--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I just completed a long car trip on a…" description: "\"“I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough to convince you that Samuel Beckett was rig..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png" --- # I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August… ![“I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough to convince you that Samuel Beckett was right about everything.” quote by Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png) > ““I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough to convince you that Samuel Beckett was right about everything.”” [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic family road trip illustrates Beckett’s absurdist view that life is often pointless and confusing. **In simple terms:** Road trips feel absurd. Key Takeaway Embrace absurdity in daily life. Themes family travel absurdism Mood reflective humorous Type literary personal When to use this quote - family vacations - long drives - parenting challenges Key Concepts existentialism modern literature Questions to Reflect On - What absurd moments have you faced? - How does humor help cope with chaos? A Different Perspective Absurdism can be unsettling for some. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) [Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beckett/) [Beckett Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beckett-right-6166462/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Road trips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/road-trips/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/samuel-beckett/) [Samuel-beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/samuel-beckett-163105/) [Sunday August](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sunday-august-6166463/) ## Related quotes > [“You lean back against the door with bowed head making ready to set out. By the time you open your eyes your feet have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/you-lean-back-against-the-door-with-bowed-head-making-ready-to-set/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [I am not interested in living in a city where there isn't a production by Samuel Beckett running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/i-am-not-interested-in-living-in-a-city-where-there-isn-t-a/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [Samuel Beckett once said, "Every word is like an unnecessary stain on silence and nothingness." ...On the other hand, he SAID it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-spiegelman/samuel-beckett-once-said-every-word-is-like-an-unnecessary-stain-on/) [Art Spiegelman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-spiegelman/) > [ He \[Samuel Beckett\] is great, a very great writer. Any modern writer is bound to be influenced by \[James\] Joyce. Of course, by Beckett… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/he-samuel-beckett-is-great-a-very-great-writer-any-modern-writer-is/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Her smile was like a Samuel Beckett play - easy to read but difficult to interpret.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-smith/her-smile-was-like-a-samuel-beckett-play-easy-to-read-but-difficult/) [Bob Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-smith/) > [I don't think there's been any writer like Samuel Beckett. He's unique. He was a most charming man and I used to send him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-pinter/i-don-t-think-there-s-been-any-writer-like-samuel-beckett-he-s-unique/) [Harold Pinter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-pinter/) > [Gertrude Stein, all courage and will, is a soldier of minimalism. Her work, unlike the resonating silences in the art of Samuel Beckett, embodies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hardwick/gertrude-stein-all-courage-and-will-is-a-soldier-of-minimalism-her/) [Elizabeth Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hardwick/) > [Samuel Beckett. He is a kind of hero for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-handke/samuel-beckett-he-is-a-kind-of-hero-for-me/) [Peter Handke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-handke/) > [“Samuel Beckett was saying, in a new biography, that he could remember being in the womb, which, of course, is a bit far-fetched. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/samuel-beckett-was-saying-in-a-new-biography-that-he-could-remember/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [“If you've never come across Soccer Saturday, imagine a Samuel Beckett play in which a slick circus-master gets four retired clowns to describe a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esquire-magazine/if-you-ve-never-come-across-soccer-saturday-imagine-a-samuel-beckett/) [Esquire Magazine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esquire-magazine/) > [ I admire \[Samuel\] Beckett, but I am totally against him. He seeks no improvement. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-sartre/i-admire-samuel-beckett-but-i-am-totally-against-him-he-seeks-no/) [Jean-Paul Sartre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-sartre/) > [In Kamby Bolongo Mean River damage and delusion walk hand in hand, and everything we think we know is gradually called into question. Reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-evenson/in-kamby-bolongo-mean-river-damage-and-delusion-walk-hand-in-hand-and/) [Brian Evenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-evenson/) > [Ben Marcus has created an innovative and unflinching portrait of the turmoil of the human condition, providing the reader a most rare gift: something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myla-goldberg/ben-marcus-has-created-an-innovative-and-unflinching-portrait-of-the/) [Myla Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myla-goldberg/) > [“Je suis comme ça. Ou j'oublie tout de suite ou je n'oublie jamais." Samuel BECKETT, En attendant Godot I'm like that. Either I forget…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-beckett/je-suis-comme-a-ou-j-oublie-tout-de-suite-ou-je-n-oublie-jamais/) [Samuel Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-beckett/) > [ I would say recently I've gotten back to perusing \[Samuel\] Beckett's novels. Listening to the way Donald Trump speaks without saying anything has made… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-would-say-recently-i-ve-gotten-back-to-perusing-samuel-beckett-s/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) ## More by Lev Grossman > [“It was about damn time something happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-was-about-damn-time-something-happened/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [We're wired to expect the world to be brighter and more meaningful and more obviously interesting than it actually is. And when we realize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/we-re-wired-to-expect-the-world-to-be-brighter-and-more-meaningful/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He was going to sign the papers and he was going to be a motherfucking magician.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-was-going-to-sign-the-papers-and-he-was-going-to-be-a/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“Being brave was easy when you would rather die than give up. Fatigue meant nothing when you actually wanted to suffer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/being-brave-was-easy-when-you-would-rather-die-than-give-up-fatigue/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [As a writer I'm more drawn to villains who are just slightly mad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/as-a-writer-i-m-more-drawn-to-villains-who-are-just-slightly-mad/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“He wasn't in a safe little story where wrongs were automatically righted; he was still in the real world, where bad bitter things happened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/he-wasn-t-in-a-safe-little-story-where-wrongs-were-automatically/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I love rare books. Not that I own a lot of them, mind you. You couldn't quite call me a rare-book collector. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-love-rare-books-not-that-i-own-a-lot-of-them-mind-you-you-couldn-t/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [By now he had learned enough to know that when he was getting annoyed at somebody else, it was usually because there was something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/by-now-he-had-learned-enough-to-know-that-when-he-was-getting-annoyed/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [About as close you can get to the perfect cerebral thriller: searingly smart, ridiculously funny, and fast as hell... I defy anybody to read…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/about-as-close-you-can-get-to-the-perfect-cerebral-thriller-searingly/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“It's true," Eliot said. "Statistically, historically, and however else you want to look at it, you are almost never right. A monkey making life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/it-s-true-eliot-said-statistically-historically-and-however-else-you/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [“God, I hope we don’t have to use that,” was all he said out loud. “Oh, come on, Quentina. We’re not looking for trouble.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/god-i-hope-we-don-t-have-to-use-that-was-all-he-said-out-loud-oh-come/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I mean, when you're tired of book reviews, you're tired of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-mean-when-you-re-tired-of-book-reviews-you-re-tired-of-life/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [My specialty as a collector is books that almost have value. When I love a book, I don't buy the first edition, because those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/my-specialty-as-a-collector-is-books-that-almost-have-value-when-i/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I used to write in a local coffee shop, but there was another guy, another writer, who kept sitting in my favorite seat. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-used-to-write-in-a-local-coffee-shop-but-there-was-another-guy/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) > [I don't know if I've ever derived such an immediate sense of calm and well-being from any book as I did from 'Right Ho,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-don-t-know-if-i-ve-ever-derived-such-an-immediate-sense-of-calm-and/) [Lev Grossman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) [Explore all 379 Lev Grossman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/) ## More August quotes > [On the McLaughlin Report, August 26, 1990: 'There are only two groups that are beating the drums for war in the middle East, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-buchanan/on-the-mclaughlin-report-august-26-1990-there-are-only-two-groups/) [Pat Buchanan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-buchanan/) > [Meanwhile after failing the bar twice, I knew some people in New York and moved here in August '71.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/meanwhile-after-failing-the-bar-twice-i-knew-some-people-in-new-york/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [I had the advantage, that I know Swedish. So I had the Swedish book and I had a lot of English translations, and German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-ullmann/i-had-the-advantage-that-i-know-swedish-so-i-had-the-swedish-book-and/) [Liv Ullmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-ullmann/) > [I love the little garden in the back of my family's brownstone in Brooklyn. Digging out there in the dirt is a joy for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-hustvedt/i-love-the-little-garden-in-the-back-of-my-family-s-brownstone-in/) [Siri Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-hustvedt/) > [I can see that I imagine all kinds of rejection that never happens. I can see that I beg and plead for love that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-wurtzel/i-can-see-that-i-imagine-all-kinds-of-rejection-that-never-happens-i/) [Elizabeth Wurtzel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-wurtzel/) > [August depresses me a little. I don't even feel like eating. And when I don't eat, that's a sure sign of stagnation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willard-scott/august-depresses-me-a-little-i-don-t-even-feel-like-eating-and-when-i/) [Willard Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willard-scott/) > [August, the summer's last messenger of misery, is a hollow actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/august-the-summer-s-last-messenger-of-misery-is-a-hollow-actor/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [ It \[August 10th 1792\] was the bloodiest day of the Revolution so far, but also one of the most decisive. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-doyle/it-august-10th-1792-was-the-bloodiest-day-of-the-revolution-so-far/) [William Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-doyle/) > [How sociable the garden was. We ate and talked in given light. The children put their toys to grass All the warm wakeful August…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thom-gunn/how-sociable-the-garden-was-we-ate-and-talked-in-given-light-the/) [Thom Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thom-gunn/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I studied acting in NYU's graduate program, in which we covered everything from Ibsen and Chekov to August Wilson and David Mamet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-holland/i-studied-acting-in-nyu-s-graduate-program-in-which-we-covered/) [Andre Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-holland/) > [There could be oil coming up until August.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-browner/there-could-be-oil-coming-up-until-august/) [Carol Browner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-browner/) > [The 6th of August in the morning we saw an opening in the land and we ran into it, and anchored in 7 and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-dampier/the-6th-of-august-in-the-morning-we-saw-an-opening-in-the-land-and-we/) [William Dampier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-dampier/) > [August creates as she slumbers, replete and satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-wood-krutch/august-creates-as-she-slumbers-replete-and-satisfied/) [Joseph Wood Krutch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-wood-krutch/) > [I left for Petersburg in August, 1871 and stayed there until 1879.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-spitteler/i-left-for-petersburg-in-august-1871-and-stayed-there-until-1879/) [Carl Spitteler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-spitteler/) [Browse all 448 August quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/august/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough to convince you that Samuel Beckett was right about everything.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lev Grossman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-sunday-in-august-with-two-small/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "August" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-sunday-in-august-with-two-small/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/469/lev-grossman-747_august_i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-su_1617440.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I just completed a long car trip on a Sunday in August with two small children, which believe me is enough…” — Lev Grossman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Lev Grossman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lev-grossman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I just completed a long car...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-sunday-in-august-with-two-small/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lev-grossman/i-just-completed-a-long-car-trip-on-a-sunday-in-august-with-two-small/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```