The Letters of Samuel Beckett, Volume II: 1941-1956
Samuel Beckett
The Letters of Samuel Beckett, Volume II: 1941-1956
This second volume of The Letters of Samuel Beckett opens with the war years, when it was often impossible or too dangerous to correspond. The surge of letters beginning in 1945, and their variety, are matched by the outpouring and the range of Beckett's published work. Primarily written in French and later translated by the author, the work includes stories, a series of novels (Molloy, Malone meurt and L'Innommable), essays and plays – most notably En attendant Godot. The letters chronicle a passionately committed but little known writer evolving into a figure of international reputation, and his response to such fame. The volume provides detailed introductions which discuss Beckett's situation during the war and his crucial move into the French language, as well as translations of the letters, explanatory notes, year-by-year chronologies, profiles of correspondents and other contextual information.
4.8 out of 5 based on 6 reviews
|
Omniscore:
|
| Classification |
Non-fiction |
| Genre |
Essays, Journals & Letters, Biography, Literary Studies & Criticism |
| Format |
Hardback |
| Pages |
886 |
| RRP |
£30.00 |
| Date of Publication |
September 2011 |
| ISBN |
978-0521867948 |
| Publisher |
Cambridge University Press |
| |
This second volume of The Letters of Samuel Beckett opens with the war years, when it was often impossible or too dangerous to correspond. The surge of letters beginning in 1945, and their variety, are matched by the outpouring and the range of Beckett's published work. Primarily written in French and later translated by the author, the work includes stories, a series of novels (Molloy, Malone meurt and L'Innommable), essays and plays – most notably En attendant Godot. The letters chronicle a passionately committed but little known writer evolving into a figure of international reputation, and his response to such fame. The volume provides detailed introductions which discuss Beckett's situation during the war and his crucial move into the French language, as well as translations of the letters, explanatory notes, year-by-year chronologies, profiles of correspondents and other contextual information.
The Letters of Samuel Beckett: Volume 1: 1929-1940
Reviews
The Evening Standard
David Sexton
"Not to beat about the bush, here's the book of the year … One of the incidental surprises of this volume is, in fact, its revelation of Beckett the gardener. He writes often about digging, tree-planting and weeding … a marvellous book."
29/09/2011
Read Full Review
The Independent
Patricia Craig
"… an astonishing work of scholarship, appraisal and documentation … the highlight of this volume is undoubtedly the series of long, compelling, vivid and idiosyncratic letters written by Beckett to his good friend Georges Duthuit, art historian, essayist and editor of the journal transition. Written in French, brilliantly translated by George Craig, these letters show the thoughtful, generous, trenchant and humorous sides of Beckett's personality."
21/10/2011
Read Full Review
The Independent on Sunday
Michael Horovitz
"Many letters in this volume reflect radical changes. Beginning with his last reunion with James Joyce in Vichy in June 1940, the collection traces Beckett's transformation from a wordy Joyce-adoring prentice poet and novelist into an ever more assured (and later, minimalist) one, whose phenomenally innovative plays captivated a long-term worldwide following."
23/10/2011
Read Full Review
The Literary Review
Hugh Haughton
"… one of the glories of this volume is how early, completely and comprehensively Beckett was Beckett. Whether in Dublin, Paris, Hamburg, Foxrock or London, the mordant, learned, Dantesque Hiberno-French comedian of the impasse is never in better form that when commenting on the bad form of life ('I would like to live in a perpetual September. One does one's best to prefer Spring, in vain') ... the editorial team, with their astonishingly detailed annotations, are to be congratulated for making the life work of this heroically perverse illuminist a lot clearer."
01/10/2011
Read Full Review
The Sunday Times
Edmund Gordon
"Some of the letters — a 10-word telegram to the director Alan Schneider, for instance, wishing him luck for the American premiere of Waiting for Godot — are strictly for the Beckett nerd. But there is enough evidence of his character in these pages to keep the most casual reader absorbed ... When it is complete, if the standard of the first two volumes is maintained, this project should constitute one of the most valuable feats of literary scholarship to appear in the past 50 years."
09/10/2011
Read Full Review
The Economist
The Economist
"[When writing] to [Pamela] Mitchell his guard drops, and a warmer side appears. It is to her that Beckett’s humour—there in his plays, under it all—finally surfaces … It is a fault of this volume that this side of Beckett is not more widely seen. Shortly before his death, Beckett stipulated that his published letters should “have bearing on my work.” Interpreting this literally, the careful editors of this volume halve a letter to Mitchell, and exclude others. In doing so, they forget that the life of a man has as much bearing on his work as his own thoughts on it."
24/09/2011
Read Full Review