Nohow On : Company, Ill Seen Ill Said, and Worstward Ho

The three pieces that comprise this volume are among the most delicate and disquieting of Samuel Beckett's later prose. Each confined to a single consciousness in a closed space, these stories are a testament to the mind's boundless expanse. In Company , a man—"one on his back in the dark"—hears a voice speak to him, describing significant moments from his lifetime, and yet these memories may be merely fables and figments invented for the sake of companionship. Ill Seen Ill Said tells of a solitary old woman who paces around a cabin, burdened by existence itself. And Worstword Ho explores a world devoid of rationality and purpose, containing the famous directive: "Try again. Fail Again. Fail Better." The quintessential distillation of Beckett's philosophy on human existence and the ultimate example of his minimalist approach to fiction, Nohow On is a vital collection, concerned with conception and perception, memory and imagination. Collected here in one volume, Samuel Beckett’s three novels, which are among the most beautiful and disquieting of his later prose works, come together with the powerful resonance of his famous Three Novels : Molloy , Malone Dies , The Unnamable . In Company , a voice comes to “one on his back in the dark” and speaks to him, describing significant moments in life, and yet we are told it is all a fable, memories or figments devised or imagined for the sake of company. Ill Seen Ill Said focuses attention on an old woman in a cabin who is part of the objects, landscape, rhythms, and movements of an incomprehensible universe. And in Worstward Ho , Beckett explores a tentative, uncertain existence in a world devoid of rational meaning and purpose. Here is language pared down to its most expressive, confirming Beckett’s position as one of the great writers of our time. Now compiled in one volume, these three novels, which are among the most beautiful and disquieting of Samuel Beckett's later prose works, work together with the powerful resonance of his famous Three Novels: Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable. In Company, a voice comes to "one on his back in the dark" and speaks to him. Ill Seen Ill Said focuses attention on an old woman in a cabin who is part of the objects, landscape, rhythms, and movements of an incomprehensible universe. And in Worstward Ho, Beckett explores a tentative, uncertain existence in a world devoid of rational meaning and purpose. Here is language pared down to its most expressive, confirming Beckett's position as one of the great writers of our time. Company -- Ill Seen, Ill Said -- Worstward Ho. By Samuel Beckett ; With An Introduction By S.e. Gontarski. Includes Bibliographical References (p. Xxvii-xxviii).