Waiting for Godot

Bizarre

It is hard to review Waiting for Godot as it is the most bizarre, utterly absurd title I have listened to. Ever since we read abstract of it in the school all those years ago, I wanted to read the whole thing but never got around to actually doing it. Audiobook seemed like the perfect scenario to finally getting to know why is this piece of art held in high esteem by many.

After listening to the first 10 minutes, I was totally ready to turn it off, ask for refund and forget about it. It was disorienting and nothing made sense. However I kept on listening just for sake of it. After another 10 minutes however, I did not need to force myself anymore because I was completely hooked and I did not understand why.

As the story progresses It is not making any more sense but confusing you more and more. You have literally no idea what is actually going on, but somewhat it makes you feel that you just cant stop listening and want more. Ending does not help at all, it does not tie anything up.

After I was done with it, I have started to reflect on what I just heard and then it all clicked.

The genius of this title is that it is intentionally written in the way of confusing you and making you go mad. For example, author throws in this "bones" of moments when it seems that the story shows some progress and starts to make some sense, only to confuse you even more and screw anything you thought you understand a moment later. It is a trap. There is no "making sense of it" here, because everything makes sense and nothing makes sense at the same time. That is the best way I can describe this book.

Performance wise It is sometimes hit and miss. It is made like staged play so you hear characters make noises which represents what are they doing at the moment. The narrators are something trying too hard to making too dramatic which sometimes makes it hard to understand them through all those noises.


Overall, I highly recommend this absurdity, go in with open mind and enjoy it.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

In a word, Brilliant

If you could sum up Waiting for Godot in three words, what would they be?

sorrowful, hopeful, amusing

Who was your favorite character and why?

It's a tough choice, but I have to go with Vladimir. Sean Barrett's performance was exceptional, and of all the characters in the play I found Vladimir to be the most complex and interesting. He's both capable of fits of near rage and moments of gentle tenderness towards others. I felt he was also the one who understood his situation most, hense his despair at the end of the play. That never fails to break my heart.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

I love the back and forth chatter between Vladimir and estragon, but my absolute favourite scene is the one where they stage an argument with each other and then stage a makeup. Estragon's line 'Crritic!' and Vladimir's hurt reaction to it is my favourite in the entire play and the way the scene is delivered here is, in my mind, exactly how it should be.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It needs to be. It's a play, so it's not meant to be divided up into several sittings.

Any additional comments?

This is by far the best edition of Waiting for Godot I have heard, and adapting it for a purely audio setting must not have been easy. It's even better than the 2001 film.The actors stick almost exclusively to Beckett's original text, with a few small changes made to offset the fact that you can't see what the characters are doing. The only scene where I had any complaint was during Lucky's speech. There are stage directions that go with it, to show how the characters react, but obviously this wasn't doable, and it does detract a little. This play was so beautifully done and each actor played their part flawlessly. I wish I had been able to hear it when I was studying this for drama in highschool. I would have gained a much greater understanding of Beckett's work.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Above average performance

Occasionally the main two actors hit the wrong notes but this version was well-produced and would serve as a fine introduction to the text.

A Walk On The Absurd Side

I imagine that anyone who is interested in Waiting For Godot will be familiar with the oft quoted review by Vivian Mercier; "...a play in which nothing happens, twice.”

I am in the process of listening to this over and over again as I will shortly be playing Vladimir in a local production and am using this as an 'aide-memoire'.

This particular production works well and is eminently listenable. If I have one criticism it is that the character voices of Vladimir and Estragon in this production are crudely similar which, with no visual clues to guide, can lead to occasional confusion as to who is who though, in the context of the play, this is hardly important!

Recommended.

Stay go leave stay...it's all the same

It's brilliance is well known, it's subjects deep and absurd. The performance is great and subtle, it's waiting for Godot.

was that it?

Can't abide dramatisations of books! all the characterisation was highly distracting I had hoped to get the point of the story but just turned off.

0 of 4 people found this review helpful