My starting point for Beckett is the four-volume Grove Press Centenary edition, containing seven novels, thirty-two dramatic works, thirty poems, fifty-four stories, texts and novellas, three pieces of criticism. Though not a true Collected Works, the set forms the essential part of the Beckett canon. I’m now reading Beckett’s Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies and The Unnamable (sharing the reading with Emily).
Of the thirty or so writers that constitute the core of my literary exploration, I like to go beyond the primary works. Looking past the Grove Press collection I intend to read an enlightening biography, the letters and Disjecta: Miscellaneous Writings and a Dramatic Fragment. But which biography, and what other ‘divine analysis’ is worth reading?
Beckett distrusted biography as a form of knowledge but curiosity is irrepressible and Knowle’s biography the most illuminating. Beckett critical scholarship is vast and frequently dull, but what are the works that, to quote Hugh Kenner are not intended “to explain Samuel Beckett’s work but to help the reader think about it.” Which works are worth exploring? Starter list below, please help me to add any worthy titles (or to remove discredited or dull works):
- Damned to Fame: The Life of Samuel Beckett – James Knowlson
- The Irish Beckett – John P Harrington
- Beckett Remembering: Remembering Beckett: Unpublished Interviews with Samuel Beckett and Memories of Those Who Knew Him – James Knowlson
- Flaubert, Joyce and Beckett: The Stoic Magicians – Hugh Kenner
- Samuel Beckett: A Critical Study – Hugh Kenner
- The Beckett Canon – Ruby Cohn
- Beckett’s Dying Words – Christopher Ricks
- “Where now? Who now?” (The Book to Come) – Maurice Blanchot
- Know happiness – on Beckett (Very Little…Almost Nothing) – Simon Critchley
- Beckett’s Fiction – Leslie Hill
- Narrative Emotions: Beckett’s Genealogy of Love (Love’s Knowledge) – Martha Nussbaum
- Saying “I” No More – Daniel Katz
- Samuel Beckett: Photographs – John Minihan
- Samuel Beckett (Overlook Illustrated Lives) – Gerry Dukes
- Beckett chapter (Theatre of the Absurd) – Martin Esslin
- Beckett: “En Attendant Godot” and “Fin de Partie” (Critical Guides to French Texts) – J.P. Little
- The Beckett Country – Eoin O’Brien
- Samuel Beckett and the Meaning of Being – Lance St. John Butler
- How it Was – Anne Atik
- No Author Better Served – edited by Maurice Harmon
- Samuel Beckett: Humanistic Perspectives edited by Morris Beja
- Review of Contemporary Fiction, volume 7, #2, Samuel Beckett issue
- The Mechanic Muse – Hugh Kenner
- Just Play: Beckett’s Theater – Ruby Cohn
- Innovation in Samuel Beckett’s Fiction – Rubin Rabinovitz
- The Drama in the Text – Enoch Brater
- Bram van Velde (Grove Press)
- The Grove Companion to Samuel Beckett – Stanley E. Gontarski
- On Beckett – Alain Badiou
- Samuel Beckett’s self-referential drama – Shimon Levy
- Samuel Beckett – Andrew Gibson
- Samuel Beckett and the end of modernity – Richard Begam
- Beckett and Poststructuralism – Anthony Uhlmann
- Samuel Beckett: Repetition, Theory, and Text – Steven Connor
- Beckett: A Guide for the Perplexed – Jonathan Boulter
- Remembering and the Sound of Words: Mallarmé, Proust, Joyce, Beckett – Adam Piette
- A Reader’s Guide to Samuel Beckett – Hugh Kenner
Time's Flow Stemmed 
Christopher Ricks – Beckett’s Dying Words is a full length book worth adding.
Beckett himself said that Blanchot’s “Where now? Who now?”, a review-essay of the trilogy, was for him (quoting a letter from memory) “the biggest thing”. It’s in various editions but “The Book to Come” is the standard location.
Thanks, Steve, both look fascinating.
This is likely to be such a useful resource for me, Anthony – thanks for getting the conversation and list started! Revisiting Molloy is getting me curious to know more (anything) about Beckett’s life, and I like Kenner’s criteria of encouraging thought rather than providing explanation.
I’m torn between reading all the primary work first, or Knowlson’s biography. Normally I won’t read secondary sources until I’ve read the essential works. I may read the biography after the Trilogy.
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I like Knowlson a lot, he is a great source for anyone studying Beckett.
Here are some additions to your list:
1. Saying I No More, Daniel Katz
2. Samuel Beckett, photographs by John Minihan
3. Samuel Beckett, Gerry Dukes (Overlook Illustrated Lives)
Thank you, Sigrun, for the suggestions and for visiting my blog.
Katz takes a similar position to Simon Critchley arguing for the view that ‘that the expression of voicelessness in Beckett is not silence.’ Sounds essential.
The chapter on Beckett in Martin Esslin’s ‘Theatre of the Absurd’ is worth reading. While it does make the association of Beckett and the Absurd which Beckett would reject, this chapter does, in the words of SB himself ‘raise many hares without pursuing them too far’; almost paraphrasing Hugh Kenner.
Also of merit – I think – is J.P. Little’s guide to En Attendant Godot and Fin de Partie, which is part of the Grant and Cutler Critical Guide Series. It’s an incredibly short text and seeks too to simply flag up the various antagonisms in Beckett’s work without overworking them.
While both of these texts principally focus on the plays, there is a lot of cross contamination, with both Little and Esslin exploring how themes present in the plays are often more explicit in his novels.
Hope this helps (awesome blog by the by),
Thanks, Josh, for the kind words and suggestions.
I have the Esslin on my list to check out, so good to have confirmation that the Beckett chapter is enlightening. The Little book also looks interesting.
What about Gontarski, Badiou, Levy and Gibson? I’ve not read any of them, but many are those praising them. Badiou and Gibson’s readings strongly differs from those of the poststructuralist and deconstructionist readings.
As far as the last approaches are concerned there’s Begam’s “The end of modernity”, Uhlmann’s “Beckett and poststructuralism” and S.Connor’s studies on Beckett. Boulter also seems to point in that direction.
A good book on Beckett – both a readable and enjoying one – is Boulter’s guide for the Perplexed on Beckett.
I’m looking forward to read Ricks’ book as it was mentioned by many to be one of the best – if not the best – critic study on Beckett.
Another interesting book seems to be Adam Piette’s.
Thank you very much, Luigi, without exception all great additions to this list.
Rick’s book has a wonderful reputation. It is still on my to-read stack.
Piette’s book looks fascinating, and I really ought to read Badiou’s book.
Ricks’ book’s reputation is well-deserved, Anthony. A marvelous book.
Kenner’s A Reader’s Guide to Samuel Beckett is superb. incidentally, Kenner is the only author of The Stoic Comedians. Davenport is listed as illustrator. Also an excellent book.
Thanks, Richard, for the correction. Since writing the original list a couple of years ago, I’ve read both and agree they are both outstanding.
oh, you’ve read the Reader’s Guide? I didn’t see it on the list, otherwise I wouldn’t have said anything… it is good though, isn’t it?
O, no, sorry, I thought you were referring to Grove’s critical study, also by Kenner and excellent. I now see the difference. I’ll add it to the list. Thanks, Richard.
I’ve read Kenner’s Guide and part of his Critical Study and I have to say although the first one is an overall good introduction to Beckett, his critical study seemed to me much more interesting, focusing on specific topics.
As for the rest I would be interested in reading Connor and Gontarski’s books. Have you read “The intent of undoing in Beckett”?
No, I haven’t, but from what I can see of Gontarski’s work, it looks very interesting.
Don’t snooze on Adorno’s essay “Trying to understand endgame.” I’ve been working on Beckett for about a year and it’s the best piece of commentary on Beckett I’ve found to date.
Thanks, Patrick, Adorno is very insightful on Beckett, though Beckett didn’t always agree with his analysis, which, of course, doesn’t make it wrong.
Mark Nixon, Daniel Albright (the latter for for Sam’s aesthetics). Mark Nixon’s work is exemplary and full of good things. “Beckett’s Books” by Matthew Feldman is also well worth your time, working the same ground as Mark Nixon. Albright’ deployment of theory is judiciously synthesised and never allowed to overburden or derail in to greedy opportunism and vacancy. Badiou,s Beckett is wonderful and full of love, whilst his philosophy is for me wholly irresponsible, his book is energised in a way that Gibson’s is not. These along with the letters of course, and the Cronin bio isn’t to be overlooked, but saying again, after Ricks and Piette, Mark Nixon.
Thanks, excellent suggestions, all of which I look forward to following up (eventually).