#8 - MALONE DIES AND OTHER BITS O' BECKETT
Malone Dies, the shortest of the three books in the trilogy, is the hardest to read. We will focus on the very end, when Malone takes a memorable excursion with the rest of the Goddam Johnnies (the inmates of St. John of God's asylum), led by a woman called Lady Pedal. This section, found on pages 280-288, is copied here.
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We will also read, as a special treat, Worstward Ho, one of Beckett's last prose pieces. This includes the notorious "Fail Better" mantra that so many Americans choose to misunderstand. We will read this piece aloud.
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Also in the packet for this meeting are 3 of Beckett's Fizzles, late short pieces translated from French. The original French title is Foirades, which means something like "wet farts."
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To round out the set, we have the entirety of Beckett's short play "Breath," which is simply the cry of a baby being born. It was written at the request of a nude revue called O Calcutta!