Just as Dante moves from circle to circle to reach his Hell or Paradise, Samuel Beckett places his three central characters from his trilogy of novels (Molloy, Malone Dies, and The Unnamable) in very distinct circles, in order to perhaps reach the non-existence they seek.

From one novel to another, this circle keeps narrowing. Much more restricted than Molloy, Malone is confined to a closed room, lying in his bed, nearly motionless, awaiting his imminent death. The only apparently feasible route is that of his gaze, which he directs towards the surrounding objects. However, Malone possesses a pencil and a notebook: he will write.

He will describe his condition in great detail, in a way that is both vivid and shocking, but in the end, he will be exiled far from himself, to the periphery where the imaginary resides: he will be able to create. From this moment on, there will only be endless oscillations from the center to the periphery, where, after all, the outrageous characters he creates come to life.

Malone ends up in this peripheral space where at times he seems to invent himself, and at other times transforms into one of the characters he invents. Does he remain Malone, or has he become Macmann? Malone Dies is the work in which, with incredible humor, tremendous insight, and poetic expression, Samuel Beckett openly conveys his views on the act of writing and the complex relationships between a writer, their creation, and their creations.