Written initially in French, later translating it into English, Molloy is the first book in Dublin-born Samuel Beckett’s trilogy. It was published shortly after WWII and marked a new, mature writing style, which was to dominate the remainder of his working life. Molloy is less a novel than a set of two monologues narrated by Molloy and his pursuer Moran. In the first section, while consumed with the search of his mother, Molloy lost everything. Moran takes over in the second half, describing his hunt for Molloy. Within this simple outline, spoken in the first person, is a remarkable story, raising the questions of being and aloneness that marks so much of Beckett’s work, but is richly comic as well. Beautifully written, it is one of the masterpieces of Irish literature. This is the world premiere recording. Written by a master dramatist, it is ideally suited to the audiobook medium.

Music: From the Naxos catalogue