall though it's the prose, I genuinely can't think of any better anywhere!

DublinWriter

Krapp's Last Tape is probably the best starting place for Beckett as it's one of his most accessible plays. I saw John Hurt do it at the Gate a few years back and he was masterful.

I bought the Beckett DVD box-set that was released a few years back, I think you can still get it.

I find a lot of Beckett to be very self-indulgent. Sorry, I just don't get it.

To me it's rather like the difference between Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake. I love Ulysses but I find FW to be more of a self-indulgent intellectual ego trip on the part of Joyce.