Having disposed of the third person narrative in Watt, Beckett focused on the difficulties of articulating personal experience in the first person. Beckett is disengaged from the narratives of Molloy by giving them to the character's to write, but is present throughout the text because he doesn't have the answers to give to the characters to explain who they are and what they are to write. The structure that results is an empty frame in that it considers one explanation for a historical occurrence as valid as the next. The space in which Molloy exists is highly ambiguous and therefore the language he uses to narrate does not provide any comfort at all, but aggravates him to the point where he can extract no meaning at all from his existence. Moran begins his narrative in an ordered space and so many of the statements he makes at the beginning are simple, declarative and create a comfortable area for him to inhabit. This is where Beckett finds it necessary to impose the structure of a genre model, but it is only the proposition of a detective plot because the "case" isn't carried out in any intelligible fashion. Moran's task to find Molloy eventually becomes clear to be only an internal one. A separate physical being called Molloy may very well exist within the story, but numerous cross-connections between the characters of Molloy and Moran are illuminated in the structure. This is seen in the similarity of their names and the manner in which Moran takes on many of the characteristics of Molloy. For example, they are similar in their physical disintegration, lack of understanding for their environment and complex internal processes of reasoning which leave them with no clear understanding of reality. This results in a mystification of anything actual in the character's lives because language cannot support the fictional character's lack of substantial being.

If language presupposes a set of initial limitations it is necessary to find a method to breach them. Molloy examines a kind of ontological condition of narrative that suggests more is being left unwritten than is actually being written: Not to want to say, not to know what you want to say, not to be able to say what you think you want to say, and never to stop saying, or hardly ever, that is the thing to keep in mind, even in the heat of composition. He suggests that it is a human condition to be unable to really express oneself as well as being a fault of language. Rather than see language as a smooth path towards self-expression he sees numerous irregular bumps, the nots, which cut away at the original intended thought. Instead of trying to find an ulterior mode of expression he suggests that expression should simply be conscious of these limitations of language. In this way language is able to delete itself in the midst of its expression. Words are not deleted on the paper, but expressed and then claims are made afterward that the intention of the word does not inhabit the content. A conclusion drawn is that language is inherently muddy and incapable of any pure form of self-expression. This is a dramatic contrast to the use of language by many other Modernists. Unlike Molly's soliloquy in Ulysses where grammar was manipulated in order to simulate thought's form, Molloy's thoughts cannot be allowed to settle so comfortably into words but must be second-guessed and deleted in order to create an appropriate form of expression. This is one temporary solution Beckett makes to illuminate language's limitations and explain how written language can never say what is actually true partly because the actual is never quite a certainty.

Molloy is searching within his narrative to find a purpose for writing. He declares early on in the narrative that he does not know why he writes other than that it is for someone else and if he doesn't he will be scolded, but he does not know to what end the writing is for. It is more an obligation than a wish to express himself or to find a means of communication. Even though Molloy writes every day he never arrives at a sense that his identity has been collected and transcribed into a permanent form: And truly it little matters what I say, this or that or any other thing. Saying is inventing. Wrong, very rightly wrong. You invent nothing, you think you are inventing, you think you are escaping, and all you do is stammer out your lesson, the remnants of a pensum one day got by heart and long forgotten, life without tears, as it is wept. When arriving at a conclusion he immediately negates it by explaining why the opposite is true. Writing does not explain his experience. It only filters his thoughts into a form with a prearranged value attached to it. He is criticizing the false revelation of narrative that seeks to convey a true meaning through dead words. It is commonly and mistakenly perceived that there is a physical attachment between words and things when really as Molloy states there are: no things but nameless things, no names but thingless names. The relation between a word and object has no basis in reality, but is merely circumstantial. Because Molloy is unable to explain things without naming them he is only capable of conveying an approximate sense of what he is trying to describe. This prevents the possibility that what he writes will be regarded as a set of absolute truths related from one person to another. It allows reality to be maintained as an open question rather than a closed answer. This seems to be the central point of most of Beckett's work. He makes fascinating statements about the nature of language in Molloy. As always in Beckett's work, it achieves a comic and devastating quality that you will find in no other work.

"Molloy" is the best of the Beckett trilogy, the whole of which has been sadly ignored by readers in lieu of the (inadequate) texts of Beckett's plays. In summary of the "plot" of "Molloy" I prefer the critic who calls it "a grim revery of empty progress through time and space." The book is a glory. Playful within its leadenness, parodically plotted, it is the perfect and ultimate expression of everything in human experience unencompassed by joy, light, hope, and faith. What remains, however,is, nevertheless, humanity, warmth and...the darkest, keenest, most mordant utterances ever set to the page. Let readers not be deceived by the note that the book has been "translated" from the French. This is a masterpiece of the English language, translated by Beckett himself, who was generous enough to let a youngster have a byline. If it really is better in the French, they sure are lucky.

The Month Brothers, A Slavic Tale by Samuel Marshak

Everyone knows that the twelve months of the year never meet but in this charming folk tale a little girl saw all twelve months at one time. Deep in the forest around a blazing fire the Months meet together as brothers in the depths of the Winter.

On a freezing January night, a wicked woman ordered her stepdaughter to go into the forest to find flowers. The poor child, bundled in her ragged clothes, sets out on her impossible quest. She is without hope knowing that she cannot return without flowers and that flowers won't bloom until March. The young girl weeps as she walks on until she comes upon a glade where twelve men stand warming themselves by a huge fire. They listen to her story, and you must read this book if you want to find out how they help her.

This children's book is based on a Soviet-era Russian play The Twelve Months by Samuel (or Samuil) Marshak. With delightful color illustrations by Diane Stanley, this book is a delight to read. A longer version of Marshak's story was released in English in 1967 by Dorothy Nathan.

This is a delightful tale for children in early grade school. Younger children will enjoy the realistic and warm illustrations by Diane Stanley. This story tells the tale of a young girl who is forced to go out in a January storm by her stepmother to look for flowers for her stepsister. While stumbling around in the snow, she meets all twelve Month Brothers, representing all the months of the year. My 8 year old has checked this book out of the school library so many times that we are finally purchasing the book for our personal library. That is the highest recommendation any author can get, the repeated reading by a child.

It was amazing to read that many of the ideas and ideals around the turn of the twentieth century are still used today. Ford goes into great detail describing the origination of the Ford motor company, the labor force, the assembly line, and financial situations of the company. At a time when most of the male workers across the country were working for fifty cents a day, Ford incorporated a minimum wage of from three to five dollars a day. Henry Ford did a good job writing this book as well. There were several examples of sage advice include which are quoted by speakers and writers to this day. He was truly a visionary, business minded genius. The world was certainly improved by his presence. I'm looking forward to reading other of his works in the future.

Sometimes with the pace of business we don't take the time to review the thoughts and concepts of the great people of the past. When I read this book I was amazed at his level of thinking. We tend to believe that "our" generation is always coming up with the great thoughts and ideas. If this is your thinking you need to step back 100 years or so to the life and times of Henry Ford. All we are doing is reinventing what he did.

Last night I saw a live acting of this play. Buy the book! Read the book! See the play! IT'S FANTASTIC!

"My Three Angels" is an intring and entertaining play. It deals with young love, wasted life and what might have been, all this said it is very witty and historically correct. Taking place in Frech Genia in 1910, when it was a habor for convicts.

Samuel Chamberlain's ineffaceable black & white photographic images of New England landscapes and interiors are vividly captured in this book. This book serves more or less as a summary of over fifty years of Chamberlain's efforts and works published in numerous books, which are now highly sought after. Many of his best photographs are represented in this single volume. I consider this to be the best book of photographs taken on New England because it represents the spirit and essence of the land and the people who inhabited this region of America through the first half of the twentieth century.

I highly recommend this book because if you are unacquainted with Samuel Chamberlain and his work this book will give you insight and appreciation for his legacy as one of America's greatest photographer artists. This book stands as a compendium to works on his best known subject, New England. Samuel Chamberlain was one of America's preeminent photographers during the early and mid 20th Century. He is conspicuously and sadly forgotten today. I use the word conspicuously because if you every see his photographs as originally published he no doubt would have left you intrigued and impressed by the richness of the work. It is amazing how his black & white photographs could actually capture the colors of the New England foliage. One can feel the sun shining through autumn colored leaves. I think his greatest passion and love was the rural New England setting. I was recently very pleased to see "The New England Image" back in print and on the bookshelves. The first printing, which was bound and printed by Conzett & Huber, Zurich, Switzerland, 1962 is one of Samuel Chamberlain's best-known and most popular books. Discover or re-discover Samuel Chamberlain with "The New England Image."

Growing up in this section of New Orleans, I was pleasantly surprised to see several homes of my childhood friends. No other city in the U.S. has such distinct and diverse neighborhood architecture. Another great volume in a GREAT series.

This volume in the N.O. Architecture series by the Friends of the Cabildo is, in my opinion, the best of the entire series. Perhaps it is because this is the section of the city in which I spend most of my time, a place to which I've become rather attached. Anyone who enjoys architecture will probably like this book, not just New Orleanians.

I LOVE THIS BOOK ... because it conveys many interesting truths about the earth life of Jesus of Nazareth, it corrects mistakes of the present bible and also informs the reader of Jesus` actual mission - to let us know about our Heavenly Father`s never failing and always uplifting Love for his children, HIS DIVINE LOVE.

I LOVE THIS BOOK ... because it contains many interesting messages, received through automatic writing and signed by the highest of celestial angels including the apostles John and Paul and Luke as well as many others, above all, of course, messages signed by Jesus himself.

I LOVE THIS BOOK ... because, besides telling me alot about Jesus and God`s Love for us, it also includes messages dealing with the questions of how we - as simple human beings - can finally become angels, what`s the use of personal soulful prayer and how spiritual healing works.

I can only recommend this book.

New Testament Revelations of Jesus of Nazareth are so revolutionary in scope as to be dangerous to the orthodox mindset. I was astounded at how logical and scientific the "true story" as presented by those who supposedly were there ,..came across. But most astonishing of all is the level of "soul" information being communicated by these Angelic spirits. If the teachings presented in this wonderful book ever reach the world at large...everything will change for the better ..forever. A must read! Rev. Jimmy Walsh

The poetic analog of Shaker furniture -- spare but powerful.

Samuel Menashe is one our best poets, and this new collection displays some of his best work. Each poem is a well crafted gem.

A very comprehensive history of the IDF's Navy SEAL equivalent. I especially like the way Katz tries to biograph the lives of two of Flotilla 13 and IDF/Navy commnders, Ze'ev Almog and Ami Ayalon, both of whom have gone on to bigger things.

The Shayetot (naval recon. commandos) are amazing. They are the best naval special force operators in the world. The Navy Seals and the SBS never come close to the Shayetot's optempo and DAILY combat experiences. Sure, it was extremely hurt to remember the debacle of the batmen's ambush in South Lebanon in 1997. But the debacle had to do with the faculty and compromised intelligences. Otherwise, the Israeli commandos, Mossad and the IAF are the biggest nightmare to the Hizbollah terrorists. The terrorists should better watch their back, because one would never know when they would be permanently custodied by the biblical justice.

Sam Taylor was one of the very best writers of Mormonism's "Lost Generation": a group that co-existed roughly at the same time as Hemingway and that cohort and had ambivalent feelings about their Mormon heritage. "Nightfall at Nauvoo" is Taylor's masterpiece. It's the story of the church from the 1838 Missouri period to Joseph Smith's assassination in Illinois in 1844. It could be called a historical novel, but it mixes straight history with fictionalized narrative, much like the other books in this trilogy, "The Last Pioneer" and "Rocky Mountain Empire". The effect (and tone) is not unlike like that of Tom Wolfe. Taylor loves his people but can't restrain his satirical bent. The result is a mixture of reverence and realism that is unique in Mormon literature. This is an epic story well told, and should be interesting to anyone who enjoys Western American history.

I remember picking up a paperback copy of this book years ago simply because it had a chilling picture of some covered wagons leaving a town during a snow bound winter, and the title added to the ominous impression. My thought was "Why would anyone travel in those conditions?" I was soon to find out. This book was first published as a hardback by Macmillan Company of New York, New York in 1971, and it drew me into one of the most exciting, colorful, and extraordinary true stories that was ever recorded about the wild West during the 1840s. It's a good thing no one had told me that this was about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, popularly known as the Mormons, because had I known that I would have thought "Oh, Oh, religion," and not given it any further investigation. I came from a Catholic background, and I didn't really think about it until later, but the Mormon church was the other important organization responsible for settling the West. Once a person has this insight, they won't be surprised when encountering entire shelf loads of books about Mormons in bookstores run by folks who actually know something about Western Americana. What you have in this book is the story of a town built by the Mormons in Illinois, and how controversies arose there which resulted in the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of the church. Now I'm not going to spoil it for you by filling in too much, but after Joseph Smith was killed at Carthage, just outside Nauvoo, his church split into a number of competitive factions. The largest of these, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The second largest one, the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is headquartered in Independence, Missouri. There were other factions which came out of the incidents in this story as well, but the largest are usually the most familiar. This story will introduce you to the controversies that go on to this day between many Mormon sects - and also between Mormons and the outside world. It will give you an understanding of why there are so many people hooked on collecting anything they can about Mormon splinter groups, or anything published by those sects. In fact, the culture of Mormon politics is exciting enough to quench the thirst of anyone already hooked on political ideology or more familiar forms of religious theology. Imagine a true story which is partly a nerve wracking wild West shoot out, and blend that with the scattering seeds of a peculiar religion, and you've got some idea of the riveting read you're in for. Nightfall At Nauvoo is the reason I'll usually stop to examine any book about LDS (Mormonism), and it's also the reason I nearly always find the time to say hello to their missionaries. It is a great story by a great writer, on the same level of importance as Jim Bishop's The Day Lincoln Was Shot; Bernal Diaz's Conquest of New Spain - about Cortes bringing down the Aztec empire; and William Connelley's perfect telling of Quantrills destruction of Lawrence Kansas. Some readers may even appreciate that it has similar elements.