63, [1] pp. Samuel Beckett was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969; his literary output of plays, novels, stories and poetry has earned him an uncontested place as one of the greatest writers of our time. Much like a theme proposed by a composer - upon which performing musicians can improvise all manner of personal variations - Samuel Beckett offers us a theme in The Lost Ones. With mathematical and geometric precision, he creates a completely self-contained microcosm - a "flattened cylinder" - which he populates with a multitude of captive beings. Within it, he establishes distinct castes, precise hierarchies, and extremely rigorous laws. Yet the interpretation of the theme remains open; indeed, its infinite richness lies in the multiplicity of readings it inspires.
