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The Faber Companion to Samuel Beckett
Edited by C J Ackerley and S E Gontarski
Faber and Faber
£20
686 pages
Dateline: 18th September, 2006
2006 marks the centenary of Samuel Beckett's birth and it is inevitable
that there will be a stream of books published about the Nobel Prize-winning
Irishman.
It is absolutely inconceivable that any can compete with this weighty
paperback in terms of both dedication to its subject and comprehensiveness.
The Faber Companion to Samuel Beckett was originally published
by Grove in the United States in 2004 and contains American spellings.
Its two authors are academics from Otago (in New Zealand) and Florida
State Universities. Their combined knowledge of the work of Samuel Beckett
and influences on it is truly incredible.
This book is set out as an encyclopaedia entries from A (you remember
- the figure walking towards C in Molloy) to Z.
Not only are Beckett's works and characters are analysed in depth but
so are the influences that led to their creation. This means that everything
and everyone from Tintoretto and Beethoven to the Bible, Peggy Guggenheim
and Billie Whitelaw to the rocking-chair gets an entry amongst the material,
as well as philosophical concepts of every type such as solipsism or
time.
There are also lengthy entries on all of Beckett's works giving details
of performances, interpretations and underlines sources.
In their introduction, the authors say that "the overall purpose
of the Grove Companion is, nonetheless, to guide serious readers through
the Beckett terrain". The term "serious readers" should
be noted, since this pair are big on philosophy and assume a good knowledge
of Beckett's work in their readers.
Therefore, potential buyers are most likely either to come from other
academic institutions or the theatrical profession. Anyone trying to
put on a production of one of Beckett's works or to write a thesis based
on some elements of his writings will find this book invaluable. The
average man in the street though, might be too daunted by the complex
language and dense text to enjoy the experience fully.
Philip Fisher
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