Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) by John Bishop (PDF)

Description

“Joyce’s Book of the Dark gives us such a blend of exciting intelligence and impressive erudition that it will surely become established as one of the most fascinating and readable Finnegans Wake studies now available.”—Margot Norris, James Joyce Literary Supplement

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “Mr. Bishop has ventured on the process more boldly, more thoroughly, more imaginatively and more informedly than any of his predecessors. He makes the text comment on itself, as it was constructed to do; but, knowing the whole thing by heart (as I surmise), he is able to multiply a thousandfold the concords and discords of which a reader is aware, and to amplify them through an impressive array of theoretical circuitry.”—Robert M. Adams, New York Times Book Review “Bishop shows a masterful command of the text and its nuances; but of even greater importance is his sense of the comic flair and wit that so distinguishes this ‘funferall’; it is the mark of a true Joycean. Because of its freshness of approach and positive contribution, it belongs in all libraries housing even a preliminary Wake collection.”—Choice“Though it is well known that Joyce claimed that his intention in Finnegans Wake was to ‘reconstruct the nocturnal life,’ Bishop is the first scholar to see in this notion the key to Joyce’s wildly obscure masterpiece. His reading of Finnegans Wake as a night-book produces a new sense of the book’s form, shape, and structure. In his reading, Freud, Vico, and the Egyptian Book of the Dead take on new meaning, and his accounts of the geography and sexuality of the Wake are fascinating. Bishop brings a rare command of the text to his difficult enterprise, and the organization and prose are models of clarity. ‘You is feeling like you was lost in the bush, boy?’ Joyce’s Book of the Dark will help all serious readers of the Wake get their bearings.”—Keith Cushman, Library Journal About the Author John Bishop is associate professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This is in my opinion the best book I’ve ever read about Finnegans Wake. More generally, it’s one of the most fascinating interpretations of a work of art I’ve ever come across. I was so enamored with it I read it twice and then wrote up a long summary of it at my blog.Surely it’s the largest and most exciting critical treatment Joyce’s book has received thus far. It’s big, about the width of a coffee table book while running about 500 pages thick. There are anatomical diagrams, beautiful two-page spreads with branching etymological charts, and other illustrations. There’s a huge section of notes, many of which are extremely fascinating and could send you off on long tangential paths.Most importantly, Bishop displays a vast knowledge of the text as he delivers his unique thesis. He begins with the theory that underlying all of Finnegans Wake is one sleeping body, then builds up his argument over 12 chapters culminating in one of the most unique (and well-argued) ideas about the Wake you’ll ever find. It’s a tour de force, an intellectual thrillride that will not only change how one views FW but also the experience of sleep in general. That’s really what this entire book amounts to: it’s a study of what happens to us when we sleep.Bishop’s perspective is only one way of seeing the Wake, though. There are myriad angles to approach Joyce’s kaleidoscopic masterpiece. And while Bishop presents his view rigorously, he also leaves out discussing plenty of themes from the Wake. “Joyce’s Book of the Dark” is definitely NOT an introductory work nor is it a comprehensive guidebook for the Wake. He doesn’t cover the ancillary characters all that much, certainly doesn’t attempt to examine all of the Wake’s sections, and neglects to discuss elements of the book that may not fit with his theory (all of the Tristan and Isolde stuff, for instance). His prose can also be challenging to read because he frequently weaves together quotes from all over the Wake, making Bishop’s book about 30-40% direct Wake quotes.It’s not an EASY read but it’s sure as hell an enjoyable and enlightening one.The Wake deserves more books like this. For now, we can all settle for plumbing the depths of Bishop’s rich and illuminating study.

⭐I was acquainted with John Bishop’s work via several FW Groups online and to have his writing together in one volume is great; in fact, I’ve not completely read the entire book yet. It’s vast and real gift of resource and insight and I know I’ll be returning to it for decades to come. It is different than other FW reference material in that it has a very nice “flow” to it, in a way that’s somewhat less “academic,” stylistically. It’s a pleasure to read and Bishop has a great sense of humor, which is a nice plus!

⭐Beautiful graphs and illustrations in this work combine with interesting (if at times a little far-fetched) analysis, making for a fun guide to assist readers in making sense (more or maybe less) of Joyce’s night book.

⭐One of the best books on one of the most difficult and enriching books in the world.

⭐very scholarly but just what I was looking for. May take me awhile to slog through it.

⭐Helped me understand “The Wake”

⭐I was excited when I found a copy of John Bishop’s book Joyce’s Book of the Dark, Finnegans Wake because it is one of the most praised books about James Joyce’s final literary work. Furthermore, people I know and whose opinions I respect have praised Bishop’s book, sometimes exuberantly. I regret therefore that the time has come for me to write these few lines about Bishop’s book, which I do not find to be so praiseworthy.I was somewhere about half way through Bishop’s extraordinarily repetitious book when it occurred to me that part of the trouble I was having with it stems from the fact that it’s not written like a book. Reading Bishop isn’t a normal reading experience at all. Instead, Bishop’s book comes across as if you’re hearing an obsessive professor lecturing on Finnegans Wake, only he’s not really lecturing: mostly he’s riffing on Finnegans Wake, pontificating exactly the way you’d expect a professor lecturing about his favorite book at the front of the class to do. Recognizing this made my reading easier and more satisfying, but only a little bit.Bishop’s thesis is simple enough: he asks that we take James Joyce literally and view Finnegans Wake as an account of a person asleep. Bishop certainly gives us plenty of support for his case, although how odd it is to hear a professor of literature argue that fiction ― and in particular fiction written by James Joyce, of all people! ― should be read literally and not figuratively or metaphorically. Not that I find fault with Bishop’s thesis, but the argument is curious.(I don’t think Bishop’s interpretation of Finnegan’s Wake is the end-all, either. He puts forward a good case. Plenty of others can, and have, presented good cases, too. In the end, Bishop’s point of view is one point of view: no less, but no more.)Some passages in Bishop stand out for special interest, in my opinion. First among these is the chapter about the Egyptian book of the dead. The reader is able to learn a good deal here about Egyptology and how it applies to Finnegans Wake. This moment of clarity stands out in contrast against most of the rest of the book. When I read a book about James Joyce or his works, I do so because I’m interested in fresh insights into the man and his books that I haven’t had before. In Joyce’s Book of the Dark Bishop seldom illuminates Joyce or Finnegans Wake: he mostly pours more darkness on what is already an obscure subject. As a reader I have to wonder: Why am I reading this at all, if not for enlightenment but for only continuing endarkenent?Speaking for myself, the experience of struggling with Bishop’s book was a great, very long, tedious disappointment. Given the choice of hearing an enthusiast spend 479 pages raving about Finnegans Wake or reading 628 pages of Finnegans Wake itself, by myself, trying to work it out on my own, maybe bringing along a few boon companion authors who prefer to throw light on the subject, I’ll choose the latter approach.

⭐This is an interesting and informative book about what is arguably the most wilfully obscure book written in English. It is questionable as to whether any book can make Joyce’s book any less obscure, however, John Bishop himself does not always help. The thesis that Finnegans Wake is the book of the dark, i.e. the rules of language and orientation do not apply in the dark when we are asleep forms the basis of Bishops book, his position on Finnegans Wake being the book of the dark (opposed to Ulysses which is he book of the day) is taken far more seriously than say in Tindall’s Readers Guide To Finnegans Wake. The later gives an account of what is happening (sort of) in each chapter but the idea that Finnegans Wake reflects one man’s sleeping semi conscious does not come through and it lacks the focus to bring consistency and context to Finnegan wake in the way Bishop can with this book.The big problem I have with this book lies with the writing style of Bishop himself. There is a tendency in the early sections of the book (most noticeably the introduction) is a nasty habit of stringing odd words and phases of Finnegans Wake together with a few joining words. The result is not academic brilliance so much as it is incoherence. Also there are the odd references to Foucault and Derrida, not that this is inherently a bad thing, but as Bishop does not do much work with the concepts of Foucault and Derrida that he quotes it appears as nothing more than name dropping. Deluze is not mentioned by name, but the word immanence is used over and over and I can’t help but think that I have spotted all 3 of the cool French intellectuals to name drop.Bishop’s writing is at his best when he is writing about things he is not expert in. The sections on the Egyptian book of the dead and Vico’s New Science are well written and elucidate the relationship between these two works and Finnegans Wake. The account of the New Science runs contra to that of Tindall. Tindall emphasizes that Joyce put his own spin on the New Science, one where “ricorso” (a 4th phase within a cycle of history that marks a swift decline e.g. the fall of Egypt) plays a significant role. However, if you have read the New Science it will become apparent that any cyclic theory is not mention at all as Vico builds his argument for the “evolution” of society from savage irrational beginnings, and is only mentioned toward the very end of the book. It is a credit to Bishop that he engages with Vico and shows how Vico’s theories as they appear in the New Science relate to Finnegans Wake rather than misrepresenting the New Science to make it fit with Finnegans Wake.Is it possible to write a book to explain Finnegans Wake? Maybe. But if you’re tempted to write it, perhaps try wring and introduction that draws the reader in gently with biographical details of the book or what Joyce was attempting to achieve or why Joyce uses some many puns or words drawn from so many other languages and not something that could almost be designed to put off less determined readers.

Keywords

Free Download Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) in PDF format
Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) PDF Free Download
Download Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) 1993 PDF Free
Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) 1993 PDF Free Download
Download Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize) PDF
Free Download Ebook Joyce’s Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Volume 1) (Mark H Ingraham Prize)