Weird, strange, difficult, fascinating, brilliant and maddening. These are the words that come to mind when one tries to describe Beckett's short prose.

His short prose is indeed the more difficult of his work. The language is often complex, the ideas are abstract, and the structure is fragmented. It requires a great deal of effort and concentration to understand.

Moreover, it can be quite depressing. The themes are often dark and pessimistic, dealing with topics such as isolation, despair, and the meaninglessness of life.

However, despite its difficulties and its depressing nature, Beckett's short prose is still thought-provoking and powerful. It forces us to question our assumptions about the world and about ourselves. It challenges us to think deeply and to look beyond the surface of things.

In conclusion, Beckett's short prose is a unique and important part of his oeuvre. It may be difficult to understand and depressing to read, but it is also a source of great inspiration and insight.

This is Beckett's nectar, condensed and pungent.

Its aroma is quintessentially Beckettian, tickling my nose and brain with the scent of decay.

I relish it, inhaling deeply on every page.

He did not die for our sins, but for our lack of them.

We ought to be lost in one of those non-spaces he inhabited, listening to the same voices he heard, never to return.

The book reads like a novel, allowing us to speed through 60 years of his thoughts at a rate of two pages per year.

It begins at the table of Finnegan's Wake, where the literary feast is too much to stomach, too much flesh, all dead, including Joyce.

It moves too much, too wordy, too unlike what I prefer.

But Beckett eventually sheds the skins that do not serve him, as we witness in the next three or four stories.

Words are lost as they fail to serve him.

The narrative dissipates, the narrator vanishes and merges with the characters, who may themselves be narrators, or not.

These are things that only he could write about, but we can feel them every day.

His sad words cure the silence of the dying bones.

I love him, you, me, Samuel.

Thank you for dying.

His works are like a profound mystery, inviting us to explore the depths of human existence and the meaninglessness that often pervades our lives.

Beckett's unique style challenges our conventional understanding of literature and forces us to confront our own inner turmoil.

Each page is a journey into the unknown, filled with vivid imagery and thought-provoking ideas.

His ability to convey complex emotions and experiences with such simplicity and elegance is truly remarkable.

As we read his words, we are transported to a world that is both familiar and strange, a world where nothing is certain and everything is open to interpretation.

Beckett's legacy will continue to inspire generations of readers and writers, as we strive to make sense of our own lives in the face of uncertainty and chaos.

Largely non-sensical drivel is a form of communication that often lacks coherence and meaningful content. It can be found in various aspects of life, such as in some social media posts, certain types of writing, or even in conversations.

This kind of drivel may seem random and without purpose, leaving the reader or listener confused and frustrated. It might consist of a jumble of words, phrases, and ideas that don't connect or make sense together.

However, it's important to note that what one person may consider non-sensical drivel, another might find entertaining or thought-provoking in some strange way. Sometimes, people use such language to express themselves in a unique or creative manner, even if it doesn't conform to traditional standards of logic and clarity.

In conclusion, largely non-sensical drivel is a phenomenon that exists in our communication landscape, and while it may not always be easy to understand or appreciate, it can still have its place and value in certain contexts.

In breathtakingly beautiful prose,

an ode to the bleakness of life unfolds before our eyes.

The author masterfully weaves words together to paint a vivid picture of the harsh realities that often lurk beneath the surface of our existence.

Each sentence seems to drip with a sense of melancholy and desolation, yet there is an underlying beauty in the way the bleakness is described.

It's as if the author is trying to find meaning and purpose in the midst of the darkness, to extract a glimmer of hope from the otherwise hopeless situation.

As we read through this ode, we are taken on an emotional journey, one that forces us to confront our own fears and insecurities, and to see the world in a new and perhaps more profound light.

It is a powerful and moving piece of writing that will stay with us long after we have turned the final page.

Two days before a nerve-wracking US presidential election, I was feeling completely drained. I was not only physically tired but also mentally exhausted, as if I was in the initial stages of an approaching flu. Discontented with the things I had been reading, I reached for Beckett on the shelf and opened his work. Fizzles #1. That sounded about right. It was only a couple of pages long, which was perfect. I forced my eyes open and moved them back and forth across the printed page. The abstract nature of his writing encouraged me not to overthink but simply to read. It was like active relaxation, a form of mental yoga. I let my mind absorb whatever it needed.

After reading just a few lines of Beckett, my mind began to breathe, expand, and contract, much like a black bear stretched out on a fallen tree beside a river. A few more lines and I had finished Fizzles #1. What was next? Naturally, it was Fizzles #2. And I repeated this process, just like a bear, all the way through Fizzles #7.

Today, I can't precisely recall what I read yesterday. But does it really matter? Sometimes, the experience of reading is all that one requires.

After finishing the Fizzles, I picked up Koethe's The Swimmer: Poems. I found myself entirely unburdened by the need to analyze, and I quickly read through several of his poems, enjoying them in a way that I hadn't quite experienced before when reading poetry.

Thank you, Samuel Beckett, for showing me how to read Koethe.

Definitely for the already-initiated.

By this, I mean those who have read his plays or trilogy, or at least Molloy.

That being said, it is fascinating if you're interested in his writing and thought.

However, I can't deny it: this book also contains some of the most difficult writing I have ever come across.

I would say that at least 70% of what he's attempting to do simply went over my head.

I would love to revisit certain parts in the future to try and figure them out.

But for now, I have a pressing stack of other books next to me that I am eager to finish first.

Ha!

It's a bit of a conundrum, really.

On one hand, I'm intrigued by this challenging work, but on the other, I have other literary pursuits calling my name.

Nonetheless, I'm sure that when I do eventually return to it, I'll gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the author's unique vision.

Well, Beckett's prose is truly a substantial body of work.

It may not reach the exact level of Joyce or Pynchon in terms of its magnitude, but it comes quite close.

This book is rather extensive, encompassing all of his short prose from 1929 to 1989.

As you progress through it, you can clearly observe the evolution of his writing style and themes.

His very first short story, "Assumption," is quite good.

The second one, "Sedendo et Quiescendo," seems to suggest that he was still very much in the shadow of Joyce back in 1932.

However, by the time of "First Love," and especially with "Ping" and "Enough" in the 1960s, he really hits his stride.

Reading this collection requires focus and time as it is not a quick read.

It demands your full attention to fully appreciate the nuances and developments in Beckett's writing over the years.

It is a journey through the mind of a remarkable writer, and one that is well worth taking for those interested in the evolution of modern literature.

Beckett is truly a master of text-as-art.

His works are renowned for their unique and innovative use of language. He has the remarkable ability to transform words into powerful artistic expressions that go beyond the ordinary. Beckett's texts are not just a means of communication but a form of art in themselves.

He plays with words, structures, and rhythms, creating a world that is both captivating and thought-provoking. His minimalist style, with its spare language and fragmented sentences, adds to the overall impact of his works. Beckett's texts invite readers to explore the deeper meanings and interpretations hidden within the words. They challenge our perception of reality and force us to question the nature of language and communication. In conclusion, Beckett's status as a master of text-as-art is well-deserved, and his works continue to inspire and influence generations of writers and artists.

The three-act structure of Beckett's oeuvre is more prominent in his short prose compared to his novels, plays, or other writings.

We have the early, extremely immature Joycean works, exemplified here by four stories. The last of these, A Case in a Thousand (1934), is two years later than the other three but is much more developed and actually rather good.

Then comes the middle period, initiated by WWII, when he wrote his famous plays. However, the first products of this phase are short stories like the brilliant First Love, The Expelled, The Calmative, and The End. All these center around Beckett's typical derelict character, scraping by in an uncaring world yet blessedly not belonging to it, able to exist regardless, find structure in randomness, and construct meaning from incomprehensible nothingness. I love these stories, which I had read before, and the criminally overlooked novella Mercier and Camier, as much as anything else he wrote. They are truly grotesquely funny and charming.

Then the late phase arrives, strikingly early in the short prose with Texts for Nothing (1950 - 52, when in other forms he was still writing understandable things). But a lot of the later short prose is offcuts or abandoned stubs, which isn't surprising. It's like a jungle gym, a workout area where Beckett subjects his increasingly non-existent characters to tortuous, absurd routines, seeing how they might fit in a novel, on a stage, on the radio, and generally concluding that they wouldn't. Some of it, like Ping (brilliantly translated by the author from the French Bing), is aggressively anti-reader, an exercise in textual alienation that succeeds to its own detriment (and thus succeeds very well). But some of the late shorts, like his landscape of Hell The Lost Ones, or the surprisingly lubricious Heard in the Dark 2, have enough coherence to make an impact on the conventional reader, meaning I think they're (very) good. Whether they're good or not, reading them induces a feeling unlike other texts, a kind of buzzed dissociation and an apathy that I find oddly relieving.

All I'm lacking now from Beckett is The Unnamable and How It Is.

5/5

Just for the sheer fun of it, one delves into the works of a master of existential dread, schizophrenic strolls, and utter nonsense. Samuel Beckett's writing is a captivating exploration of the human condition, filled with his unique brand of graphomania intertwined with a profound and terrible self-despising. His characters often find themselves in absurd and hopeless situations, yet through their struggles, a strange kind of genius emerges. Beckett is truly a loser's genius, and there is something undeniably fascinating about his works. Whether it's the minimalist dialogue, the disjointed narratives, or the hauntingly beautiful descriptions, his writing has the power to draw readers in and make them question the very nature of existence. Love him or hate him, there's no denying the impact that Beckett has had on the world of literature.

Great collection!

This is truly an amazing assemblage of items. Each piece in this collection seems to tell a unique story, whether it's a rare antique, a beautiful work of art, or a precious keepsake.

The collector has clearly put a great deal of time and effort into amassing these treasures, and it shows in the quality and variety of the collection.

Looking at this collection, one can't help but be impressed by the range of items on display. From ancient coins to modern sculptures, there is something here for everyone to欣赏.

It's not just the individual pieces that make this collection great, but also the way they are presented. The collector has arranged them in a thoughtful and aesthetically pleasing manner, creating a visually stunning display that is sure to delight anyone who sees it.

In conclusion, this is a great collection that is well worth seeing. It's a testament to the passion and dedication of the collector, and a wonderful example of the power of collecting to bring together a diverse range of items and create something truly special.

Beckett's "Texts for Nothing" are truly and utterly sublime.

These works are a profound exploration of the human condition, delving into the depths of our existence, our fears, our hopes, and our uncertainties.

Beckett's writing style is unique, characterized by its spare language, fragmented sentences, and lack of traditional narrative structure.

Yet, within this simplicity lies a wealth of meaning and emotion that can only be fully appreciated upon careful reading and reflection.

"Texts for Nothing" challenges our preconceived notions of what literature should be, and forces us to confront the often uncomfortable truths about ourselves and the world we live in.

It is a work of great beauty and power, one that will continue to inspire and haunt readers for generations to come.