Proust, Beckett, and Narration

This is the first book-length comparison of the narrative techniques of two of the twentieth century's most important writers of prose. Using a combination of theoretical analysis and close readings of Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu and Beckett's trilogy of novels, Molloy, Malone dies, and The Unnamable, James H. Reid compares the two novelists' use of first-person narration. This study is an important contribution to critical literature, and offers fresh perspectives on the...
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This is the first book-length comparison of the narrative techniques of two of the twentieth century's most important writers of prose. Using a combination of theoretical analysis and close readings of Proust's A la recherche du temps perdu and Beckett's trilogy of novels, Molloy, Malone dies, and The Unnamable, James H. Reid compares the two novelists' use of first-person narration. This study is an important contribution to critical literature, and offers fresh perspectives on the crucial importance of the Recherche and the trilogy in the context of the twentieth-century novel.