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100% of my interest in James Joyce comes from Joseph Campbell. The first time I tried to read Joyce my attempt did not go well because I didn't really understa

100% of my interest in James Joyce comes from Joseph Campbell. The first time I tried to read Joyce my attempt did not go well because I didn't really understand why Campbell was so taken with these works, so my own expectations about what I was getting into were wildly off the mark. So I really get where H. G. Wells is coming from. Though I have to admit that Wells' writing is way, way more articulate than my thoughts at the time. Many years later I got back into Joseph Campbell by way of Julian Jaynes and wound up with Finnegan's Wake again only I suppose with a different set of expectations and perspective. It's still not something I personally would read for idle pleasure but I feel like I'm understanding more of the big picture Joseph Campbell was all about, so it was a worthwhile read.

dtwhitney 6y ago
IMHO, Ulysses is worth the time, but I agree about Finnegans Wake
- melq 6y ago
  Also, Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist are excellent and not nearly as dense.
cgsullivan 6y ago
I was in a book club dedicated to reading Finnegans Wake, all 626 pages. We met every two weeks over dinner and would discuss a page or two, or sometimes just a paragraph if things were especially puzzling. It took us eight years to complete. I agree with Wells about the frustrations with the endless riddles and the incessantly opaque style. However an unexpected pleasure was how much fun it was to read in a group. For example, a set of allusions sprinkled on the page might catch the eye of someone for whom the subject was a pet interest or hobby, otherwise we all would have missed it. I learned a lot about world history, art, philosophy, etc., and I almost always ended the evening astounded at the oddest bits of information my friends had tucked away in their heads. Finnegans Wake works really well as a scaffold for learning and conversation; as a story, I'm not so sure, but I think it is a remarkable literary experiment. There are also several truly beautiful passages hidden away in the book, which hit you by complete surprise when you stumble on them.

dtwhitney 6y ago

IMHO, Ulysses is worth the time, but I agree about Finnegans Wake

melq 6y ago
Also, Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist are excellent and not nearly as dense.

cgsullivan 6y ago

I was in a book club dedicated to reading Finnegans Wake, all 626 pages. We met every two weeks over dinner and would discuss a page or two, or sometimes just a paragraph if things were especially puzzling. It took us eight years to complete. I agree with Wells about the frustrations with the endless riddles and the incessantly opaque style. However an unexpected pleasure was how much fun it was to read in a group. For example, a set of allusions sprinkled on the page might catch the eye of someone for whom the subject was a pet interest or hobby, otherwise we all would have missed it. I learned a lot about world history, art, philosophy, etc., and I almost always ended the evening astounded at the oddest bits of information my friends had tucked away in their heads. Finnegans Wake works really well as a scaffold for learning and conversation; as a story, I'm not so sure, but I think it is a remarkable literary experiment. There are also several truly beautiful passages hidden away in the book, which hit you by complete surprise when you stumble on them.