There's nothing quite like ticking off a bucket list item, and today is the day, where Toby and TJ come to the end of the long reading road to finally finish Finnegans Wake. Before we get there, though, we have superstar guest Neil Wechsler to guide us through his favourite section of the book, along with passionate opinions on Hollywood hypocrisy, problematic shortcuts, and how the unique structure of the Wake is not a joke, nor a gimmick, but in fact proof that the human race is not entirely doomed. Joyce gives us an ending that's worth the wait, and feels well earned, as the pain of the cycle ends in a note of hope. We may have finished with the Wake, but we have a feeling it's not quite finished with us yet.
This week's readers: Neil Wechsler, Toby Malone, TJ Young
Progress: 628 pages complete, 0 pages to go; 100% read.
Contextual Notes
James Joyce Collection at the University at Buffalo: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/
The Wake at the UB collection: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/catalog/vi-finnegans-wake/
A proposed JJ museum through the Buffalo collection: https://library.buffalo.edu/jamesjoyce/pdf/james-joyce-museum.pdf
Joyce-again's wake: An analysis of Finnegans wake, Bernard Benstock: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/331509.Joyce_again_s_wake
A Reader's Guide to Finnegans Wake, William York Tindall: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59480.A_Reader_s_Guide_to_Finnegans_Wake
Jeffrey Jarome Cohen: Monster Culture: Seven Theses: https://ptfaculty.gordonstate.edu/rscoggins/Cohen,%20Monster%20Culture%20(Seven%20Theses),%203-20.pdf
Sorry Finn https://pure.royalholloway.ac.uk/en/persons/finn-fordham
Benstock, Bernard. Joyce Again’s Wake. https://www.loc.gov/item/65023908/
Neil Wechsler’s website: https://wechslerprojects.com/
Neil on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wechslerprojects/
Our favourite play, Grenadine: https://www.amazon.ca/Grenadine-Neil-Wechsler/dp/0300149921
Neil on New Play Exchange: https://newplayexchange.org/users/37010/neil-wechsler
For early drops, community and show notes, join us at our free Patreon, at patreon.com/wakepod, or check out our Linktree, at https://linktr.ee/wake.pod. We welcome comments from everyone: even, nay, especially, the dreaded purists. Come and "um actually" us!