Status Updates From [Three Novels: Molloy, Malo...

The Unnamable has gotten better. There’s a propulsive quality and a rhythm once you stop trying to figure out what’s going on. I’ve never read Finnegans Wake and I know Beckett helped Joyce compose it: I’d be interested to learn if that impacted his writing style here

God, The Unnamable is unpleasant. Weird how Molloy was actually fun and surprisingly accessible. It’s totally possible I may not finish this volume, which will suck because I want credit for reading the first two novels of the set…I’m aggravated.

Malone Dies is weirder and tougher than Molloy was. Malone Dies makes Molloy look like Jane Austen.

Finished Molloy. Incredible, difficult, rewarding novel.

In a power outage I read almost all of Molloy. What a weird marvelous novel.

I’m reading a slightly different edition, from Grove Press. Used, lots of underlining and highlighting that’s quite irritating and vexing. This book has plenty of funny moments so far, a little surprising but pleasant. The trick seems to be the nervously chattering narrator’s consciousness. It’s good. Going from Raymond Carver to this is a blast.