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4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
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2 star
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Woolco
4.0 out of 5 stars A Tale of Two Halves
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2016
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It's certainly more satisfactory than 'Murphy', Beckett's earlier novel, in my opinion. But it is rather a book of two halves, focusing on two separate protagonists, Molloy, and then, Moran. Both sections are typical Beckett, soaked in vigorous, agile language twisting round a meaning just out of sight. However exasperating at times, Beckett's rigorous and unstinting examinations of mundane thoughts, habits and ideas are always refreshing. There's a strange, unique brand of purity and acuity about his prose.

That said, I did much prefer the Molloy section. I found Molloy a more interesting, more complex character. And he was funnier too. Moran is stiff and unyielding and somehow constrained. Neither are particularly pleasant but with Moran there's a humourless superciliousness that just grated with me. There are a number of echoes between the two stories and one reading might argue that Moran is a younger Molloy, the facts being that slippery. I don't think it's important one way or the other, though it is fun to imagine the metamorphosis.
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Mr N D Willis
4.0 out of 5 stars A start without an end
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 July 2013
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Molloy, the story of both a man travelling and a man following, who may or may not be the same person, was my first foray into the work of Beckett. Being familiar with the reputation, at least, of Waiting for God of and Beckett 's standing as an exponent of the Theatre of the Absurd I forewarned myself with the knowledge that Molloy might be a challenging read.

To my relief, reading Molloy was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. After a few pages I found my mind tuned in to Beckett 's flowing, circular narrative, which is often in the form of Molloy's circular, repetitive monologue. The introspective meanderings of Molloy, fixed on his bad leg, his bad memory, his inner voice and a troubled journey to see his mother, form the plot of the unusual but engaging first half of the book.

The second half of the book deals with an, at first, altogether different character. Again written in the same monologous style, with the reader now well and truly familiar with the style of prose, the central character becomes Moran, an agent - of what or whom is never made clear - sent to find Molloy. What Moran is to do with Molloy should he find him is never made clear, in fact, the cloudiness of the reason signals the deterioration of Moran's once meticulous being.

Moran's journey mirrors Molloy's in more ways than one, both having clear objectives - to find Molloy or, for Molloy, to find his mother - that slip away from them. Both men have difficult relationships with their close family that perhaps borders on cruelty, Moran with his son and Molloy with his mother. This narrative symmetry gradually evolves in a physical and mental similarity, which leaves the reader wondering: is Moran becoming Molloy, or has he in fact always been Molloy and the story is a retrospective of his earlier life?

The question hangs over the end of the book, which finished all too quickly, disappointing only in the sense that there was no real conclusion. The are more books in the series, which the ending of Molloy almost implores you to read.

In essence Molloy is frustrating in the sense there is no obvious answer to the questions posed in the book. However, I found the book interesting and enjoyable. Those who enjoy the teasing plots of Kafka's Trial or Camut's The Outsider should find Molloy right up their street.
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Elljay
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 September 2018
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Read this on holiday, once I had got used to it the style of writing pulled me into the story. It was quite demanding of the reader, but you soon realise it’s less about what is going on in the story than what you can infer from the style of writing and its construction.
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George Wicker
5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative, inventive, extraordinary
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2019
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If just for the language, concept and ideas presented in this vision of Molloy and the peculiar landscape he inhabits, this is a must-read for anyone who loves and cares about words.
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lassie
3.0 out of 5 stars have to put the work in to get the delight
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 January 2015
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heavy going but that is what you might expect
hard to get back to after a break
his life history helps
a bit like poetry
things do start to link up
the 'the stones 'are important!!!!!
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