Summary

Much like its predecessor Molloy, Malone Dies begins with an unnamed narrator in unknown circumstances who declares: “I shall soon be quite dead at last in spite of all” (173). Even though the reader is not told his identity until later in the novel – that the narrator is an old man named Malone – for purposes of clarity the narrator will be referred to as Malone from the beginning.

Speaking in first-person, Malone says that he could will himself to die by “making a little effort,” but might as well let it happen without “rushing things”; he insists, however, that he must guard themselves against “throes,” without specifying what these are (173). The one thing that is established is that Malone is waiting to die and in the midst of his waiting, he will tell themselves stories, initially four, then declares that only three will be told...