First edition of Joyce's avant-garde masterpiece
London: Faber and Faber, 1939.
In one of several of Joyce's direct addresses to the reader of a similar vein, he suggests the book is for the "ideal reader suffering from an ideal insomnia."
Finnegans Wake, James Joyce's magnum opus published in 1939, represents the zenith of experimental literature, pushing the boundaries of language, narrative form, and the very act of reading. Renowned for its dense allusiveness, multilingual puns, and innovative stream-of-consciousness technique, the novel deconstructs the traditional narrative, presenting a cyclical interpretation of history and human experience. Its exploration of the dreamlike state of its characters, primarily through the figure of Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker, encapsulates a complex web of themes ranging from the fall and redemption of man to the fluidity of identity. Finnegans Wake demands active engagement from its readers, inviting interpretations that unfold its layers of meaning, thereby redefining the relationship between text and reader. Joyce's work remains a critical text for understanding modernist literature's challenge to conventional storytelling and its exploration of the subconscious, language's power, and the interconnectedness of global cultures and histories.
Pagination: [3], 628.