Finnegans Wake Grappa discussion

Book I :: The Book of the Parents
I.1 Finnegan's Fall

I'm creating threads for each chapter for general discussion about each. I am borrowing the titles provided by Campbell, subject to change ; probably as soon as my OUP edition arrives.

Bump!

Hope this Folder is helpful. With retrospecting riverrun now I begin see tinks more clearly than with my nose deep within the leaves of a forest for the trees and twigs and branches and squirrels all amongst them.

For any first time reader it is important to note two things about this section:

1. Joyce is teaching you how to read him. But he can be a tough schoolmaster; and

2. It is denser, and tougher, than a lot of the book, so do not be disheartened if it is hard going.

I would suggest spending a lot of time in this first section, use the annotations and the skeleton key, get a sense of the key concepts and references that will be bobbing up again and again and again.

There are a lot of Danish/Dutch words, and many puns on some pretty obscure historical events. My advice, if you ever get lost, is to simply assume he is riffing on some element of Irish history and tying it in with images of erect penises and mythical heroes and see if things get clearer in the next sentence (hint: they probably won't).

Finally, and most importantly, have fun with the music of the whole thing – there is lots of great sound-play here, and lines that just feel splendid in the mouth.

I'm on my fourth reading of the first chapter. Each reading seems to offer its own unique rewards. The first run through without any guidance was bewildering but exhilarating. You can tell the book has a definite rhythm and that Joyce would be disappointed if you failed to let out a chuckle or two. The second reading, with help from the McHugh annotations, is mind blowing. All of a sudden you realize that while trying to tell you a story, Joyce is also managing to construct passage long crossword puzzles consisting of Arabic puns and obscure references to historical battles. It took until a third reading for me to actual start to piece together a semi-coherent understanding of how the passages connected to one another in a sequential narrative fashion. The fourth reading, which I just finished, was the most enjoyable yet. I actually felt somewhat steady throughout and confident that I could follow Joyce’s repeated shifts from passage to passage. Having a vague sense for who is speaking, whether its distant narrator or a vague character embedded within the action, really provides a lot of clarity as to how the events of the chapter are unfolding and a stronger sense of why Joyce employs certain mechanisms in a given passage as opposed to any other.

Thanks to all who have contributed to this group. It has been a great resource in my reading so far and an even better source of motivation to jump into the Wake.

Joshua wrote: "I'm on my fourth reading of the first chapter. Each reading seems to offer its own unique rewards. The first run through without any guidance was bewildering but exhilarating. You can tell the book..."

Thanks for joining up and thanks for the thoughts above! I will say that as you move along through the book the recognition of these patterns and rhythms becomes easier and the sense of the book begins to write itself more deeply. Please keep contributing to the Grappa as you progress- the more reeders at the Wake the better!

Joshua wrote: "I'm on my fourth reading of the first chapter. Each reading seems to offer its own unique rewards. The first run through without any guidance was bewildering but exhilarating. You can tell the book..."

Excellent stuff - and I agree with Geoff - there are a bunch of key patterns and riffs he plays out in this first section which come again and again. Looking forward to hearing further comments from you as you move through! Happy Wakeing!

Joshua wrote: "I'm on my fourth reading of the first chapter."

That's about all I need to hear to recognize a fellow Finnegan!

Your reading strategy sounds similar to mine ; but that I was taking single paragraphs at a fourfold time ;; I do think my manner of chopping stuff up lost the larger thrust of the larger narrative -- but I'll make up for that with my next reading.