FINNEGANS WAKE

FINNEGANS WAKE (1939). One reason why James Joyce ’s final book remains a monumental masterpiece is that its particular inventions have never been exceeded. Unlike journalism, which tries to render complex experience in the simplest possible form, the Wake tells a simple story in an exceedingly complex form. Its subject is familial conflict—among two brothers, a sister, and their two parents. Exploiting the techniques of literary Symbolism, Joyce portrays numerous conflicts taking the same…