It's like abstract art in book form, or trying to interpret a dream that someone else is telling you about. There are glosses of the book out there that give mo

It's like abstract art in book form, or trying to interpret a dream that someone else is telling you about. There are glosses of the book out there that give more context to the words and references. Having one of those can fill you in, but it's still going to be a slog. Maybe I'm unkind, but I've never been a fan of the Wake. It's always seemed to me to be the sort of thing academics in English literature departments and lovers of abstract art really go for, but few other people can appreciate. (Nothing against literature academics or abstract artists -- it's just that their tastes are informed by things that don't inform most people's!) If you want to appreciate Joyce as a more approachable author, 'Dubliners' is a great collection of short stories and not experimental.