the language of dreams

in the past i have thought about trying to read all of the books on lists of great authors and poets. i mean, they must be called great for a reason, right? joyce, melville, tolstoy, dickens, austen, woolfe, bronte, steinbeck, and on and on. they've contributed in some great way to the collective mind. they have produced windows into the soul, and keys to the understanding of the human condition. they have captured dream and made it reality. so, in a humble attempt to experience some of this genius i bought "finnegan's wake" by james joyce nearly two years ago.

i actually happened upon the title while reading the first half of "fierce invalids home from hot climates" by tom robbins (which i did not end up finishing because i had to return it to the library - which i might add, is one of my favourite institutions). however, since i paid its leave from this quaint little used bookstore downtown, it has been sitting among my things, collecting dust. until last night.

i thought to myself that i needed a break from mendelian genetics and evolution, from panicking about organic chemistry and verbal reasoning, and from thinking about the consequences - one way or the other - of writing my test in june. so, i picked joyce up, and snuggled into a half seated-half fetal position on the couch and began my journey. i didn't go very far. unfortunately, i gave up.

now, to know me is to know that i am not easily deterred from seeing the end to something that i have begun. but, i honestly don't think that i could read that novel. james joyce has written it in what the commenters on the cover called a "dream language". some of his words are not words. many of them are sounds, or phonetically spelled versions of words. the most difficult part was the lack of complete thoughts in sentences. some of them began as though they had been started previously, and ended abruptly within a description. as much as i tried, i had absolutely no grasp of what was going on. at all.

so, i suppose i am apologizing to james joyce. i'm sorry that i wasn't able to read your novel. i'm sure it is a masterpiece. congratulations on your achievements.