Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable
New York: Grove Press, 1955, 1956, 1958.
Three volumes, all first American trade edition, first printings. All signed by Samuel Beckett on the title pages. [vii], 241, [vi], 120, [2; ads], [x], 179 pp. Malloy is bound in publisher's charcoal grey cloth with spine lettered in gilt, Malone Dies is bound in coarse linen lettered in brown; lacking the scarce glassine jacket, The Unnamable is bound in publisher's dark grey cloth stamped in gilt. All generally Near Fine with light wear to spine ends, and toning to jacket spine of Molloy; toning and foxing to cloth of Malone Dies with offsetting at endsheets and former owner's stamp at front free endpaper; light toning and foxing to recto of jacket of The Unnamable, heavier to blindside. Fantastic signed copies of a trilogy of anti-novels that dismantled traditional notions of plot and narrative. The author wrote them in French, attempting to liberate his prose from convention and follow in the foot-steps of his mentor, James Joyce. Each work, in its own absurdist way, blazed the trail for novels as an artistic medium, early ventures into what would eventually be called postmodern literature. Federman & Fletcher 374.1, 375.01, 377.1.
Price: $13,500