Home
/
Fiction
/
The End
The End
Apr 21, 2025 12:43 PM

Author:Samuel Beckett

The End

'They didn't seem to take much interest in my private parts which to tell the truth were nothing to write home about, I didn't take much interest in them myself.'

From the master of the absurd, these two stories of an unnamed vagrant contending with decay and death combine bleakness with the blackest of humour.

Penguin Modern: fifty new books celebrating the pioneering spirit of the iconic Penguin Modern Classics series, with each one offering a concentrated hit of its contemporary, international flavour. Here are authors ranging from Kathy Acker to James Baldwin, Truman Capote to Stanislaw Lem and George Orwell to Shirley Jackson; essays radical and inspiring; poems moving and disturbing; stories surreal and fabulous; taking us from the deep South to modern Japan, New York's underground scene to the farthest reaches of outer space.

Reviews

BY THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHOR

Delve inside this CHRISTMAS STOCKING choc-full of perfectly themed, never-before-published seasonal short stories perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings.

—— from the publisher's description

This book is an absolute page turner and will never fail to impress.

—— Woman and Home

A wonderful and magical Christmas read! Katie Fforde has done it again with six seasonal stories you’ll be transformed into a world of romance, humor and happy ever-afters.

—— Under the Christmas Tree Blog

Gloriously festive… beautiful anthology…Every single one will remind you why this time of year is referred to as the most wonderful of them all. You’ll be decking the halls and feeling jolly before you know it.

—— Heat

The Sunday Times Top 10 romance story legend will warm the cockles of your heart with this heady cocktail of festive season tales.

—— Peterborough Evening Telegraph

perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings

—— Chells and Books Blog

An ideal gift for someone to find in their stocking on Christmas morning.

—— Shaz’s Book Blog

Katie Fforde's short stories burst with warmth and good cheer… Pure enjoyment, and indulgent pleasure!

—— Random Things Through my Letterbox

perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings.

—— Gransnet Christmas reads

Katie is a fantastic author and she really knows how to get you in the Christmassy feels.

—— The Reader’s Corner

A wonderfully festive Christmas collection

—— Northern Living

Wonderfully festive… The perfect gift for Christmas

—— Frost Magazine

Katie Fforde gives the reader a real treat with this book. The stories are full of warmth, magic, love, friendship, mince pies and mulled wine! So if you are looking for a book to dip in and out of in between wrapping presents and putting decorations up then look no further!

—— Scribbles Blog

the perfect antidote to seasonal stress

—— The People's Friend

If you're looking for an escape from the rush of busy shopping centres, then take a breather and enjoy a short break with The Christmas Stocking and Other Stories.

—— Jaffa Reads Blog

This gorgeous festive selection fills every criteria of a perfect Christmas read

—— Hot Brands Cool Places

A manifestly gifted writer

—— The Quarterly Conversation

Astonishing-turns Don Quixote into Picasso

—— Harper's

The realism of Groff’s stories is matched by her lyricism: botanical details and evocations of weather give her prose an addictive quality

—— i newspaper

There are panthers, snakes and hurricanes heading in the direction of the angry, lonely characters in Lauren Groff's vivid stories, but the greatest threat comes from their own unwieldy feelings, as doubt, regret and dissatisfaction scupper all notions of emotional security.

—— Psychologies

Lush, and tinged with paranoia…[Groff] should be better known in Britain.

—— Sunday Times

My god, can Lauren Groff write or what?! ... This short story collection showcases a master craftswoman whose sentences reverberate with depth and power.

—— Victoria Sadler

[A] strikingly vivid Florida of the mind…an extraordinary trip for the reader.

—— Daily Mail

Groff's writing is clever, caustic yet with a mother's tender sensibility. And such powers of description!... I was blown away!

—— Saga

Superb stories.

—— RTE Online

Lyrical, lacerating collection.

—— Daily Mail

Groff's writing is superb and she captures her characters eccentricities or their bizarre situations perfectly. There are laugh out loud moments with some parts that were odd and some even creepy. Everyone who will read this collection will definitely get something out of it.

—— DeuceKindred Blog

Groff's mastery of language, plot and dialogue are on full display in a set of stories that linger long after you've closed the last page.

—— Esquire

[A] masterclass in writing about the edges of everyday life. This collection of short stories that all link to the Sunshine State captures loneliness, alienation, abandonment and inner resourcefulness in the most creative of tales.

—— Victoria Sadler

Fantastical tales ... You'll be swept up in a wild hurricane of a ride with this lyrical stories of fury and love, loss and hope.

—— Newsweek

Each story is perfectly formed, exquisite, often troubling but there is something so brilliantly humane about her work.

—— Kate Hamer, Wales Art Review

The five darkly comic stories that comprise The Largesse of the Sea Maiden are befitting final testaments to [Johnson’s] wild originality... His sentences, like his plots, are full of gorgeous little shocks.

—— Irish Independent, *The best reads of 2018: Our critics name their top picks*
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved