The Unnamable

The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett

Somebody is trapped in an odd existence and wonders what is going on with him and the outside world. It is a weird rambling experience. I found this one more accessible than the others in the trilogy. Trying to find a plot is next to impossible, but the rambling is interesting.

Malone Dies

Malone Dies by Samuel Beckett

I wanted to like this book, but could not understand what was going on. Malone was dying. He was also going crazy. It was hard to follow with the accented reader.

The Everything Box: A Novel

There is a box that can end the world. Some criminals are trying to grab it for aa payday. An angel has also been spending a few millennia trying to locate it. There are plenty of strange things that happen (such as a car getting seriously damaged as it hits a pedestrian angel). In the end the world does not end. However, the plot is of minor importance compared to the bizarre things that happen in the process.

Generation A: A Novel

In a near future world, bees are nearly extinct. There is also some drug that gives people happiness. That allows them to live in a world where pollinated food is rare. Five people were stung by bees. They are hauled away by officials and become minor celebrities. After a bunch of craziness that is not clearly "real" or "fake", we learn that the "miracle drug" is the cause of the bee extinction. A drug company got super rich in the process. The studies on the "stung" is part of their work to continue to dominate the world. The world is set in a world that is somewhat plausible, yet totally bizarre.

The Master and Margarita

The Master and Margarita is weird. Part of it is the story of Pilate at the time of Christ. There is also many events taking place in "modern" Moscow. The devil appears and recruits people. One man ends up in a mental institution because he is seen as crazy - but is he witnessing real events? There is a book that resembles the book. And just to liven things up, there is also a talking cat. People are drawn to do crazy things, that may often involve an unexpected lack of clothing. People randomly die in weird ways. Did I mention a talking cat? It is difficult to tell what is intended to be "real" and what is delusionary. In some ways it doesn't matter. It can be read as a societal critique or just as something weird. 

The Plague

The Plague reminded me of Blindness. Both deal with the changes in a society as they are isolated with disease. However, Camus takes a more realistic approach that further looks into the long term impact. In the end, life is existential voyage, and reverts back to the norm after traumatic events.

The Plague is longer than The Stranger. This is probably a result of dealing with an entire town instead of a single person. Philosophically, they are both similar works.