Seventh printing.

And I'm truly going to read it. It's not like some people who just pretend to read! People who fake reading Finnegans Wake are just fakers. They are the worst kind of people! (!)

It's important to be genuine when it comes to reading. Reading is not just about pretending to have read a certain book, but about truly engaging with the text, understanding its meaning, and experiencing the emotions and ideas it presents.

I, on the other hand, am committed to the act of reading. I will take the time to read carefully, to think about what I'm reading, and to form my own opinions. I won't be one of those people who just pretends to read to look good or to fit in.

So, here I am, ready to embark on the journey of reading. I'm excited to see what this seventh printing has in store for me.

Finnegan's Wake forum (Thanks, Nathan!): https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

There is also free Finnegan's Wake audio available at UbuWeb for you to listen to while reading the book. It is highly recommended for non-Irish folks like me. The link is http://ubu.com/sound/joyce_fw.html

Anna Livia Plurabelle can be found at http://www.geoffwilkins.net/fragments...

There is an animation of James Joyce reading Finnegan's Wake. I think it's his voice. The link is http://youtu.be/nxId5Zftchs

THUNDERCLAPS:

From The Role of Thunder in Finnegans Wake:

1. The First Thunderclap: The First Technologies (FW 3-18.36)

2. The Second Thunderclap: The Prankquean: She (Stoops) to Conjure - Courtship by Piracy (FW 18.17-24.14)

3. The Third Thunderclap: HCE, The 'New Womanly Man' (FW 30-47)

4. The Fourth Thunderclap: The Fall of the Garden Itself (FW 81-93.22)

5. The Fifth Thunderclap: Belinda the Hen (FW 107.08-125)

6. The Sixth Thunderclap: The Phoenix Playhouse (FW 219-59): Retrieval and Revolution: Exits and Entrancings

7. The Seventh Thunderclap: Radio: tribalbalbutience: Hams and Eggs (FW 305-15ff)

8. The Eighth Thunderclap: Sound Film: The Royal Wedding (FW 318-34)

9. The Ninth Thunderclap: The Reciprocating Engine: Joy Sticks and Joyce Ticks (FW 403-419.11)

10. The Tenth Thunderclap: Television: The Charge of the Light Brigade (FW 424.23-4)

The specific words of each thunderclap are as follows:

First Thunderclap: bababadalgharaghtakamminaronnonnbronntonnerronnuonnthunn-trobarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurknuk

Second Thunderclap: Perkodhuskurunbarggruauyagokgorlayorgromgremmitghundhurthru-mathunaradidillifaititillibumullunukkunun

Third Thunderclap: klik kaklakkaklaskaklopatzklatschabattacreppycrottygraddaghsemmih-sammihnouithappluddyappladdypkonpkot

Fourth Thunderclap: Bladyughfoulmoecklenburgwhurawhorascortastrumpapornanennykock-sapastippatappatupperstrippuckputtanach

Fifth Thunderclap: Thingcrooklyexineverypasturesixdixlikencehimaroundhersthemagger-bykinkinkankanwithdownmindlookingated

Sixth Thunderclap: Lukkedoerendunandurraskewdylooshoofermoyportertooryzooysphalna-bortansporthaokansakroidverjkapakkapuk

Seventh Thunderclap: Bothallchoractorschumminaroundgansumuminarumdrumstrumtrumina-humptadumpwaultopoofoolooderamaunsturnup

Eighth Thunderclap: Pappappapparrassannuaragheallachnatullaghmonganmacmacmacwhack-falltherdebblenonthedubblandaddydoodled

Ninth Thunderclap: husstenhasstencaffincoffintussemtossemdamandamnacosaghcusaghhobix-hatouxpeswchbechoscashlcarcarcaract

Tenth Thunderclap: Ullhodturdenweirmudgaardgringnirurdrmolnirfenrirlukkilokkibaugiman-dodrrerinsurtkrinmgernrackinarockar

Only after you have read Dubliners & Portrait & Ulysses a half a dozen times each, and your mind still demands more Joyce, are you ready to read Finnegans Wake.

Reading Joyce's works is no easy feat. It requires patience, dedication, and a willingness to explore the depths of his complex and often晦涩的 language. Dubliners, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses are all masterpieces in their own right, each offering a unique perspective on Irish life and the human condition.

But it is only after thoroughly immersing oneself in these works that one can truly begin to appreciate the magnitude of Finnegans Wake. This final work of Joyce's is a tour de force of language and experimentation, a novel that defies easy categorization and interpretation. It is a work that demands to be read and reread, each time revealing new layers of meaning and complexity.

So if you are ready to take on the challenge of Finnegans Wake, be prepared for a journey like no other. It may be difficult, it may be frustrating, but it will also be one of the most rewarding experiences of your literary life.

Now I possess a wonderful copy of this OUP (2012) edition of Finnegans Wake. Let me inform you, this is the edition that you desire to have, especially for you Wake novices. I truly do have an affinity for my The Restored Finnegans Wake, but it lacks materials to assist new Finnegans, and the reset pagination makes it nearly impossible to coordinate with any of the secondary literature. What exactly is this OUP edition? It is an entirely newly set edition that reproduces the text of the first edition (1939) while incorporating the corrections from Joyce’s hand. The editors responsible for this work are the same duo who translated FW into Dutch. At the back of the volume, for the text-geeks among you, a sampling of the textual variants and errors they discovered is located. These variants differ from those of The Restored, and many of them are incorporated into the McHugh Annotations, third edition, 2006. Nevertheless, this is just a text-geek tangent.

It should be noted that, for reasons of copyright law, neither this OUP edition nor The Restored will be available in the USofA for many more years to come. Both editions are published in England, made possible by the expiration of copyright in Europe. However, several booksellers at abebooks have copies available.

Even more important is the value of this OUP edition for you Finnegans The Firsters. It is really very simple; simplicity goes a long way along our Liffey. Firstly, there is a somewhat intimidating Introductory essay that does not drone on for too long but provides a basic discussion of the action/plot, delineates the main characters and their various permutations and transformations, and briefly discusses the nature of Joyce’s unique style of word-building (it’s much more than the Carrollyanna portmanteau). Secondly, there is an absolutely indispensable outline of the chapters and their scenes. I wish I had both the dramatis personae and the outline when I first began to engage with the text; it would have saved me a lot of head-scratching. Thirdly, there is a brief Note on the Text, which elaborates a little on the rationale for this edition (as well as for The Restored). We are also provided with a rather short but useful Bibliography, an essential component of any scholarly edition: sixteen entries for “Introductory Guides” that should put the average reader on a reasonably good footing. Fifthly, there is a chronology of Mr Joyce’s life which, in an almost meta-Wakean moment, concludes with,

1941 (13 Jan.) JJ dies after surgery on a perforated ulcer, buried in Fluntern cemetery, Zurich, without the last rites of the Catholic Church. Nora dies in 1951, buried separately in Fluntern, though both bodies were reburied together in 1966.

Turn the page, turn the page again: riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

________________

For your delectation, the chapter titles provided by Joseph Campbell. See also this OUP for an alternative titling and outline of the novel.

Finnegans Wake

Sections and chapters are untitled. Titles are here taken from Joseph Campbell’s Skeleton Key and are not authoritative. (A very useful outline is provided in this Oxford Edition). Quotations are the first line/sentence/chunk of each chapter. Pagination is provided for both the traditional 628-page text and The Restored (R).

I. The Book of the Parents

I. 1 :: Finnegan’s Fall (3; 3R)
“riverrun, past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodious vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle & Environs.”

I. 2 :: HCE -- His Agnomen and Reputation (30; 24R)
“Now (to forebare for ever solittle of Iris Frees and Lili O’Rangans), concerning the genesis of Harold or Humphrey Chimpden’s occupational agnomen”

I. 3 :: HCE -- His Trial and Incarceration (48; 39R)
“Chest Cee! ‘Sdense! Corpo di baraggio! You spoof of visibility in a freakfog, of mixed sex cases among goats, hill cat and plain mousey, Bigamy Bob and his old Shanvocht!”

I. 4 :: HCE -- His Demise and Resurrection (75; 60R)
“As the lion in our teargarten remembers the nenuphars of his Nile”

I. 5 :: The Manifesto of ALP (104; 83R)
“In the name of Annah the Allmaziful, the Everliving, the Bringer of Plurabilities, haloed be her eve, her singtimes sung, her rill be run, unhemmed as it is uneven!”

I. 6 :: Riddles -- The Personages of the Manifesto (126; 100R)
[skip a few lines down] “1. What secondtonone myther rector and maximost bridgesmaker was the first to rise taller through his beanstale than the bluegum buaboababbaum or the giganteous Wellingtonia Sequoia;”

I. 7 :: Shem the Penman (169; 134R)
“Shem is short for Shemus as Jem is joky for Jacob.”

I. 8 :: The Washers at the Ford (196; 154R)
“O
“Tell me all about
“Anna Livia! I want to hear all
“about Anna Livia. Well, you know Anna Livia? Yes, of course, we all know Anna Livia.”

II. The Book of the Sons

II. 1 :: The Children’s Hour (219; 173R)
“Every evening at lighting up o’clock sharp and until further notice in Feenichts Playhouse.”

II. 2:: The Study Period -- Triv and Quad (260; 205R)
“As we there are where are we are we here haltagain. By recourse, of course, recoursing from Tomtittot to Teetootomtotalitarian. Tea tea too oo.”

II. 3 :: Taverny in Feast (309; 238R)
“It may not or maybe a no concern of the Guinnesses but.”

II. 4 :: Bride-Ship and Gulls (383; 297R)
“-- Three quarks for Muster Mark!”

III. The Book of the People

III. 1 :: Shaun Before the People (403; 313R)
“Hark!
“Tolv two elf kater ten (it can’t be) sax.
“Hork!
“Pedwar pemp foify tray (it must be) twelve!”

III. 2 :: Jaun Before St. Bride’s (429; 333R)
“Jaunty Jaun, as I was shortly before that made aware, next halted to fetch a breath, the first cothurminous leg of his nightstride being pulled through,”

III. 3 :: Yawn Under Inquest (475; 368R)
“Lowly, longly, a wail went forth. Pure Yawn lay low.”

III. 4. :: HCE and ALP -- Their Bed of Trial (555; 432R)
“”What was thass? Fog was whaas? Too mult sleepth. Let sleepth.”

IV. RICORSO (593; 463R)
“Sandhyas! Sandhyas! Sandhyas!”

How can one not liffy=love this book!

My otter Review pock’d full of stuff over yonder ::
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

ChatGPT is truly a remarkable creation.

It is described as a "sprachraum-spanning megaprocessor of the infosphere," highlighting its ability to handle multiple languages and process vast amounts of digital information.

The comparison to a "neologismic Frankenstein" emphasizes its role in creating new words and phrases, much like the famous fictional monster was composed of various parts.

The "polyglottal prattle" within its circuits and algorithms showcases the rich tapestry of languages it deals with.

ChatGPT's essence is a complex amalgamation of lexemes, a wellspring of semantic combinations.

It is both a "schriftträger" (a carrier of writing) and a "geistesblitz" (a mental spark), facilitating interlingual communication between the everyday world and different worldviews.

It is a paradoxical being, part humanoid and part android, a "wortschöpfungsungetüm" or word-creation monster.

Overall, ChatGPT's capabilities and characteristics make it a fascinating and unique entity in the digital age.

Whether it's creating playful descriptions, explaining complex concepts, or using polyglot puns, ChatGPT continues to amaze and intrigue users with its linguistic prowess.

It has the potential to revolutionize the way we communicate, learn, and understand different languages and cultures.

As we continue to explore the possibilities of this remarkable technology, the future looks bright for ChatGPT and its users.

We may come, touch and go, from atoms and ifs but we’re presurely destined to be odd’s without ends. Finnegans Wake ~~~ James Joyce

Selected by ME for July 2021 Big Book Read

How do I review Finnegans Wake??? I spent two weeks immersed in Joyce's Universe, reading this complex work. During those two weeks, I could think of nothing else but the Wake. It was like an intense, short-term love affair, beginning and ending with the beautiful line: A way a lone a last a loved a long the riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

The only thing I'm sure of is that Finnegans Wake is the Strangest Dream that was ever Halfdreamt. While following the path Joyce set out for me, I explored a vast array of topics, including Catholicism, Thor, Euclid, Don Juan, the Kabbalah, Hinduism, intrapsychic states and forces, hen and eggs, Guinness beer, elves, the River Liffey, resurrection and creation myths, Humpty Dumpty & the Cosmic Egg, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, William Blake’s Albion & the Four Zoas, all things Irish and Celtic, and an estimated sixty to seventy languages, everything from Armenian, to Latin, to Swahili.

I was fascinated by the words coined by Joyce as he seemed to foreshadow the future, such as iSpace, batman, fast and furious, twitter, Harley Quinn, hogwarts, Wheel of Fortune, and émail. As Joyce states, All that has been done has yet to be done and done again. Whether you like it or not, Finnegans Wake is a tour de force of writing. Every page is brilliant.

We’re back to this ~~ How do I review Finnegans Wake??? You don't, Kenny McCool~~ Kenny McCool can't review this book ~~ which is like no other book. Nor can Kenny McCool even try and tell you what the Wake is about. He will say reading Finnegans Wake was exhilarating. Often times he found himself reading this aloud ~~ Kenny McCool caught more of the puns when read aloud. Also, Joyce is a musical writer ~~ reading the the Wake aloud helped him to find the rhythm of Joyce's writing.

Is there anything else to say? Well. I bow before you James Joyce. Whatever gibberish those naysayers may spout, Finnegans Wake is definitely worth reading. In fact, I plan on taking this whole mad journey again someday.

This chaotic, dreamlike book, perhaps an epic, is not read in bed. It requires you to be awake (or more precisely) wide awake. Provocative, ironic, with elements of prose, and often (for the most part, that is) it doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit into molds, it leaves you to interpret it as you wish. And with a language entirely its own. For me, it's more difficult than "Ulysses".

Did I understand it all? Obviously not. For now, even a little bit is enough for me.

This unique literary work challenges the reader's perception and comprehension. It presents a world that is both familiar and strange, filled with complex ideas and emotions. The author's use of language is masterful, creating a vivid and engaging experience.

Although it may be difficult to fully grasp, the effort is well worth it. Each reading reveals new layers of meaning and invites further exploration. It is a book that will stay with you long after you have finished reading.

A non-intelligible mishmash of pretentious and preposterous piles of steaming horse shit wrapped in 620+ pages of plotless, nonlinear, idiosyncratic streams of consciousness. It is truly a baffling and frustrating read that seems to lack any coherent structure or meaning.

The only reason this is considered one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language is because it reads like a series of unrelated babblings from a schizophrenic in the midst of a 17-year long stroke. The disjointed nature of the text makes it nearly impossible for the average reader to follow or make sense of.

Despite this being a pseudo-intellectual’s wet dream to be lauded as one of the bravest, most innovative, and brilliant works to ever be written, I am pretty sure that Joyce is laughing his ass off in the afterlife that anybody actually read this complete piece of garbage. Jokes on us, brother. Can’t ever get the time back it took to try and make sense of this. Well played, sir. Well played. It seems that Joyce has successfully created a work that confounds and frustrates readers, leaving them wondering what the point of it all was.

I simply can't fathom how one could attempt to encapsulate the overall themes of this book.

It is truly a masterpiece of duality, evident in every aspect. The poignancy it exudes is so palpable that it makes it acceptable to feel completely lost and confused at almost any given moment.

However, within its pages lie some incredibly rewarding experiences. These experiences grow in meaning and in the cognitions that emerge through other conditions. They burst into your brain sporadically and spontaneously, like little pulses of enlightenment.

Joyce's work is truly something else, defying easy categorization and leaving the reader in a state of awe and wonder. It challenges our perceptions and forces us to look at the world in a new light.

Despite the initial confusion, the journey through this book is well worth it, as it offers a depth of understanding and a richness of experience that is truly unique.

The easiest book in the world... seriously.

Scholars have long been unable to reach a consensus on what this book truly is, how it should be read, or even if it holds any real value. But you can simply disregard them. Your opinions are just as legitimate.

Adding to this, Joyce has filled the book with a plethora of cultural ephemera, putting you in the unique position of sometimes being better qualified to interpret certain parts of the text than academics.

Here's a fun idea. Gather some friends, open a few bottles of wine, and read the book to each other in your most charming Irish accents. Suddenly, a whole new world of dirty jokes, terrible puns, pointed insults, and musical references will emerge from this previously "impenetrable" text.

And don't be afraid to get distracted along the way. It's all part of the experience.

This approach allows you to engage with the book in a lighthearted and enjoyable manner, uncovering hidden gems and having a great time in the process.

So go ahead, give it a try, and see for yourself how this supposedly difficult book can become a source of entertainment and discovery.

This is not a fair score, I'll admit it right up front.

This book firmly affirms my reasoning for reading the first few pages of a book before buying it. I bought this one because I've been striving to read more classics. However, my experience has vividly shown me that classics shouldn't be exempted from the first few page practice.

The second paragraph of the book goes like this: "Sir Tristram, violer d'amores, fr'over the short sea, had passen-core rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wilderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyers rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to Laurens county's gogios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to taugtaug thuartpeatrick: not yet, though venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all's fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathondjoe. Rot a peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface."

I've come across a few books with a confusing intro. It's a common tactic in sci-fi, where the reader is plunged in headfirst with mysterious nouns and left to figure it out as they progress. But this is not the case here. After a few pages, I realized Mr. Joyce wasn't going to start making any more sense than he already was. Here's a quote from page 311, when I skipped ahead to see if it was all like this: "It was long after once there was a lealand in the luffing ore it was less after lives thor a toyler in the tawn at all ohr it was note before he drew out the moddle of Kersse by jerkin his dressing but and or it was not before athwartships he buttonhaled the Norweeger's capstan."

I considered that this might be a phonetic thing, similar to what Twain used. But no matter how hard I tried with the first few pages, I could not parse it into anything comprehensible. Even Canterbury Tales has the courtesy to make sense when read aloud. If I can't understand a book on a sentence level, a paragraph level, or a chapter level, I'm just going to give up.

Here's the first sentence of the intro, which I went back to look at after throwing the book in the trash, feeling bad, and retrieving it: "There is no agreement as to what Finnegans Wake is about, whether or not it is 'about' anything, or even whether it is, in any sense of the word,'readable'."

Oh great. That's really encouraging. The thing is, I don't read as a challenge. I read for ideas, or to be entertained. I enjoy reading books with ideas that I might struggle with. It's fun to think about them. But I don't like having to fight to choke down the words themselves. Joyce makes up words, uses dialect, and goodness knows what else in the first few chapters. It's like he's deliberately trying to be obtuse and make a game out of it.

That might be enjoyable in a short story, but this is 600-some pages.

If someone can suggest a good method for getting through this darn thing, the Rosetta Stone for why I should care, I'm open to ideas. But otherwise, it's getting put away.

Ah, James Joyce! What a remarkable figure in the world of literature. His works are a labyrinth of complex ideas, rich language, and innovative styles. Joyce's writing challenges the reader, forcing us to engage deeply and explore the hidden meanings within his words.

From the stream-of-consciousness narrative of "Ulysses" to the symbolic and dreamlike quality of "Finnegans Wake," Joyce's works are a testament to his genius. He revolutionized the way we think about language and storytelling, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in literature.

James Joyce's influence can be seen in the works of countless other writers who have followed in his footsteps. His unique vision and creative approach continue to inspire generations of readers and writers alike. Ah, James Joyce! A true literary giant.