I've finally started James Joyce's Finnegans Wake and I'm surprised that it's turning out to be a very enjoyable book. Of course, I don't claim to know what, if anything, is going on, but I think, in the grand scheme of the Wake, that's beside the point. Sure, the book is written in Joyce's invented language, but that's part of the novel's (if you can call it such) overall charm. I hesitate to call Finnegans Wake sheer genius (sheer madness is more like it), but I can say, with utter sincerity, that this is one of the most entertaining and musical books I've ever read. The Wake is certainly impenetrable, but somehow, I don't think Joyce meant for the book to be understood (or taken seriously, for that matter). The book is enjoyable and entertaining because of Joyce's wordplay--which, ultimately, seems to be the point of the entire endeavor--and it's definitely expanded my vocabulary in strange ways, but I'm finding that Finnegans Wake is much easier to digest when I remember that I won't understand anything about it.

Comments

[bhadd]

Wordplay is a difficult reason for writing a book and I think we can agree that whatever the reason actually is, there certainly is one. So say it's wordplay. Would you think other books are simply wordplay? I think an argument could be made that they are. In which case, what is the use of this wordplay? Humor or pleasure or what? Perhaps us talking about wordplay is the reason.

[Adam S.]

Perhaps Joyce wants us to slow down and read his invented language? Instead of focusing on sentences and paragraphs he has us dissecting his 'wordplay' instead. Maybe for Joyce the idea isn't that the story matters: it's the words that string it together that do.

[Stefanie]

What made you decide to read Finnegan's Wake and not Ulysses or Dubliners? I admire that you are able to be okay with not understanding the book and even enjoying it. An inspiration!

[Brandon]

Bhadd: You pose some interesting questions. I wouldn't say that all other books are simply wordplay; sometimes writing is just functional, by which I mean words are used to tell a story. Part of the book's difficulty, I think, is that it forces the reader to concentrate, not on the story (I don't think there really is a story to the Wake anyway), but on the sound of the language. Sometimes Joyce writes his words the way a person with a lisp might speak; sometimes he writes in the way a person with an Irish brogue might speak. There's also a rhythm to some of the sentences. There's even a piece of music early in the book. I think of the book as an opera of sorts; you don't have to understand the words of an opera in order to enjoy it. I've heard many opinions on what the point of the wordplay is; I've heard that Joyce was trying to convey what a dream would be like; I've heard that English was too limiting for him, and that he had to make up his own language; I've also heard that the book is Joyce's idea of a practical joke. It's a hard book to say anything about. It's like, "Well, you have to read a bit of it for yourself."

Adam: The Wake will certainly have anyone slowing down and actually reading. The book is confounding, to say the least, but there have been a few moments where I've actually understood a bit of it. In this case, though, it's not only the words that make me scratch my head, but their order. In most cases, you read a sentence and almost know what to expect; in the case of "FW," it's like the fishbear reads the air and breathes the water of the sun--toot tut tit tac! You're like, "What the fuck did I just read, and what does that have to do with, well, anything?" So I agree with you, I think it's the words that matter. Not only that, but like I wrote to Bhadd, I think it's also the sound of the words.

Stefanie: Sadly, I haven't read "Ulysses," though I've tried on several occasions. I've read "Dubliners" and "A Portrait of the Artist." But I've been obssessed with "FW" for quite a while. It looked like such a fascinating book. But I've always been ambivalent towards it. On one hand, it looks so weird that you're like, "What is this?" On the other hand, you can't help but wonder if it's even worth your time. In one sense, though, I've gotten bored with a lot of novels lately. I've been reading poetry (Dante and Milton, to be specific), so I've been into language and rhythm more than anything else. That's the best reason I can come up with this late at night. :)

[simon]

Good luck I think your approach could be applied to a fair few books and it would make reading much more enoyable, guilt free and a pleasure instead of some sort of academic exercise where you have to waste your time working out what the symobolism is and what it all 'really' means.

[bhadd]

I disagree only with the idea that Finnegans Wake is different than any book we could name. For this reason I am saying that there are no stories to any book. They are all disguised autobiography even the cookbook.

[Andi]

You're a better man than I...especially since I'm a woman. But you know what I mean. I haven't even attempt Finnegan's Wake.