Strictly speaking I believe I've never been anywhere." The fruits of this insight are certain. Das französische Original wurde vom Autor selbst ins Englische übertragen. I love Beckett I really do. He wrote in both English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour. However, sometimes, it is tedious and boring. They are both nameless) experience of dying. by Penguin Classics. 17 Contemporary Short Story Collections to Devour. - The End. I personally much preferred ‘the end’ to ‘the calmative’. You'll get access to all of the There are no tricks, no sophisticated twists and turns in this story. They are necessary for the proper functioning of the website and can not be switched off. It is simply the tale of an old, unnamed man, thrown out of some kind of public institution (probably a charitable hospital) with a bit of money and not much else. Welcome back. The man walks around for days trying to find lodgings but is unsuccessful. They are generally defined only as a result of actions you carry out and that enable you to make use of the services we offer (definition of your privacy preferences, connection, filling in forms, etc. "The End" by Samuel Beckett is a short story which tracks a man's decline in physical and mental health from his release from an institution to his eventual lonely death. Samuel Beckett is an author whom I have not historically enjoyed; I read both Endgame and Waiting for Godot during my undergraduate studies, and cannot say that I found much merit in either. First short story was 3 stars, second was 2. It is a story (yes, I do believe the two stories of the book constitute one totality) you should immerse yourself in. Glad the reviews didn’t hold me back from reading this beautiful small book. We’d love your help. The fruits of this insight are certainly relevant here, both literally in the choice of vagrants (if indeed there are two) as protagonists, and literarily in the relative poverty of detail in "The End" and of logic in "The Calmative". The man recalls standing "on a height" as a child with his father watching lightships. It is a story (yes, I do believe the two stories of the book constitute one totality) you should immerse yourself in. This was okay, but it was also kind of forgettable. This mini-book, part of the Penguin Modern series, consists of two stories: The End and The Calmative. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. He says that he does "not know the city very well," explaining, "I did not know where I was supposed to be going." ', "The End" provides a chaotic mixture of sensations beyond the boundaries of language. Arguably not his best but I still enjoyed these stories (is enjoy the right word?). An "experience" in a very strict sense of the word; of emotions previously unbeknownst to me, an oven into which I was briefly put and emerged from with a worldview that feels slightly more done; however difficult it might be for me to pin down exactly what has changed in me. Be the first to ask a question about The End. What a waste of time. "The End" provides a chaotic mixture of sensations beyond the boundaries of language. Maybe Waiting for Godot really is the best thing ever written and Beckett literally can't top it. Beckett had a revelation on a visit home to his mother in Dublin at age 39, of which he stated: "I realized that Joyce had gone as far as one could in the direction of knowing more, [being] in control of one's material. Some of the sentences in the book were so thought provoking. He observes the sounds of the river nearby: water lapping and birds "screaming with hunger and fury." Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this The End study guide. Reading it requires surrendering oneself to the flow of the text without trying too hard to understand what’s going on, since the understanding itself negates what Beckett is about. "One day I witnessed a strange scene. Strictly speaking I wasn't there. And sometimes it works. I liked how those worked, though I'm not sure I would seek out more of the same. This is my first time reading anything by Samuel Beckett, I didn't know what to expect. Log in here. After the man is discharged, he walks into the city. The unnamed man is released from an institution and given clothes and money. There are plenty of books waiting to be read. It is clear that he does not want to leave the institution: he kicks a chair as they dismantle his bed and then pleads with the man discharging him to let him stay, promising to make himself "useful.". Out on the streets again, the man wanders to the countryside. Reading it requires surrendering oneself to the flow of the text without trying too hard to understand what’s going on, since the understanding itself negates what Beckett is about. Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet, who lived in France for most of his adult life. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of, Published First Beckett I've read and I can say at least that it's good to have done that. ©2020 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. I didn't hear a great deal either. Great stuff. ). 'To contrive a little kingdom, in the midst of the universal muck, then shit on it, ah that was me all over. This is my first time reading anything by Samuel Beckett, I didn't know what to expect. Refresh and try again. Diverse voices and sparkling debuts dominate today's contemporary short story collections. Especially books. The Calmative is definitely more surreal in nature compared to The End, and perhaps slightly more bleak. The man observes rats and toads around him. I might not be able to give an accurate account of a clear meaning, a tangible storyline or a comprehensible summa. Already a member? Thoroughly appeals to lovers of absurd nihilism - this is a real treat! The man observes his existence at the base of society and remarks on his deteriorating physical health. But I never expected the surreal, rambling, and at times absurd, story lines that run through the two short stories 'The End' and 'The Calmative' in this Penguin Modern Classic book dedicated to Beckett. It doesn’t need to make sense tho, isn’t that the point of Beckett? Normally I didn't see a great deal.