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Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
'And low, stole o'er the stillness the heartbeats of sleep' In Chapelizod, a suburb of Dublin, an innkeeper and his family are sleeping. Around them and their dreams there swirls a vortex of world history, of ambition and failure, desire and transgression, pride and shame, rivalry and conflict, gossip and mystery. This is a book that reinvents the novel and plays fantastic games with the language to tell the story of one man's fall and resurrection; in the intimate drama of Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker and his wife Anna Livia, the character of Ireland itself takes form. Joyce called time and the river and the mountains the real heroes of his book, and its organic structure and extraordinary musicality embody his vision. It is both an outrageous epic and a wildly inventive comedy that rewards its readers with never-ending layers of meaning. In the introduction to this newly set edition, which faithfully maintains the original page layout, Finn Fordham guides the reader through the novel's complexity, and suggests a range of ways into the book. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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Andrea313
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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This story popping up in my feed today was a delight. I especially love the no-nonsense group leader insisting, "It wasn‘t like I saw God. It wasn‘t a big deal.” ?

Read all about it:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/finnegans-wake-james-joyce-book-club-2...

LeahBergen That sounds excruciating 😂 4mo
22 likes1 comment
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ShyBookOwl
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Came across this in the news and HAD to share 😅 Has anyone here read Finnegans Wake?? Did it take TWENTY-EIGHT years!!? That's commitment.

JamieArc I kind of read it? I took a James Joyce class in university. It‘s such gibberish though that I understood nothing. 5mo
Ruthiella I read it, but like @JamieArc , I understood virtually nothing. But I had to cross it off my list. I can‘t imagine reading it with such intensity like this group did. 5mo
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ShyBookOwl @Ruthiella 😬 I see the ebook is only $1, and am tempted to check it out, but I don't think I have the discipline or time to really go for it lol 5mo
GondorGirl I took a Joyce seminar in college and the professor (who was a Joyce scholar) admitted that he's never managed to finish Finnigan's Wake. It's the only lit class I ever dropped... 😅 5mo
ShyBookOwl @GondorGirl Wooooww 🤣 5mo
66 likes6 comments
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squirrelbrain
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Love this article from The Guardian!

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/12/california-venice-book-club-finnge...

Particularly this bit…. 🤣

Fialka, who started the group in his early 40s, is now 70. “I don‘t want to lie, it wasn‘t like I saw God,” Fialka said, of reaching the book‘s end. “It wasn‘t a big deal.”

TrishB I just read this too! Some perseverance there! 5mo
squirrelbrain Did you see the Orwell article too? @TrishB I seem to recall you didn‘t love the book anyway. 5mo
Ddzmini 🤣🤣🤣 5mo
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TrishB I did and would totally agree with the criticisms tbh. I enjoyed the horror article too esp as I‘m in the middle of reading one of the Argentinian authors. 5mo
squirrelbrain I don‘t think I‘ll bother with the Orwell book @TrishB 5mo
Ruthiella I read it with an online group on Goodreads and it took about a year. I got absolutely nothing from it, except maybe the answer to a pub quiz some day! 5mo
BarbaraBB This is so funny. I read Ulysses a few years ago and decided I‘ll never try Finnegan‘s Wake! 5mo
TrishB No I wouldn‘t really recommend on reflection! 5mo
squirrelbrain Only a year?! @ruthiella 5mo
squirrelbrain I‘ve still to try Ulysses @BarbaraBB …. One day! 5mo
Ruthiella I just read the words without trying to comprehend. I also read a reader‘s guide. It was almost all gobbledygook to me. (edited) 5mo
BarbaraJean On the one hand, I love this level of passion. On the other, there‘s this: “[Joyce] once described the perfect reader of Finnegans Wake as ‘suffering from an ideal insomnia,‘ and said: ‘The demand I make of my reader is that he should devote his entire life to reading my works.‘” Hahahaha nope. 😂 5mo
squirrelbrain @BarbaraJean - can you imagine devoting your life to reading *any* author‘s works, never mind one so difficult to read as Joyce?! Not for me! 5mo
Leniverse This just reinforces my impression from reading Joyce's other works, that the man himself must have been insufferable. 5mo
LeahBergen 😆😆 5mo
SamAnne Visited Dublin this summer. Grabbing lunch at the pub Wilde frequented, ran into a group of passionate (obsessive?) Ulysses devotees. They curate the apothecary across the street where Joyce was a customer and bought the lemon soap mentioned in Ulysses. Now it is a shrine to Joyce and they host daily out loud readings in multiple languages. I‘ve not read it, but at least had my copy of Dubliners along! 5mo
squirrelbrain @SamAnne - people certainly seem to get rather obsessed don‘t they?! 5mo
sarahbarnes 😆😆😆 5mo
65 likes18 comments
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bunneeboy
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Pickpick

Joyce‘s Herculean Word Horde!
First time through as an Audible read.
Bears further contemplation,
for the neologism and language play.

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Faibka
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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“The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.”

BarbaraBB You‘re reading this??!? 5y
Faibka @BarbaraBB yes! There‘s a Facebook group (Blotty Words) that will be reading one page per day (starting today) and discussing it as well as providing all sorts of information and artwork along the way so I couldn‘t resist! I don‘t think I could tackle it on my own tbh so this is a good opportunity :) 5y
BarbaraBB Wow. I‘ll be following your thoughts. It‘s one of the #1001books I have decided NOT to read, although that FB group idea sounds almost as if it is doable! 5y
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matthieumcintosh Mmm, I‘ve got a healthy stack of Wake scholarship on my shelves...which I‘ve admittedly read more of than the Wake itself. But! The language is so rich and fun on its own that sometimes scholarship is overrated, ya know? 5y
Faibka @BarbaraBB and it‘s actually going to be a page per week! Which suits me fine, I‘m in no hurry to thoroughly enjoy this book :) 5y
Faibka @matthieumcintosh judging from this first page, I agree it‘s going to be a fun ride! I‘ve read Ulysses, A Portrait and Dubliners but I‘m a total neophyte to FW, I know nothing about it other than reading this first page. I‘m hoping the FB group will help in filling in some of the gaps but for now, just enjoying the language which seems to have sprung a life of its own with that thunderous long word! 5y
jveezer Yay! Looking forward to a close reading of the Wake!!! 📖🤓❤️ 5y
Faibka @jveezer Yes! Thank you again for letting me know about the group! I wouldn‘t have known how Joyce used different words in different languages to convey the same meaning while also creating an epic onomatopoeic type word. A true master of his craft! 5y
Faibka @GingerAntics 🤗 I think I can only tackle this book with group support, lol 5y
GingerAntics He wrote it in multiple languages? Why?! The other concern I have is, has everyone agreed on an edition? One page in one addiction could be only part of a page or more than a page in another edition based on type face, formatting, size, etc. 5y
jveezer @GingerAntics i think most editions follow the original pagination. If you have 628 pages, you‘re golden. I‘m actually reading from an edition hat has been reset so I cross reference to the online version at finnegansweb.com to stay on the same page‘ish. 5y
GingerAntics @jveezer oh that makes sense. Interesting they‘ve kept the same pagination all this time. I‘ve never heard of that. 5y
Faibka @GingerAntics sorry for not replying sooner, I was offline all day preparing for a test at work but I‘m glad @jveezer was able to answer your question :) 5y
GingerAntics @Faibka hope the test went okay 5y
Faibka @GingerAntics thank you! It didn‘t go as well as I would‘ve wanted but I‘m glad it‘s over and done, lol. 5y
GingerAntics @Faibka that always seems to be the way with tests, doesn‘t it? Then again, I find I‘ve done better on tests when I feel that way than when I feel confident about them. 5y
Faibka @GingerAntics True, true. I‘ll never forget one time in college when I was so confident I was going to get a perfect grade on a very difficult exam, already making plans to celebrate and ended up barely passing it 😂 we‘ll see, hopefully I did better than I think 5y
GingerAntics Oh I hate when that happens. Yeah, if I feel confident I‘m usually positive I‘ve failed. I‘d rather be worried about it. 🤞🏻 Fingers crossed for a good result. 5y
Faibka @GingerAntics thanks! 😊 5y
26 likes19 comments
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AMVP
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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#riotgrams #day19 - setting you've been to

Visited Dublin in high school as part of my school's IB program. Was disheartened to learn that my state was considering disbanding the program for our county, but a lot of teachers, alumni, and students have been speaking out, so hopefully it'll stay put.

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TheAnitaAlvarez
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Since my brain can‘t deal with Joyce alone, I am alternating it with N. K. Jemisin‘s The Fifth Season in my Kindle.

readordierachel Excellent choice! Love Jemisin. 6y
TheAnitaAlvarez @readordierachel I‘m almost done with it and she‘s so good 6y
JazzFeathers Joyce is a tough one. But he's also awesome. 6y
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TheAnitaAlvarez @JazzFeathers I‘m trying to enjoy his playing with language and not question everything 6y
jveezer Yay! You‘re going to tackle the Wake? I found Joseph Cambell‘s Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake very helpful. Also his video lecture on Joyce. 6y
TheAnitaAlvarez @jveezer I need to check those out! When I read Ulysses I also got a reading guide, and I feel like it‘d be useful here as well 6y
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TheAnitaAlvarez
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Honestly, at this point I‘m not sure which way is up and which is down, but there‘s something very interesting about Joyce‘s playing around with language. He uses weird spelling and creates new words mixing old ones. It‘s weird and incredibly hard to follow, but it‘s a bit hypnotic at the same time.

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TheAnitaAlvarez
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Okay, challenge accepted. I‘ll probably go very slow, as I always do with Joyce because he‘s hard.

MichelleScott_author Wow! That‘s impressive. 6y
BarbaraBB I don‘t think I can handle this one. Isn‘t it in dialect? 6y
TheAnitaAlvarez @Coffeeshopreviews I‘m going a chapter a day, because I don‘t want my brain to explode 😂 6y
TheAnitaAlvarez @BarbaraBB it doesn‘t look like any dialect I know, but he‘s definitely very creative with language and grammar/phonetics 6y
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Christyco125
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
Bailedbailed

What is a pftjschute? I made it through the first page. Experimental writing is not my thing but just throwing in gibberish is beyond even a try. I wished I could have done a chapter. #noway #wtfisthis

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AMVP
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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#awesomeautumnbooks #day5 - #toughtuesday

As far as tough books where sheer readability is concerned, this is probably the toughest I own. Given the cyclical nature of it's construction (supposedly the end feeds into the beginning in such a way that it can be read endlessly), I'd probably be just as well off starting on any random page and seeing how far I get.

Leniverse That sounds like one of the inner circles of hell! To read Finnegan's Wake for all eternity. 😱😂 7y
11 likes1 comment
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OrangeMooseReads
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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My little #bookhaul 3 papers for $6 each and Paper Girls 3

OrangeMooseReads @ReadosaurusText I've heard/read that it's good. 7y
ReadosaurusText @OrangeMooseReads I'm about 2/3 through and think it is really good. 7y
40 likes3 comments
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CoreySF
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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CoreySF
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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When you love a book so much that you even find yourself discussing it in your dreams. ☺️

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CoreySF
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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I brought in reinforcements.

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Moray_Reads
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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After reading War and Peace in 2015 (no idea why I found it impossible in my first attempt in 2013!) and Infinite Jest last year I decided to tackle this as my "challenge novel" this year but I've still to even open it (image is the personal copy of Danis Rose, a Finnegans Wake editor ?) #IrishAuthors #MarchIntoReading

Joybishoptx I read this in college. Longest week of my life. 7y
Moray_Reads @Joybishoptx A week! That's impressive. It's taken me three months to (not even) crack the cover 😉 7y
MrBook Whoa! 7y
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saresmoore That is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. 7y
LeslieO I'm exhausted just reading about what you've been reading! 7y
bitterbear Personally I cannot read Irish authors... I have no idea why.. #bookishconfession? 7y
47 likes2 stack adds6 comments
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BarbaraTheBibliophage
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Happy St. Patrick's Day! Read #Irishauthors today! 💚☘️🍀#marchintoreading

UwannaPublishme 😁👌🏻 7y
132 likes3 stack adds1 comment
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MrsBloom
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce

Musicality is the key

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TeR
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Had anyone read this? It seems smaller than it should be....

SusanInTiburon But dense 7y
Abby-J So dense... 7y
JanuarieTimewalker13 I'm afraid of JJ-I attempted Ulysses, enough said. Lol 7y
Zelma Nope, nope, nope. Can't do it! 😂 However if you are on Goodreads, there is a group that did a readalong with analysis. Just look for the Literary Disco group and it has its own thread. 👍 (edited) 7y
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Dorothea_An
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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God invented whiskey so that Irish wouldn't rule the world #ireland #joyce

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dcossai
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Just a few of the 100 or so books I picked up for €5 today. 😁(2/3)

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readingnatalie
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Surprised how many #textonlycovers I found on my shelves. Decided I should stop while I'm ahead, so I didn't even dig through the book drawer to see if there were more. #booktober

RealLifeReading Wow!!! That's the most I've seen today! 8y
readingnatalie @RealLifeReading I was certainly surprised as I was finding them; I didn't think I had so many! 8y
11 likes2 comments
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Kirstin
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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These are some of the #weirdbooks I've read. Well, Infinite Jest is on the back burner because I can only endure so much tennis, and Finnegans Wake? Has anyone ever made it through that book? 😂😂🤔🙄 #somethingforsept #septphotochallenge

britt_brooke Nice collection! 8y
MrBook Nope, never 😊. 8y
RealLifeReading Geek Love ❤️ 8y
31 likes3 comments
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Kirstin
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce

These are some of the #weirdbooks I've read. Well, Infinite Jest is on the back burner because I can only endure so much tennis, and Finnegans Wake? Has anyone ever made it through that book? 😂😂🤔🙄 #somethingforsept #septphotochallenge

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Readasaurus_rex
Finnegans Wake | James Joyce
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Good heavens this book is impossible

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