The Selected Works of Samuel Beckett

What a spectacular package! You wouldn't be reading this if you didn't have an inkling of what's in store for you with this purchase, possibly due to knowing something about Beckett himself, perhaps you've seen or read 'Godot' or one of his novels, or poetry - who knows? Either way, I'm telling you, this is the ultimate collection of Beckett's English-language material.I was a little frustrated when it came to the product description - I'd never seen a rundown of what I'd find in the box when I opened it. I know this is a Beckett collection, but not his complete works. A list of what's inside the covers of these four volumes is in order. Let's go:Volume 1: Novels Editor's Note Murphy Watt Mercier and Camier NotesVolume 2: Novels Molloy Malone Dies The Unnamable How It Is NotesVolume 3: Dramatic Works Waiting for Godot Endgame All That Fall Act Without Words I Embers Act Without Words II Krapp's Last Tape Rough for Theatre I Rough for Theatre II The Old Tune Happy Days Rough for Radio I Rough for Radio II Words and Music Cascando Play Film Come and Go Eh Joe Breath Not I That Time Footfalls Ghost Trio ...but the clouds... A Piece of Monologue Rockaby Ohio Impromptu Quad Catastrophe Nacht und Träume What Where NotesVolume 4: Poems, Short Fiction, Criticism Poems: Whoroscope Home Olga Gnome The Vulture Enueg I Enueg II Alba Dortmunder Sanies I Sanies II Serena I Serena II Serena III Malacoda Da Tagte Es Echo's Bones Cascando Ooftish they come... Dieppe Saint-Lô my way is in the sand... what would I do... I would like... dread nay Something There Roundelay thither away dream... What is the Word Three Early Stories: Assumption Sedendo et Quiescendo A Case in a Thousand More Pricks Than Kicks: Dante and the Lobster Fingal Ding-Dong A Wet Night Love and Lethe Walking Out What a Misfortune The Smeraldina's Billet-Doux Yellow Draff Stories, Texts, Novellas: First Love The Expelled The Calmative The End Texts for Nothing From an Abandoned Work All Strange Away Imagination Dead Imagine Enough Ping Lessness The Lost Ones Fizzles One Evening As the story was told neither Company Ill Seen Ill Said Worstward Ho Stirrings Still Criticism: Dante...Bruno.Vico..Joyce Proust Three DialoguesBeckett was a treasure; this set is a glimpse of his brilliance.

This is a really comprehensive, well priced set of books. The texts inside are based on, what my professor tells me were Beckett's preferred versions. It doesn't have every single text (for example, for one of the required short stories for class, I had to use the "Complete Short Prose" instead of this - but it has a LOT. The one thing is that the endpieces (or whatever you call the part of the book that shows when it's on shelf) come together to create an image of Beckett that's a bit scary, which I'd hate to see out of the corner of my eye in the dark; so I have them facing in - the endpieces don't say what's in each book, anyway. But good quality paper, printing, the books aren't falling apart despite pretty heavy use.

At last, some quality packaging by Amazon for books! Typically the book(s) arrive bent, creased, or otherwise un-keepable. It probably helped this set of 4 PAPERBACK books (listed as HC, but I knew beforehand they were not HC) came in a stylish box/sleeve for safekeeping. So along with Amazon's air bag packaging, the books came unscathed. A superb collection of Beckett's work, similar in ways to the Grove Centenary 4 Volume Edition in HC -  The Grove Centenary Editions of Samuel Beckett Boxed Set: Contains Novels I and II of Samuel Beckett, The Dramatic Works of Samuel Beckett, and The Poems, Short Fiction and Critcism of Samuel Beckett , but without the prefaces by various authors, or the hefty price tag (Amazon doesn't have any on hand, though some sellers have them on offer for +/- $270; eBay has individual volumes for $20-$30, except for Volume 4, which is often upwards of $100 on its own, if it's even on offer). I am excited to have all this Beckett at my beck and call. His works require lots of pondering and reference-checking. Highly recommended!!

Tried to comment on the Carney review, but Amazon seems to put time restrictions on making comments to reviews these days?Time for Amazon to correct their listing, so the reviews can get off hardcover vs. paperback. I purchased this set in 2013 and knew they were paperbacks at that time, but the price was only around 30 bucks. I still think that was a great deal. I have read about half of what is included, usually as I'm about to see a Beckett play performed. The texts, short stories and so forth are always interesting stuff as well. But it was a great deal for the amount I paid...don't think the value of the dollar has gone up 100% since 2013, so you'll have to make the decision on whether it's "worth it", but it is a great anthology.

A comprehensive collection of Beckett's works that would more than suffice for most readers.

大変便利だ。長年使っているベケの作品は本はすみに行き、手元にこの四巻本を置いている。値段も安い。気軽に使えて、学生向きです。

This is my desert island literature. The most amazing and wonderful set of words ever assembled in one place IMHO. Of course, it comes with the health warning that it is heavy, life-changing stuff and definitely not for the feint hearted ...While dubbed "The Selected Works", this is actually as close to complete as you could want ("Nearly every word, but not all" according to Paul Auster's brief but informative introduction - it omits some untranslated French poems and criticism and "two posthumously published books which the author blocked from appearing in print while he was alive" (and which I confess I personally didn't get on with at all), namely "Dream of Fair to Middling Women" and "Eleutheria".This is a simple but nicely produced paperback boxed set - each of the four books being both portable and readable (not too big, writing not too small, paper and binding quality good enough).If you're a Beckett fan, it is an absolute must. I had pretty much everything already, but haven't regretted replacing my assortment of old and yellowing Calder versions (not that I'll throw those away of course ...).If you have yet to discover Beckett, this is maybe a bit like diving in the deep end, but there isn't really a shallow end, and, for the price, selection and value-for-money, I'd say just go for it! Maybe start by dipping your toes into some of the short fiction (all to be found in Volume 4 along with Beckett's poems and crticism). "First Love" is perhaps the most accessible for starters (if you want to insist on hedging your bets to start with then this is also available in the much smaller and cheaper package of four novellas in Penguin paperback). Maybe next go for the short, later, more idiosyncratic and compact, but still relatively accessible "Company". After that you'll be ready for perhaps the most remarkable condensed world view ever in the form of the late piece of shorter prose "Worstward Ho". Then you could move onto the longer classic ground-breaking trilogy of "Molloy", "Malone Dies" and "The Unnameable" (all to be found in Volume 2). If you make it through The Unnameable you'll be ready for anything, maybe even the punctuation-free zone that is "How It Is" (the final part of Volume 2)!The earlier novels (Volume 1) are a little more on the "witty, clever and wordy" side of life than the later more pared down / minimlalist works, but "Watt" is a masterpiece of great weirdness and even greater beauty.Reading plays isn't everyone's bag (Volume 3), but "Waiting for Godot" is of course an absolute must. After that try the others in chronological order - the later plays get harder to appreciate in the written form and you'll want to see them as well - the boxed set of "Beckett on Film" being the only practical way of doing this for most of the theatre plays (a mixed bag, but pretty good productions on the whole).

I never realized how far-out Beckett's novels were. Watt blew me away. It's a mystical text, but often feels like nonsense-verse. Murphy is much more readable, but still absolutely wild and deep, and weirdly emotional.There's a weird kind of thinking going on in his stories. I know he's celebrated as a great playwright, but I really love the novels. It's a style you rarely see. Challenging, fun, dark, beautiful.The boxed set is beautiful. Edited by Paul Auster. There's so much here, I'll be dipping into this for years.

This article is advertised as hardback. It's paperback. I ordered it and found this out when it arrived. I'm returning.The 'paperback' option takes you to an entirely different book.Inept and misleading.I'm returning it.