James Joyce

Finnegans Wake

 

Finnegans Wake can hardly be called a novel; rather, it’s a spiraling palimpsestic representation of Joyce’s personal symbolic system imbued with elements of Irish history and culture. It layers stories on stories, morphs one character into another, traverses dreams and waking life, and coins gibberish that conveys meaning. It’s mad and utterly brilliant. I’d suggest reading the book a few pages at a time, guides in hand (Tindall and/or McHugh), ideally with a study group. Or, just read pages aloud for fun and let the effect of the language wash over you!