Samuel Beckett's How It Is

Reviews / Votes

Samuel Beckett's How It Is: Philosophy in Translation will undoubtedly become another landmark in Beckett studies, one which is particularly relevant to the study of the author's mature prose and his method of extracting material from philosophical sources. * Irish Studies Review * Samuel Beckett's How It Is: Philosophy in Translation will undoubtedly become another landmark in Beckett studies, one which is particularly relevant to the study of the author's mature prose and his method of extracting material from philosophical sources * Irish Studies Review * This is the first guide to Beckett's darkest and most impenetrable novel. This wonderfully informed commentary based on first-hand knowledge of unpublished manuscripts details the numerous philosophical references contained in How It Is. Cordingley makes us grasp how the strength and the beauty of Beckett's unforgettable sentences derive from countless hidden references, all the while sketching a new theory of Beckett's use of philosophy. * Jean-Michel Rabate, University of Pennsylvania * Dans ce livre passionnant, Cordingley souligne comment les allusions de Beckett demeurent melangees, formant des couches successives. Prenant soin d'eviter que l'on puisse identifier une reference unique, Beckett neutralisait les signifiants sedimentes, deployant ses references de maniere discrete. Ainsi, au lieu qu'elles affirment leur sens d'origine, elles deviennent la matiere premiere d'une nouvelle creation. Cordingley nous invite a apprehender la presence effective et dynamique des allusions au sein de l'oeuvre, au lieu de se restreindre a une these derridienne qui conduirait a la dissipation de son objet . En effet, Beckett devait en passer par la construction d'une fiction integrant des motifs tires des traditions humaniste et religieuse dans l'acte meme d'ecrire. [...] Cordingley y fait une oeuvre salutaire, restituant son epaisseur a cette oeuvre majeure de Beckett. Il rend palpable l'immense corps de savoir qui nourrit ce livre, et met en relief le dynamisme a l'oeuvre entre le sujet et ses voix. * La Revue des Lettres modernes, serie << Samuel Beckett * Dans ce livre passionnant, Cordingley souligne comment les allusions de Beckett demeurent melangees, formant des couches successives. Prenant soin d'eviter que l'on puisse identifier une reference unique, Beckett neutralisait les signifiants sedimentes, deployant ses references de maniere discrete. Ainsi, au lieu qu'elles affirment leur sens d'origine, elles deviennent la matiere premiere d'une nouvelle creation. Cordingley nous invite a apprehender la presence effective et dynamique des allusions au sein de l'oeuvre, au lieu de se restreindre a une these derridienne qui conduirait a la dissipation de son objet . En effet, Beckett devait en passer par la construction d'une fiction integrant des motifs tires des traditions humaniste et religieuse dans l'acte meme d'ecrire. [...] Cordingley y fait une oeuvre salutaire, restituant son epaisseur a cette oeuvre majeure de Beckett. Il rend palpable l'immense corps de savoir qui nourrit ce livre, et met en relief le dynamisme a l'oeuvre entre le sujet et ses voix. * La Revue des Lettres modernes, serie Samuel Beckett * There are few critical studies that one can identify as outstanding. This is one of the few. * Professor Chris Ackerley, University of Otago * Samuel Beckett's How It Is. Philosophy in Translation, by Anthony Cordingley [...] is the most comprehensive account of Beckett's impenetrable novel to date, as well as the first book-length monograph devoted to the explanation of its sources. The principal merit of this study is that Cordingley has been able to detect the origin of half-veiled assumptions that are interspersed throughout the text, and at the same time offers a convincing explanation of how Beckett used them poetically and as a means of cultural critique. One of the most remarkable achievements of the study by this Australian scholar is that he has shown that How It Is is, above many other concerns that are also touched upon in the narrative, a novel about education. * The Beckett Circle * Samuel Beckett's How It Is. Philosophy in Translation, by Anthony Cordingley [...] is the most comprehensive account of Beckett's impenetrable novel to date, as well as the first book-length monograph devoted to the explanation of its sources. The principal merit of this study is that Cordingley has been able to detect the origin of half-veiled assumptions that are interspersed throughout the text, and at the same time offers a convincing explanation of how Beckett used them poetically and as a means of cultural critique. One of the most remarkable achievements of the study by this Australian scholar is that he has shown that How It Is is, above many other concerns that are also touched upon in the narrative, a novel about education. * The Beckett Circle *