Bloody Finnegans Wake

Valmont

Last Monday, quite late at night, I was walking home along the roadside when a very large (almost the size of a wolverine) and very white ferret ran in front of me and underneath a car. Unfortunately, as the lovely stinky creature writhed around in the throes of a serious head injury, I realised he would be there for a while unless I intervened. Had this happened during my time spent in northern arboreal forests where I usually carried a gun, I could have done away with it quite speedily.

Alas, that was not to be, and as I stood on the ferret's neck for five minutes, trying to calm my hysterical girlfriend and sheepishly waving to passing motorists who were undoubtedly about to call the police and the RSPCA, my mind wandered back to Finnegans Wake which I had slammed down with a fuck the previous week, intending to never open it again.

Firstly, to pass the time and stop myself from sobbing, I reassured myself of the circle of life, and got thinking about the last paragraph (a multiple page paragraph) which we had discussed the previous week in the final Wake session of the term. I could only remember one beautiful line (I've been trying to memorise my favourite parts but it's quite hard to remember such gobbledegook)

It is the softest morning that ever I can ever remember me. But she won't rain showerly our Ilma. Yet.

After thinking of this and pondering whether the ferret was dead (it wasn't, gargling, blood, don't look) I couldn't help but wish that it was a hedgehog I was bouncing on as I had had my first Wake dream not too long ago, primarily involving one of the spiky fellows. After reading a page before bed (30), my brain was mashing up variations of Humphrey Chigden Earwicker, Harold Chipden Earwigger as I drifted off. Then, as I slept, I'm almost certain I figured out the entire wake in my sleep but when I woke up, not surprisingly, I couldn't remember the details. I was left, however, with the dreamy image of a hedgehog chewing an earwig. It wouldn't surprise me if Hedgehog is included in the wake somewhere- I keep forgetting whether I've made parts up myself to make some sense or whether I have in fact, read them.

Not surprisingly again, I drew out the awkward coughing silent response when I furnished my dream of hungry hedgehogs to our resident Phd students and their Wake Professor here in York. I don't mind though, it's fun undermining the overtly sterile approach the modern lit and cultural studies students apply a lot of the time. The professor is funny though, as he tends to focus exclusively on interpreting the filth, my favourite line of which I don't really understand yet:

Here's where the Falskin begins. Smoos as an infams (pg 621).

As I was walking past the town centre the next morning, I definitely had the feeling that my roadkill euthanasia was weird enough for me to pretend that it had never happened in the first place, especially considering I took to thinking about Finnegans Wake to distract myself from the sheer distress of the entire situation. Coincidentally, there was a sign in the window of the centre advertising "Hedgehog Care Education" in the local schools, advising and teaching children to look after and protect the local environment for the little pincushions, as their numbers are seriously dwindling.

It's in my head, this book, and usually at strange and unwelcome moments. It may vanish for a while but then something will kickstart my readings and deliberations again and I won't be able to stop seeing it pop up everywhere from signs to sounds to smells. The only recommendation I have is to not fuss about getting through it and finishing passages, I get the most enjoyment when I'm least bothered and relaxed enough to read the same page over and over again until something pops out at me, either to discuss with the group, or to keep to myself.

These updates are intentionally rambling and nonsensical as that is how I see the wake most of the time, although if I look at it hard enough, I very much enjoy the humour and wordplay that sometimes pops out.

Permabear

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Nhead

Permabear wrote: »

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Thank you very much for the illuminating and thought provoking answer and the Beckett quote is excellent.

coffee_cake

Valmont, I was inspired to pick up a copy myself - you may feel my wrath!

John wrote: »

An annotations book isn't a bad idea but to be honest, I think you'd be best reading it cold and then reading about it. That's what I did (with occasional google searches when I was finding it extra-tough), I read the whole thing then read a few books on Joyce/FW. It all depends on whether you think you'll read it more than once (I've read it twice so far, I found the second reading harder as I was trying to put everything I had read about it together with the text).

I'm reading a page or two at a time, reading the reader's guide (I'm glad to see Tindall recommended here because that's the one I got) alongside, then reading the same page or two again. And again. :pac: I think I am going to find "how many times have you read it" a very funny question by the time I am finished!!

Valmont wrote: »

ps. The word pun has temporarily lost all meaning

Agreed :eek:

I was a bit tired the first time I picked it up so I wasn't too taken by it, but on re-reading, it is definitely starting to pull me in. I was warned I couldn't expect to have my usual reading speed here, and I think I will just take a couple of pages a night.

Permabear

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coffee_cake

No wonder hodges figgis were suddenly sold out of copies the other week

Valmont

bluewolf wrote: »

I was warned I couldn't expect to have my usual reading speed here, and I think I will just take a couple of pages a night.

Yeah, throw all of that stuff out of the window. I've been reading the same five pages since my last update and I'm finding the words rattling around my head if I read it until I fall asleep. As soon as I stopped worrying about "getting through it" it became much more enjoyable.

Clip-Clop

Just to let you know that there is readings of the Wake on in Swenys Chemists (www.swenys.ie) sponsored by Hidden Wicklow (www.hiddenwicklow.ie) starting soon.

I've no connection to either concern but just picked it up on a blog. Details will be posted soon and I'll pass them on. I've been looking for a group to help me with it so I'll try and hook up with this if anyone else is interested?

HeadPig

Just wondering what became of this...did Valmont ever finish it?

Mindfulness

HeadPig wrote: »

Just wondering what became of this...did Valmont ever finish it?

Ah feck ya I was thinking this was a recent thread and was going to offer to join in and read the book. Good question though, it would be good to know if the OP managed to finish the book.

HeadPig

Mindfulness wrote: »

Ah feck ya I was thinking this was a recent thread and was going to offer to join in and read the book. Good question though, it would be good to know if the OP managed to finish the book.

I may PM OP if he doesn't see this within a few days. Quite curious, his paragraphs on it were great.

HeadPig

Getting very close to buying this, deciding whether I'll read it cold or with a guide/annotations