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synkopenleben's review against another edition
5.0
I first stumbled on this book during my first semester - we had to write a term paper on any topic we wanted to - and I chose to write about Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which I had read back then for the first time. Reading Beckett for the first time was somewhat of a revelation for me, one of those moments that will shape you. Back then I read a few pages here and there, and was amazed how complex Esslin's analysis was.
Here I am, im Hier und Jetzt, at the end of my eighth semester. During my Erasmus year I took a module on Absurdism, which proved to be one of the best experiences at university I ever had - and probably will have. Not only was the lecturer amazing (how often can one speak about anal sex and French-German animosities over the duration of a term?!), our discussions in class were superb. This module alone rekindled and fuelled my love for Absurdist fiction.
After a short presentation and term paper (I wrote about "Crime and Punishment in Kafka's The Trial") we have to write a 3000-word coursework paper encompassing all the authors we've read in class - Beckett, Ionesco, Camus, Kafka, Albee, Pinter. I will write about the dichotomy between the bleak and humorous sides of the Absurd existence. When Meursault's life in Camus' L'Etranger ends with the death penalty, one is inclined to think that this couldn't be any worse. But in fact, Meursault is a man of simple pleasures: Cafe au Lait, swimming, having sex, watching people from his balcony. He is in tune with his self. His death is not bleak, but the expression of the Absurd in his life. The bleakest of the texts we covered is definitely Kafka's The Trial. Josef K. dies "like a dog" and "as if the shame would outlive him". Beckett's pseudo-couples on the other hand, especially Vladimir and Estragon, indulge in Vaudevillian word plays, unfinished jokes, and comical asides. They are inert, yes, condemned to wait for Godot, but they spend their time as best as they can.
After these asides why I have read Esslin's The Theatre of the Absurd, this time completely, I must assert that this text is one of the best about Absurdism. Sure, modern texts offer seemingly better analyses, but Esslin's work is seminal and should be seen as such. As it accompanied my academic career through the last four years, I must give it five stars - no other critical text has ever held my attention for this long.
Here I am, im Hier und Jetzt, at the end of my eighth semester. During my Erasmus year I took a module on Absurdism, which proved to be one of the best experiences at university I ever had - and probably will have. Not only was the lecturer amazing (how often can one speak about anal sex and French-German animosities over the duration of a term?!), our discussions in class were superb. This module alone rekindled and fuelled my love for Absurdist fiction.
After a short presentation and term paper (I wrote about "Crime and Punishment in Kafka's The Trial") we have to write a 3000-word coursework paper encompassing all the authors we've read in class - Beckett, Ionesco, Camus, Kafka, Albee, Pinter. I will write about the dichotomy between the bleak and humorous sides of the Absurd existence. When Meursault's life in Camus' L'Etranger ends with the death penalty, one is inclined to think that this couldn't be any worse. But in fact, Meursault is a man of simple pleasures: Cafe au Lait, swimming, having sex, watching people from his balcony. He is in tune with his self. His death is not bleak, but the expression of the Absurd in his life. The bleakest of the texts we covered is definitely Kafka's The Trial. Josef K. dies "like a dog" and "as if the shame would outlive him". Beckett's pseudo-couples on the other hand, especially Vladimir and Estragon, indulge in Vaudevillian word plays, unfinished jokes, and comical asides. They are inert, yes, condemned to wait for Godot, but they spend their time as best as they can.
After these asides why I have read Esslin's The Theatre of the Absurd, this time completely, I must assert that this text is one of the best about Absurdism. Sure, modern texts offer seemingly better analyses, but Esslin's work is seminal and should be seen as such. As it accompanied my academic career through the last four years, I must give it five stars - no other critical text has ever held my attention for this long.
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