Molloy

Written initially in French, later translated by the author into English, Molloy is the first book in Dublin-born Samuel Beckett's trilogy. It was published shortly after WWII and marked a new, mature writing style, which was to dominate the remainder of his working life. Molloy is less a novel than a set of two monologues narrated by Molloy and his pursuer, Moran.

In the first section, while consumed with the search of his mother, Molloy lost everything. Moran takes over in the second half, describing his hunt for Molloy. Within this simple outline, spoken in the first person, is a remarkable story, raising the questions of being and aloneness that marks so much of Beckett's work, but is richly comic as well. Beautifully written, it is one of the masterpieces of Irish literature.

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Hearing this, you at once realise Beckett's crisp prose is ideally suited to the audiobook medium. In first person narration we hear Molloy is first seeking his mother, then, in the second section, being pursued himself by Moran, a private detective. Yes, we are on familiar Beckett territory, yet this early work raises not only questions of being and aloneness - it is also richly comical. A great introduction to Beckett before venturing into his later, darker works. --Bukowski on Bukowski zine 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 1961. Beckett continued to write prolifically for radio, TV and the theatre until his death in 1989. FROM AUDIOFILE
Tempted to put down Beckett's novel as unreadable? Just two separate monologues, with little or no apparent connection today? Don't be too hasty. In print the two monologues are hard to connect, it's true. Molloy, a homeless derelict in search of his mother, narrates Part I, while Moran, a pretentious, outwardly devout prig, seeks Molloy himself in Part II. Sean Barrett and Dermot Crowley each read separate parts, and, oddly, these two skilled actors hold the book together remarkably well. Though the connection between the two monologues is thin, each is richly nuanced with Beckett's sometimes dark, sometimes ribald humor. The distinct readings lend the book a dramatic presence, playfully yet skillfully rendering all the characters to illuminate Beckett's irony. So while in print it seems dark, even absurd, in audio this work takes on the full richness of comedy, probably as Beckett, preeminently a dramatist, intended. P.E.F. AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright AudioFile, Portland, Maine Read more