Samuel Beckett
Though primarily a dramatist and novelist in the literary tradition, Samuel Beckett's absurdist vision influenced the New Wave in science fiction. His exploration of meaninglessness, waiting, and repetition prefigured many themes of speculative fiction. His Nobel Prize-winning body of work remains a touchstone for literary SF authors.
Works
- MurphySurreal novel of unemployed man pursuing impossible goal of eternal peace
- WattAbsurdist novel of man employed to understand incomprehensible household arrangements
- More Pricks Than KicksShort story collection of Dublin characters inhabiting grotesque physical and moral landscapes
- Dream of Fair to Middling Women
- MolloyMonologue of aging vagrant retracing wanderings through Irish landscape
- Malone DiesMonologue of dying man recounting his meaningless life and memories
- The UnnamableMonologue of voice struggling to articulate consciousness and existence
- Waiting for GodotAbsurdist play of two men waiting for mysterious figure Godot who never appears
- EndgameMinimalist play of blind master and servant enacting rituals in barren room
- Krapp's Last TapeMonologue of old man listening to tape of his younger self making discoveries
- Happy DaysPlay of woman buried to waist speaking optimistic platitudes amid decay
- Not IMonologue of disembodied mouth pouring out fragmented memories and sensations