000			02167nam a22002297a 4500
005			20240130112724.0
008			240130b |||||||| |||| 00| 0 eng d
020			_a9780231211611
028			_a: Technical Bureau India _b: E/262, Shastri Nagar, Delhi. _c: TB3398 _d: 19/01/2024
082			_a848.91 SCH
100			_aSchwab, Gabriele.
245			_aMoments for Nothing _c/ Gabriele Schwab.
260			_a, New York _b: Columbia University Press _c, 1893.
300			_axi,273p. _c: 22cm.
365			_b1934
520			_aSamuel Beckett’s work has entranced generations of readers with its portrayal of the end times. Beckett’s characters are preoccupied with death, and the specters of cataclysm and extinction overshadow their barren, bleak worlds. Yet somehow, they endure, experiencing surreal and often comic repetitions that seem at once to confront finitude and the infinite, up to the limits of existence. Gabriele Schwab draws on decades of close engagement with Beckett to explore how his work speaks to our current existential anxieties and fears. Interweaving critical analysis with personal reflections, she shows how Beckett’s writing provides unexpected resources for making sense of personal and planetary catastrophes. Moments for Nothing examines the ways Beckett’s works have taken on new meaning in an era of crises―climate change, environmental devastation, and the COVID-19 pandemic―that are defined by both paralyzing stasis and pervasive uncertainty. They also offer a bracing depiction of aging and the end of life, exploring loneliness, vulnerability, and decay. Beckett’s particular vision of the apocalypse and his sense of persistence, Schwab argues, help us understand our times and even, perhaps, provide sanctuary and solace. Moments for Nothing features insightful close readings of iconic works such as Endgame, Happy Days, and the trilogy, as well as lesser-known writings including the thirty-five-second play Breath, which Schwab reconsiders in light of the pandemic.
650			_aCOVID-19 pandemic
650			_aIconic Work
650			_aGabriele Schwab
700			_aGabriele Schwab
942			_cBOOK
999			_c61404 _d61404