I Read Finnegans Wake So You Don’t Have To!
But, let me tell you now, this is no insightful academic assessment of what is perhaps the most perplexing, ambiguous and downright impenetrable work of literature known to man. One summer a couple of years ago, in-between writing my own novels of dubious quality, I fancied a bit of a literary challenge. I had participated in Bloomsday – an annual celebration of James Joyce’s other famed work, Ulysses – a few times and it struck me that maybe it was time to tackle the mighty Finnegans Wake. The idea of attempting an idiots guide (or, more appropriately, a guide by an idiot) came about after discussing my attempts at comprehension with friends.
And so this, Finnegans What?, a plaintive effort to decipher the indecipherable, was born. My method was a to read a chapter and then make notes about what I thought might be happening. These were originally posted weekly on my blog for the benefit of curious readers. So what we have here is a chapter-by-chapter explanation, as I read each in turn. This is my interpretation and musings on Joyce’s eponymous work, rather than any kind of instructional companion or serious analysis. Goodness knows, I’m not capable of that kind of high-minded literary endeavour. I’m just an ordinary person, reading Finnegans Wake.
And this is what I came up with.
Lucy Brazier 
Haha this made me giggle! Good luck with it! :s
Thanks, Sacha! It is certainly an interesting experience 😉
Wow! I get the same feeling when I try reading Shakespeare. Its amazing that you have been reading the book very dedicatedly. I too had been out of wordpress for a while and I was unable to decipher your recent post, wondering ‘What is this’ ‘Were are the Old college characters?’ Until I came crwaling to this post! 🙂 Nice initiative! Reading tough books are fun in themselves.. and you have rightly stated.. at the end alcohol will be required to soothe up things a bit! 😉
Haha thank you! I am touched you are missing the folks of Old College – don’t worry, they will be back! I have been finishing my book and felt I needed a little break from Old College, so when a fellow blogger challenged me to read Finnegans Wake it seemed like the perfect thing to write about! It can be a bit tricky but it is lots of fun. A small drop of alcohol goes a long way to helping me through 😉
Lovely to hear from you, I hope you have a wonderful week 😀
Have a wonderful week you too Lucy! 🙂 and happy reading too! I didnt know about this book.Just now I read more on wiki how queer this book is.It will be interesting to follow your progress and get first hand account as you keep posting! Thank you for introducing us this. 🙂
It certainly is a bizarre experience! I shall do my very best to portray it, as I understand it. Thank you for reading! 🙂