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Molloy

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Molloy

By: Samuel Beckett
Narrated by: Sean Barrett, Dermot Crowley
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About this listen

 Written initially in French, later translated by the author into English, Molloy is the first book in Dublin-born Samuel Beckett's trilogy. It was published shortly after WWII and marked a new, mature writing style, which was to dominate the remainder of his working life. Molloy is less a novel than a set of two monologues narrated by Molloy and his pursuer, Moran.

In the first section, while consumed with the search of his mother, Molloy lost everything. Moran takes over in the second half, describing his hunt for Molloy. Within this simple outline, spoken in the first person, is a remarkable story, raising the questions of being and aloneness that marks so much of Beckett's work, but is richly comic as well. Beautifully written, it is one of the masterpieces of Irish literature.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2003 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. (P)2003 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd. Anthologies & Short Stories Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Short Stories

Critic Reviews

"These two skilled actors hold the book together remarkably well....In audio this work takes on the full richness of comedy, probably as Beckett, preeminently a dramatist, intended." (AudioFile)
All stars
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Molloy is a wonderful book. However, I realised in chapter four that Naxos had in its supreme stupidity appointed TWO voice actors to play the ONE role of the title character. This is not Godot or Endgame, with endless sparring between two characters. There is only one character. Molloy. Now Dermot Crowley is Irish, born in Cork. He has an Irish accent. He is extraordinarily capable of carrying the pathos, disgust, anger, degradation, humour and horror necessary for the role. Sean Barrett is English. Barrett was born in Hampstead. HAMPSTEAD. Barrett cossets a soporifically cloying entitled BBC accent. Now just because you’re named Sean doesn’t mean you have an Irish accent, nor does it mean you can act as if you are Irish, which Barrett surely cannot do. So alternating chapters, NARRATED BY THE SAME PROTAGONIST, are read by different actors. WHY? This is intolerable, not merely because the same character is covered by two different voices, but mainly because SEAN BARRETT IS RUBBISH. Each chapter by Crowley is brilliant, while each succeeding chapter, by BBC Barrett, is twee Queen’s-Christmas-message shite. Crowley acts the role appropriate to an Irish continental pissed off with life, while Barrett minces his way towards a peerage. If you can find an audio version read by one voice actor, choose it instead of this tag-teaming bullshit.

Sean Barrett is not Irish

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