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sidharthvardhan's review against another edition
5.0
“And if I were to stand up again, from which God preserve me, I fancy I would fill a considerable part of the universe, oh not more than lying down, but more noticeably. For it is a thing I have often noticed, the best way to pass unnoticed is to lie down flat and not move.
It must be a rather lonely business, dying, not the sudden death but the slow death of diseased or old age – If you die suddenly, it is something that occurs to you and you don’t have to deal with it, because before you know it you will be, you know, dead. But where you do know you are going to die in a while, are bed-ridden and can’t do anything – it almost becomes an act, you have to prepare yourself for it, the time goes slowly and there is not much to pass through it - you might have to create methods to pass time or your thoughts would give you hell before you die ... and that is why the book title uses death not as something that happens but something that one does – Malone dies.
And so Malone, an old man bed-ridden to his death-bed waits for his death. Like so many in his position, he has no one to talk to as fatally ill people often find themselves in far little society. Malone starts paying too much attention to trivils rather than turning indifferent to life as one could expect someone in his position. He is obsessed about his few possessions - stationary, stick, bed etc.
This waiting and preparing for death must make a person rather lonely - whether or not one has people around, caring for one, because only dying person knows the kind of suffering he/she is going through - with all the troubling memories, constant humiliating awareness of simple things (walking, talking etc.) one can no longer do and idea of death itself, the finality of it with all the anxieties, anguish, desperation and other-sad-feelings- with-fancy-names it might excite. Since most people won't be interested if he wishes to ramble on these subjects, there is not even illusion of company. And anyway, in suffering we are always alone – even if we are with people suffering from same thing.
And so, how does Malone deals with all this? He is clever, he knows he must keep himself occupied and so he decides to tell himself stories – not make stories but tell them in his mind to himself, with proper descriptions and all. Are those stories somehow related to his life? Probably, is there ever a story that doesn’t tell something about its narrator? Since we are in his consciousness, we get to see his story-telling being disturbed by his memories, his reactions to things happening around him etc. His stories remain unfinished but that is irrelevant – after all, those who read a lot, watch a lot of tv or just like imagining things, know that stories are told not to get to their end but to pass time in the eternal-seeming wait called life.
“And if I ever stop talking it will be because there is nothing more to be said, even though all has not been said, even though nothing has been said.”
stjernesvarme's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
howtobebooks's review against another edition
4.0
Samuel Beckett's classic tale of a man on his death bed is darkly humorous at the same time as being tragic.
Attempting his last shot at writing tales, poor Malone tries his best not to get jumbled with his thoughts but instead ends up on various tangents and rents about previous grudges.
The dramatic pauses are brilliant, usually entailing the storyteller dropping his pencil and general confusion of his mind. The reader does a fantastic job at this.
Attempting his last shot at writing tales, poor Malone tries his best not to get jumbled with his thoughts but instead ends up on various tangents and rents about previous grudges.
The dramatic pauses are brilliant, usually entailing the storyteller dropping his pencil and general confusion of his mind. The reader does a fantastic job at this.
larade's review
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.25
juuhae's review against another edition
5.0
I couldn't give an explanation if you asked me why or how, but this is the most accurate depiction of how the inside of my head looks like. Never have I felt more understood. And then all those references to the previous book, most of which I wouldn't have seen at all without the notes on the German translation. I am very much looking forward to part 3.
frvncesco's review against another edition
3.0
The prose and style of this novel was really a treat to read. I’ve yet to read anything else like Beckett’s writing in this book. Compared to Molloy, Malone seems to be more able to talk about his life and at points writes nonsense and others writes truly beautiful lines. This all builds together to create a style of prose that seems to be the most realistic I’ve ever read, it really feels like your just in his head. Symbols of life and relationships seem to be all throughout the book and the way that Beckett edifies readers on Malones past is extremely interesting. I’ve never read a book so devoid of plot but also really progressing a natural story. I also found it interesting how Malone has the inability to remember much of what’s going on, but is able to write easy about alter egos. Overall this created a style of prose which has its own rhythm and speed to read at, in a style which is unique. It was fire tho.
swagmansnake's review against another edition
3.0
The prose and style of this novel was really a treat to read. I’ve yet to read anything else like Beckett’s writing in this book. Compared to Molloy, Malone seems to be more able to talk about his life and at points writes nonsense and others writes truly beautiful lines. This all builds together to create a style of prose that seems to be the most realistic I’ve ever read, it really feels like your just in his head. Symbols of life and relationships seem to be all throughout the book and the way that Beckett edifies readers on Malones past is extremely interesting. I’ve never read a book so devoid of plot but also really progressing a natural story. I also found it interesting how Malone has the inability to remember much of what’s going on, but is able to write easy about alter egos. Overall this created a style of prose which has its own rhythm and speed to read at, in a style which is unique. It was fire tho.
tarskipriest's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0