Conversations With and About Beckett

by Mel Gussow

Mel Gussow, drama critic for the New York Times, first meets Beckett in Paris in 1978. They meet virtually once a year for the next ten years, the last time being in 1989 in the French nursing home where Beckett would die later that year.
This book is a record of those encounters. When they meet, it is often just after the playwright has directed - or Gussow has reviewed - one of Beckett's plays, so the talk is of actors and directors, the success or otherwise of various productions, and the general state of the theater, art, life - and tennis. None of these conversations has been published before, and they serve to show the reputedly austere author as modest, humorous, and open-minded but always precise and frequently revealing about his own work, which he discusses with great acuity.
Rounding off the book are interviews with Beckett's chief collaborators and among them Bert Lahr, Gogo in the first American Godot; Jack MacGowran and Billie Whitelaw, Beckett's own favorite actors; directors Mike Nichols and Deborah Warner; and Edward Beckett, his nephew and literary executor.

Genres: Theatre

192 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Jonfaith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I never expected a Robin Leach approach to a Modernist Titan. The author was able to door-stop poor Sam by his tenure as drama critic. Sam was sage, there were ground rules: no notes in our "chats." [Cut to an aside of the hack rushing to his moleskin afterwards, musing--more detail on Sam's craggy appearance]

Aside from the "interviews" with Beckett himself, there are discussions with many involved in productions of plays. All of this is miraculously accomplished without an artful word. There is something of a permanent leer, an unsettling gaze. I didn't care for it.

Gussow confesses he harbored aspirations of an authorized Beckett biography. Denied by Sam, Gussow gathered gossipy notes. There are anecdotes about Dustin Hoffmann completing a reading of Godot. There's Pinter stating he once drank for 24 hours with Beckett. Towards the end there is an actual interview with Beckett's nephew and executor of his estate. There is a touch of sentiment, though one imagines the nephew cringing from the author's excited, hot breath.

[William Dearth · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are only a casual reader of Samuel Beckett’s works, “Conversations With And About Beckett” may not warrant your attention. If, on the other hand, you are a Beckett disciple, this book is indispensible. Mel Gussow had a lengthy relationship with Sam Beckett and he provides insight and perspective that is a worthy addition even to the excellent biography by James Knowlson “Damned to Fame”.

There are rare interviews with the incomparable Billie Whitelaw, his nephew Edward Beckett et al, that provide much information about this very private man. There is also an insightful section devoted to essays and reviews from the periods when many of his plays were introduced as well as interesting commentary on the radio plays.

Don’t be surprised if you become somewhat verklempt while working your way through this volume, I did. Particularly moving is the lengthy obituary written by Gussow and appeared on the front page of the New York Times.

If there is fault with this book, my only complaint would be is that it is too short.

I often say to some of my friends: “Thank God for the BBC”, because if it wasn’t for them, the availability of decent history and literature would be wanting in America. I feel the same way about Samuel Beckett: “Thank God for Grove Press”.

[Siobhán Antoinette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent read. Up until this point I had only read Beckett's plays and seen them performed, so I was really excited to get into the culture surrounding him more deeply.

The format was really interesting. Gussow organizes the book chronologically with each chapter being his notes or memories from meetings with a Beckett actor or friend, or even the man himself (the author had a personal relationship with Beckett which added a lot to the book).

I went with four stars because it is repetitive once you get to the obituary published in the NYT, essentially rehashing much of what was discussed in the first part of the book. I didn't mind too much, since the rest of the book includes Gussow's fascinating reviews of Beckett's plays when they premiered.

[Eric Cartier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A generous and moving collection of conversations and reviews, plus Gussow's complete obituary for the great artist. Highly recommended for anyone who admires Beckett's work.

[Bruce Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very frustrating. Much more 'about' than 'with'. Beckett would not allow tape recorders, so there was more atmosphere than substance. Only for the desperate.

[Alyssa Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that Beckett was a man so in contradiction with his work. The stories of him from people who knew him personally are awesome to have.