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Synopsis
For years, William York Tindall's Guide has been one of the valuable ways to approach the difficult writing and complex language of Joyce's "Finnegans Wake". Over a period of 40 years, Tindall studied, instructed and, most importantly, learned from graduate students about Joyce's greatest literary masterpiece. He explores and analyses Joyce's unexpected depths and vast collection of puns, allusions and word plays involving over a dozen languages. Tindall's "Guide" not only updates past guides to "Finnegans Wake", but also breaks down the formidable barriers that could discourage readers from enjoying the humour and brilliance of Joyce.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the 1st book I read in preparation to Finnegans Wake. It is structured road the chapters of Finnegans Wake itself so each chapter tries to articulate what is going on. The result of this is that as reader you start to pick up a "vibe" with Tindall's help you can begin to see how the highly idiosyncratic spellings in Finnegans Wake act as sign posts to what is going on. An example of this is the word "traumscrapt" this word appears in a chapter relating to a letter. At first glance Joyce's "traumscrapt" might be rendered transcript (a letter could be a transcript) but we should be aware that the word traum is German for dream i.e. we could be dealing with a transcript of a dream (or dreamscript). This particular example is not taken from the Readers Guide but from John Bishop's book on Finnegans Wake, I include it here as an example of the sort of punning word play that both Tindall and Bishop emphasize as a key component of the prose of Finnegans Wake. Thankfully Tindall does not launch at full force and does include an introduction to this book. Although the first couple of paragraphs are quite off putting, making little sense, the introduction does improve and some interesting and useful points are raised to make reading of the rest of the book a little easier.
Two points are raised continually throughout Tindall's reading of Finnegans Wake. The 1st relates to a specific reading of Vico's New Science. Tindall emphases the cyclic structure of Vico history moves in four phases the last of which is referred to a "ricorso" this phase marks the end of a progression and the cycle begins again. All four parts consist of one complete cycle and each part can be broken down into 4 chapters making a cycle within cycle. For the interested reader I never considered ricorso a significant part of Vico's theories and Tindall's point seems to imply that Joyce promotes the cyclic theory of history far beyond what Vico intended.
The second point raised relates to spellings. Tindall emphasises that words spelt backwards imply renewal i.e. a clue that a cycle is changing or that the concept of renewal is important within Finnegans Wake. Also note that numbers beginning and ending in 1 e.g. 101, 1001 are also taken as symbols of renewal by Tindall.
Its is for others to determine the correctness of Tindall's theories, I mention them here to demonstrate what Tindall brings to his reading of Finnegans Wake along with his other commentary that emphasis the intricate nature of Finnegans Wake itself.
Two points are raised continually throughout Tindall's reading of Finnegans Wake. The 1st relates to a specific reading of Vico's New Science. Tindall emphases the cyclic structure of Vico history moves in four phases the last of which is referred to a "ricorso" this phase marks the end of a progression and the cycle begins again. All four parts consist of one complete cycle and each part can be broken down into 4 chapters making a cycle within cycle. For the interested reader I never considered ricorso a significant part of Vico's theories and Tindall's point seems to imply that Joyce promotes the cyclic theory of history far beyond what Vico intended.
The second point raised relates to spellings. Tindall emphasises that words spelt backwards imply renewal i.e. a clue that a cycle is changing or that the concept of renewal is important within Finnegans Wake. Also note that numbers beginning and ending in 1 e.g. 101, 1001 are also taken as symbols of renewal by Tindall.
Its is for others to determine the correctness of Tindall's theories, I mention them here to demonstrate what Tindall brings to his reading of Finnegans Wake along with his other commentary that emphasis the intricate nature of Finnegans Wake itself.
6 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. The language brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, read DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, PARSIFAL MOSIAC
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
95 of 97 people found the following review helpful
An excellent invitation to the Wake.
13 Sep 1999
Format:Paperback
Probably the most commonly known modern FW guide, Tindall's book is intended to be a guide for the "average" reader. (It says something about Joyce scholarship that anyone who is reading Finnegans Wake can still be considered an "average" reader!) The basic structure of Tindall's guide is a "walk-through" of the text, with each chapter of the Wake getting its own personal excavation. Tindall sets down the basic "action" and "plot" of each chapter, especially calling attention to the symbolic nature of the "characters" and how certain themes tend to repeat, forming a network of structural motifs that give the book its overall shape. Tindall sees Joyce as a symbolist more than anything else, and he makes a case that FW is a cosmos in a book, a symbolic labyrinth that contains the whole world reflected in a vast and inexhaustible work of literature. Most of Tindall's explanations and interpretations are supported by frequent quotations from the text, many of which he takes the time to explicate and/or decompress. At the end of every chapter is a list of additional information, with a particular emphasis on reccurring themes. Tindall is very good at linking together key elements in the book, a task almost impossible for the first time reader. He is also very good at unpacking the dazzling levels of meaning Joyce packs into a single word. His sense of humor is quite enjoyable, and he's very gracious in crediting others -- especially his many students. On the negative side, his writing can be a bit brisk at times, and his style can feel choppy and disconnected. I often find myself wishing that he would spend a little more time supporting some of his comments -- some seem as if they were just tossed off the cuff, some periodically strike a false note, and a few even bear the faint aroma of academic BS. Still, this is an excellent guide for the beginning reader, and though a hard core Wakean may crave a deeper analysis, Tindall has some very illuminating views on the Wake to share. He also seems quite aware that some of his ideas are just conjecture, and he rarely proffers them as if they were the irrefutable truth. I get the impression Tindall would welcome anybody at his Wakean kaffeeklatsch, expert or neophyte alike.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Good starting place
23 Aug 2000
Format:Paperback
Tindell is one of the foremost Joyce critics and this in-depth analysis of FW is well worth the money. In the text the author discusses the historical, literary, and philosophical framework of FW while maintaining an less-than-monotonous tone. Any and all of Tindell's Joyce studies are recommended.
26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Great for the initiate
25 Jan 2000
Format:Paperback
This book meant a lot to me years ago when I first began reading "Finnegans Wake." I felt paralyzed before each new chapter of "FW" if I didn't read Tindall first. Now I just plough on through Joyce, and I haven't read Tindall in years, but it's still close to me heart. (Allen's review is on the money.) Also, check out Tindall's "A Reader's Guide to James Joyce."
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