Dec 24, 2009

The Birthday Party | What Do I Read Next?

Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, written in 1914 but not published in English until 1937, bears similarities to Pinter's play. Its anti-hero, Josef K., beset by vague guilt, is taken to his execution by polite gentlemen who are death's angelic summoners. Along with Beckett, Kafka had a major and acknowledged influence on Pinter, who, in 1993, adapted The Trial to the screen.

Pinter's long one-act play, The Dumbwaiter, written at about the same time as The Birthday Party, includes parallel characters that invite contrast....