Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce

The introduction to this book openly admits that the book basically has no plot. If this sounds intimidating, it should. Myself, I liked the idea of movies with sparse plots, so I wanted to believe that it should be no different with a book.

The book starts mid-sentence, and the start of this sentence is the book's ending. This is to make the literature cyclical.

While at a glance the book looks like complete and utter nonesense, it does have a rhythm to it. It's like when you can hear people talking, but can't make out what they're saying. You get a feel for the cadence and tone, but don't really know what's going on. There are parts where you say: Ah, there's a wake, there's a trial, there's gossiping women, and other such things. And then there's parts where you're thinking: "What the hell?" Of course, I'm sure there are people out there who could tell you what it's all about. Otherwise, how would they've been able to write a Cliff Notes for it?(I almost wanted to get it after reading this book just to see how far off the mark my assumptions were about the plot.)-- Yet at the same time, like I said, the introduction admits that the book really doesn't have a plot.

Joyce had intended Finnegan's to be a chronicle of the longest night. His goal was to create a language that best captured the state of mind at work when we dream. He mixes up several different languages to create his own words that are sometimes quite a mouthful. Anthony Burgess called it a laugh-out-loud funny book. And if you've ever read A Clockwork Orange, you'll see how Finnegan's was probably a major inspiration for Burgess. I don't recall laughing out loud throughout the book, but I did get a few chuckles from some of the syntax faux pas. Being an English student/writer, it was cute to see some of the goof ups and knowing what was probably meant and guessing how the mix up was made. Other than that--

It's not bus stop reading. I'll warn you of that in advance. The main point of Finnegan's Wake, I think, is the language. It plays with language like a sculptor works at a lump of clay. It's considered a major piece of literature, and in terms of inventiveness and avant garde, I can see this. But I must confess that it is quite possibly the most confusing piece of literature I've read to date.

Maybe I should go get the Cliff Notes.