When I see the Goodreads rating for Endgame is 3.9, I lose my faith in the internet democracy of letters. I mean, how can anyone not read this brilliant piece on the end of the world and not be entranced?

But then I just looked up Waiting For Godot and it's rating 3.8, so any faith I have in the judgement of the masses is completely shattered.

Beckett is truly remarkable and hilarious. He holds in his hands the bleeding black heart of our lives. The characters of Endgame muse on the end of their existence (or of our existence) with a combination of grim and humorous determination. They don't desire to live, yet they do. The world outside is desolate and gray, but still alluring. And they never abandon the petty desperation, the longing for a painkiller or a sugar plum, the very striving to carry on.

However, for all its depth and poetry, the most crucial thing is that these characters come to life on the page just as they do on the stage. Ultimately, they are vaudeville / music hall skits written onto the deepest, most fundamental questions of our life. The fact that Beckett doesn't seem to recognize the kingdom of children is just a reality of life in this kingdom.

It's been 30 years since I last saw Endgame, yet reading it now brings me as much pleasure as seeing it then. Here in Seattle, there was a Beckett festival this fall, and I didn't go. It was my loss. Whether it's Happy Days, Krapp's Last Tape, Waiting for Godot, or Endgame, Beckett wields the trenching tools of compassion and humor so that we may partake in the sad and strange paradoxes of our condition.

Beckett may seem like a person who wants to get rid of the world, but in fact, he wants to get rid of himself.

And these two things may seem the same in terms of the result, but they are not at all the same in essence :')

"You are on the earth, and there is no cure for that.!"

With the renewal of love always for this beautiful gray ❤️

Beckett, a complex and enigmatic figure, presents a façade that might lead one to believe he desires to escape the world. However, upon closer examination, it becomes evident that his true longing is for self-eradication. The seemingly similar outcomes of both scenarios mask a profound difference in their very nature. The statement "You are on the earth, and there is no cure for that.!" encapsulates the inescapable reality that Beckett grapples with. Yet, despite this, there is a glimmer of hope in the form of his unwavering love for the beautiful gray. This love, which is constantly renewed, serves as a counterbalance to his darker impulses, adding a layer of depth and complexity to his character.

In the preface of the book, a small detail added regarding the translation done by Genco Erkal was as follows: "With the intention of making the viewers have a more enjoyable time, certain arrangements were made in the play and more witty words were added." This detail caused an incredible fear in me even before starting to read the book. However, when I read the work, I did not come across a word that would go against its spirit, lead to madness and absurdity. On the contrary, I found the translation to be extremely successful. What remained in my mind about the book were: grotesqueness, disability, imp, a dog from a three-legged weave, neediness, mouse, binoculars and garbage can. All these images presented the disturbing environment so beautifully that when one lives with the awareness of that sense of unease, the fact that the end never comes, the fact that the torture never ends and the concept of death, the clarity that there is nothing beautiful in this life is truly astonishing. Beckett knows very well how to make people uneasy and how to break down the beliefs that are regarded as taboos. Enjoyable readings.

Our entire lives are filled with questions, and the answers lie within them.!!!

The end of the game... or the never-ending completion of the game of life.

If you have read Samuel Beckett before, you will not feel a significant personal or philosophical difference from his other works.

Especially if you have read his most famous novel, "Waiting for Godot," and then read this play, and followed them with "Krapp's Last Tape."

With these three, you will have judged your perception of Beckett in an interesting way. Yes, it is tragic, but it is also interesting.

Clov: Why do you stay with me?

Hamm: Why do you stay on me? -

Clov: There is no one else -

Hamm: There is no other place -

!!"

Well... I have previously provided a review of "Waiting for Godot" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And "Krapp's Last Tape" https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This play remains... but do I really need a new review... or something different from what I have written before?

I don't think so.

If I took what I wrote before and wrote it here, the review would be completely fine.

Because Beckett is Beckett... the same absurdity, the unity, the void... the pain that does not stop and will not stop.

Because this has nothing to do with time at all.

You are in the play of one time... one scene... one set.

Time is zero in a non-working hour, and the moments fall like grains of wheat, and you watch your entire life, wondering if you can bring these moments to a full life in the end, but that will never happen. So the end is not very different from the beginning, and outside the window, there is nothing, and there will be nothing, except for the repetition of the tragedy, the repetition of the questions, and the answers.

So you are on the ground, and there is no solution to that.

!!

Watch this excerpt from the play https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-Rw-...

Then read the reviews of friends, as they have really covered everything I could say...

My youngest daughter accompanied me to watch this during the week. Before the performance, we went to a pub and had our first beer together. This was a highly significant moment for a father, especially in Australia, the land of the amber fluid.

Just a minute ago, I read the Wiki article on this play. I wanted to make sure it was written after World War II. You see, it is so clearly a post-nuclear war play that I would have been very disappointed if it had been written in 1922 or something. For example, TSE's line, "I'll show you fear in a handful of dust", really should be a reference to nuclear war, but it just can't be. It is very amusing that Beckett would say this isn't about post-nuclear war. Exactly the kind of thing you would expect him to say.

Anyway, this is a comedy about things that should be impossible to find funny. If the Irish can claim to have contributed anything to Western Civilization, perhaps it is this, to have tried to find ways to make us laugh about things we really shouldn't laugh at. I believe this is what helps form the strange connection I have in my mind between Jews and the Irish. Although, perhaps the Irish were lucky enough not to be chosen, not only not chosen, but hardly even picked. The mother in this play says, "Nothing is funnier than unhappiness" – which is easily the funniest line in the play – and also the play's most important line. If you are writing a play and can achieve that, you've done well. As I said, the question here is how do you make a comedy out of this material? When all you have are the last people on earth perishing away for lack of everything, two of them even actually living in rubbish bins. It is probably only possible to think of doing this, or even think it necessary to be done, if you are Irish or Jewish.

And yet, this is a remarkable play. Even the constant farce seems to only heighten the pathos of the thing – and bathos too, obviously. It makes you think about the human condition in a very unique way.

Not from the sad nor from the happy, not from here nor from there.

This simple yet profound statement seems to suggest a state of being that is beyond the extremes of emotion and location. It implies a sense of detachment or neutrality, as if one is not influenced by the joys and sorrows of life or the specific place where they are.

Perhaps it is a reminder to look beyond the immediate and obvious, to see the bigger picture and understand that our experiences and emotions are transient. It could also be an invitation to find inner peace and stability, regardless of the external circumstances.

In a world that is often filled with chaos and uncertainty, this idea of being neither from the sad nor the happy, neither from here nor there, can offer a sense of comfort and guidance. It encourages us to embrace a more balanced and centered approach to life, one that is not swayed by the ebb and flow of emotions or the changing tides of our environment.

At the end of the game, another form, or another variation, on the first Peking Opera stage: waiting for Judo. We can summarize them both together, in one word Peking Opera: nothing happens while waiting.

Peking Opera is a traditional art form in China that combines singing, dancing, acting, and martial arts. It has a long history and rich cultural connotations. In this article, the author uses the example of waiting for Judo on the Peking Opera stage to illustrate the concept that sometimes in life, nothing seems to happen while we are waiting.

This could be interpreted in different ways. Maybe it means that we should be patient and not expect immediate results. Or perhaps it implies that we should make the most of the waiting time and use it to reflect, prepare, or simply enjoy the moment.

Overall, the author's use of Peking Opera as a metaphor adds an interesting and unique perspective to the idea of waiting. It shows that even in the world of art and performance, there are moments of stillness and anticipation.

The third play by Beckett that I've read, along with "Waiting for Godot" and "Breath", I read this one recently for a class.

Interestingly, I might even have a greater liking for it than "Waiting for Godot", although I'm still allowing a lot of its elements to fully sink in.

One of the most crucial aspects discussed in my class is the fact that the audience is in a parallel state to Hamm, who is one of the four characters and claims to be living out the middle of his life. In a strange way, we experience the world just as Hamm does. However, I'm not entirely certain that I can fully understand the significance of that idea.

This play is absurd, strange, and ultimately another heartbreaking cyclical, genius play that Beckett has crafted. My favorite part of this play was analyzing what it would take for each character to re-enter life. For Nagg, it is a sugarplum, as if the pleasure and sweetness are all that they have enough energy left to experience.

Overall, this play by Beckett continues to baffle and intrigue me, making me eager to explore more of his works and try to understand the deeper meanings hidden within them.

I said that I would read a bit of absurd theatre, (even though it's not enough for what we live through...).

As it happened, I never saw this particular one in the theatre, but in any case, Beckett is wonderful to read because the text is sufficient. That is, it stands perfectly on its own without the need for stage sets or costumes to showcase it. I could really write many excerpts.

I admit that there is nothing more witty than misfortune.

In a world (stage) where all beautiful things have been lost or are being lost, the 4 characters of the work interact and search for something that doesn't exist. A very good read, and surely I would like to see it in the theatre at the first opportunity.

\\n  \\n    -Have you ever lived a moment of happiness?
- As far as I know, no.\\n  \\n

Although it is steeped in misfortune and lyricism, the work has comic elements within its absurdity.

I often say to myself, sometimes, Clov. You must learn to endure suffering better than that if you hope they will grow tired of punishing you one day. I also say to myself, sometimes, Clov. You must be better than that if you want them to let you go one day. However, I feel that I am too old and have come too far to form new habits. Well, it'll never end, and I'll never go. It seems that I am trapped in this cycle of pain and longing. I can't seem to break free. Maybe it's because I'm afraid of change, or maybe it's because I don't believe that things will ever get better. But deep down, I know that I have to keep trying. I have to find a way to make things right. I have to learn to suffer better and be better. Only then can I hope for a different future.

Samuel Beckett is not really for me.

My understanding of Endgame improved a great deal after the teaching and a review of it. However, I don't think postmodern literature is something I will engage with very much in the future.

Samuel Beckett had difficulty achieving success in his lifetime as he broke so much with the literature of modernism. There are still clear traces from it, but everything is so meaningless here and there seems to be no end to it in Endgame. Maybe that's not really for me. However, I think the characters are really good examples of the post-war view of people. Nagg and Nell, who could either be symbols of Auschwitz or symbols of the contemporary view of the elderly. Hamm, who has a little bit of hope for the future but is just ground down by Clov. It's an interesting cast of characters, but the actual plot (which hardly exists...) is probably what spoils it for me.

I can appreciate the ideas and the way Beckett plays with language and form, but it just doesn't resonate with me on a deeper level. I prefer literature that has a more straightforward narrative and a clear message. Maybe I just haven't found the right postmodern works yet, but for now, I'll stick to other genres.

Irresistible, unappealing, uncreated as if one.

This is that, the disaster of that people, in the absurdity of an absurd theater, how many different works. Kafka - Beckett - Ionesco - then again Pinter, no, in all of their works, a certain mode can be reversed, but it is very difficult to put them on one shelf. Mr. Beckett's work like this, like that Eslin's sub, which had those characteristics, their adherents - but it doesn't create enthusiasm at all. What does it mean to be 'bored' in English? 'Bored' is like a child, I'm bored, I can't read anymore, the imagination - I can't read a lot - long - this can't be done - I've read, in the void of that reading, sometimes some beautiful scenes appear, then suddenly - the play of words was there, the success of sitting for an infinite time was there, one day it became depressed after reading every day, this becomes obsessed with reading every day and no one knows why.

The ambiguity is okay, not asking to hold the reality is also okay, but if that writing doesn't hold me, then it will never nourish me by showing only the backward-looking philosophy. Still, one or two words, one or two hints, what is good in this play - of course not that good, rather the saying 'not touching the water without catching the fish' is also good. A long time ago, I once read Mr. Beckett's trilogy with great difficulty, I don't remember what I finished, but it was much better than this.

Finally, a four-page play is added, called 'Act Without Words'. Extremely wonderful!

Then I read three Harold Pinter. There will be a word in the right place about that.