Tackling the Tough Ones Together: Samuel Beckett | In Person (Ryan Ranch)

Course Description:

Many of us know the famed writer, Samuel Beckett, through his absurdist plays—"Waiting for Godot" and "Happy Days"—but Beckett was also an acclaimed novelist. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1969 for his entire oeuvre; the Nobel Committee praised him for establishing new forms for the novel and drama. In this course, we'll explore his trilogy: "Molloy," "Malone Dies," and "The Unnamable." Prepare to read entire novels with almost no paragraphing and minimal punctuation. Beckett cares more about readers' relationships with the novel form and with language itself than he does about relationships with his characters; he also cares very little about plot. But he does care about what each character does with language and what that language can and can't reveal. These are difficult novels to read, mostly because the reader wants something different than they're offering. The task is to nestle into what exists on the page without wanting anything more; together we'll tackle Beckett, enjoy him, and rise to his occasion.