Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6433 in Books
• Published on: 1994-01-18
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

From AudioFile
Beckett's WAITING FOR GODOT has been called the quintessential play of the twentieth century. This 1997 Stratford Festival production, recorded before an audience in Toronto, benefits from good casting and wise direction. McCamus and Ouimette, as the attendant Vladimir and Estragon, have a rapport that's evident from their first lines, and their rapid exchanges of dialogue are often very funny. Blendick brings a sonorous, Orson Welles-like voice to the frighteningly absurd character of Pozzo. The small ensemble adheres well, and it's supported by convincing sound effects, music, and recording quality. D.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Review
Tragicomedy in two acts by Samuel Beckett, published in 1952 in French as En attendant Godot and first produced in 1953. Waiting for Godot was a true innovation in drama and the Theater of the Absurd's first theatrical success. The play consists of conversations between Vladimir and Estragon, who are waiting for the arrival of the mysterious Godot, who continually sends word that he will appear but who never does. They encounter Lucky and Pozzo, they discuss their miseries and their lots in life, they consider hanging themselves, and yet they wait. Often perceived as being tramps, Vladimir and Estragon are a pair of human beings who do not know why they were put on earth; they make the tenuous assumption that there must be some point to their existence, and they look to Godot for enlightenment. Because they hold out hope for meaning and direction, they acquire a kind of nobility that enables them to rise above their futile existence. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Customer Reviews

Waiting for the book to end...
If the author was trying to effect in the reader the pain of interminable, open-ended waiting in line with no insight as to when the line might move, with no other diversions, he succeeded. I found this book excruciating to read. Imagine the dull rambling--desalinated of anything whatsoever interesting--of two nondescript nobodies with nothing to say. That pretty much sums it up. Once one gets that, then some nuances come in to play. First, it is funny at times. The author manages to insert some subtle plays on words; irony; playful symbolism. These are not pointed to with a neon sign, but have to be watched for--no sleeping here! The insertion of the rich man and his human 'horse' pulling a cart was truly demented. While there may be a few ways to take this work, I'll stick with re-interpreting the phrase 'waiting for Godot' not to mean a long wait, but rather an interminable wait so filled with boredom that not only can I understand why the characters in this play considered suicide, but wonder why I am not considering it as well.

Too Abstract
I am not a very big fan of reading plays but appreciate the humor of "The Importance of Being Earnest" and the drama and tragedy of "Death of a Salesman". This play, however, didn't do anything for me. The plot (characters waiting for someone who never comes) intrigued me and was very original. The dialog, though, was too abstract and I thought could have been a lot better. This is a very quick and easy read though so not too much of an investment to read.

Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ...
Waiting and Waiting and Waiting and ...

Review of Play: Waiting for Godot - A Tragicomedy in Two Acts

Written in: 1949

Premiere in: 1953

By: Samuel Beckett (1906 - 1989)

Originally written in French and translated to English by the author himself.

This play takes place on a desolate road next to a barren tree. There are two aimless men loitering and passing the time in discussion. They are soon joined by two others. The first act of the play lasts through one evening. The second act lasts through a second evening almost identical to the first. When ever the subject of leaving their spot arises, we learn that they can't leave because they are "Waiting for Godot" and need to stay at this particular spot on the road.

There is a sense of timelessness. The second evenings (second act) seems to be slightly altered copy of the first evening (first act). The characters are "Waiting for Godot" and for salvation. Their wait for salvation might well be endless since all of them are loath to face their true motives, their real needs, their personal wants and honest desires. They don't seem to know why they are "Waiting for Godot" or what Godot (God?) will bring them. When they mention suicide they flippantly dismiss the subject. One time they say they can not hang themselves because they have no rope when in fact there is a rope lying on the stage as one of the few props.

They appear to have voluntarily subjected themselves to a purgatory and don't have the courage or initiative to even question their situation.

The discussion ranges from an inane account of boots being too tight to sophistic meanderings on the purpose of life. The characters seem to relentlessly keep talking to avoid facing something. We are not privy to any of their pasts or in fact any personal information about any of the characters. They might have been meeting on the desolate road for an endless time, so that any past that they had is lost in the mist of their memories.

The nearly barren tree reminds them of a hanging tree and by implication a crucifixion cross. The tree dominates the stage background just as Godot dominates the lives; free choice and every expression of the four main characters. Does the milieu force the characters to think of salvation to the exclusion of a meaningful life? Could their need for salvation keep them trapped in a purgative existence where escape would be a form of condemnation which none of them could tolerate?

The play "Waiting for Godot" forces the reader to ask questions of him/her self.



Waiting for Godot

Krapp's Last Tape

Endgame and Act Without Words



I completely enjoyed and highly recommend this book.