Popvoid answers “Why read Finnegans Wake, when I know I...”

Arkapravo Bhaumik asked this question about Finnegans Wake:

Why read Finnegans Wake, when I know I will not understand anything? I ask those have read this literary behemoth, what was your motivation, and what did you finally grasp?

Popvoid My advice (as someone who read it the first time without knowing anything about it) is to get a hold of some of the books about Finnegans Wake. The Sk…moreMy advice (as someone who read it the first time without knowing anything about it) is to get a hold of some of the books about Finnegans Wake. The Skeleton Key is a good one, but there are others worth reading. Anthony Burgess wrote a good book about all of Joyce's work called Re Joyce. The first thing you'll discover is that no two scholars agree on everything about the book, but that's part of the fun. Joyce was trying to create the experience of someone dreaming, mixing the events of the previous day and personal anxieties with the history of the world. The fact that he succeeded in any way is pretty astounding. If you decide you don't like it, you'll be in good company.(less)

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