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Finnegans Wake
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Finnegans Wake Paperback - 1982

by James Joyce


About this book

Finnegans Wake is a work of comic fiction by Irish author James Joyce, significant for an experimental style and its resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of 17 years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's death, Finnegans Wake was Joyce's final work. -

From the publisher

Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is significant for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's death, Finnegans Wake was Joyce's final work. The entire book is written in a largely idiosyncratic language, consisting of a mixture of standard English lexical items and neologistic multilingual puns and portmanteau words, which many critics believe were attempts to recreate the experience of sleep and dreams. Owing to the work's expansive linguistic experiments, stream of consciousness writing style, literary allusions, free dream associations, and abandonment of narrative conventions, Finnegans Wake remains largely unread by the general public. Despite the obstacles, readers and commentators have reached a broad consensus about the book's central cast of characters and, to a lesser degree, its plot. However, a number of key details remain elusive. The book discusses, in an unorthodox fashion, the Earwicker family, comprising the father HCE, the mother ALP, and their three children Shem the Penman, Shaun the Postman, and Issy. Following an unspecified rumour about HCE, the book, in a nonlinear dream narrative, follows his wife's attempts to exonerate him with a letter, his sons' struggle to replace him, Shaun's rise to prominence, and a final monologue by ALP at the break of dawn. The opening line of the book is a sentence fragment which continues from the book's unfinished closing line, making the work a never-ending cycle. Many noted Joycean scholars such as Samuel Beckett and Donald Phillip Verene link this cyclical structure to Giambattista Vico's seminal text La Scienza Nuova ("The New Science"), upon which they argue Finnegans Wake is structured.

First Edition Identification

Faber and Faber in London and Viking Press in New York simultaneously published Finnegans Wake in May 1939. True first editions are bound in yellow cloth with a red spine. The novel was published with a limited print run of just 500 numbered copies signed by Joyce. First editions have sold for upwards of $20,000. 

Details

  • Title Finnegans Wake
  • Author James Joyce
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition First THUS
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Viking Books, New York
  • Date February 2, 1982
  • ISBN 9780670315383 / 0670315389
  • Weight 1120 lbs (508.02 kg)
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC
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Finnegans Wake
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Finnegans Wake

by Joyce, James

  • Used
  • Acceptable
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Acceptable
Binding
Paperback
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780670315383 / 0670315389
Quantity Available
1
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Seattle, Washington, United States
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This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
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Description:
Viking Books, 1982. Paperback. Acceptable. Former library book; Readable copy. Pages may have considerable notes/highlighting. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less.Ex-Library copy with typical library marks and stamps. Cover and binding are worn but intact. A reading copy in fair condition. Worn spots and creasing to cover boards. Wear to inside hinge. Dust jacket wrapped in protective sleeve. Secure packaging for safe delivery.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
Item Price
$34.00
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Finnegan's Wake
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

Finnegan's Wake

by James Joyce

  • Used
  • good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Hardcover
ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
9780670315383 / 0670315389
Quantity Available
1
Seller
Seattle, Washington, United States
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 4 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
$52.87
FREE shipping to USA

Show Details

Description:
Penguin Publishing Group, 1982. Hardcover. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. The dust jacket is missing. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.
Item Price
$52.87
FREE shipping to USA