Description

Book Synopsis

Edited by J. C. C. Mays

Murphy, Samuel Beckett''s first novel, was published in 1938. Its work-shy eponymous hero, adrift in London, realises that desire can never be satisfied and withdraws from life, in search of stupor. Murphy''s lovestruck fiancée Celia tries with tragic pathos to draw him back, but her attempts are doomed to failure. Murphy''s friends and familiars are simulacra of Murphy, fragmented and incomplete. But Beckett''s achievement lies in the brilliantly original language used to communicate this vision of isolation and misunderstanding. The combination of particularity and absurdity gives Murphy''s world its painful definition, but the sheer comic energy of Beckett''s prose releases characters and readers alike into exuberance.

Murphy

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    A Paperback / softback by Samuel Beckett

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      Book details

      Publisher Faber & Faber
      Published 21 May 2009
      ISBN-13 9780571244584
      978-0571244584
      ISBN-10 0571244580
      Also in:
      Fiction Books by Samuel Beckett

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Edited by J. C. C. Mays

      Murphy, Samuel Beckett''s first novel, was published in 1938. Its work-shy eponymous hero, adrift in London, realises that desire can never be satisfied and withdraws from life, in search of stupor. Murphy''s lovestruck fiancée Celia tries with tragic pathos to draw him back, but her attempts are doomed to failure. Murphy''s friends and familiars are simulacra of Murphy, fragmented and incomplete. But Beckett''s achievement lies in the brilliantly original language used to communicate this vision of isolation and misunderstanding. The combination of particularity and absurdity gives Murphy''s world its painful definition, but the sheer comic energy of Beckett''s prose releases characters and readers alike into exuberance.

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