First published in 1939 after more than seventeen years in the making, this extraordinary novel challenges conventional reading with its dream-like logic, linguistic inventiveness, and mythic scope. Set in a cyclical, shifting dreamscape, Finnegans Wake explores the lives, histories, and fantasies of the Earwicker family, blurring time, identity, and geography in a continuous stream of puns, portmanteau words, and multilingual wordplay. Drawing from mythology, history, philosophy, and popular culture, Joyce crafts a world where every sentence teems with layers of interpretation and every word invites deeper exploration.
Long considered one of the most challenging books ever written, Finnegans Wake remains a cornerstone of modernist literature and a monument to Joyce’s genius and ambition.