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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    Publisher: Faber & Faber
    Publication Date: 21/05/2009
    ISBN13: 9780571244584, 978-0571244584
    ISBN10: 0571244580
    Also in:
    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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