More on Difficult Books
I was going to link to each article separately--and as a matter of record may do so--but in all fairness, I should send you to the delightful commentary of the Blogkeeper at Times Flow Stemmed who, while probably not intending to, expresses my mind on the matter well.
See there some interesting comments on reading Finnegans Wake. You hear a lot about the Wake from me, but you won't hear me telling others to pick it up and read it--not because it isn't worth it, nor because it is not good, but because it requires a certain mindset, a certain ability to let go of wanting to understand everything about it to read it successfully. To fully understand it, one would have to be be Joyce's Guardian Angel and Muse, because, like most authors, I suspect that his true comprehension of his own work was like the tip of an iceberg.
WSJ--Too complicated for words
Conversational Reading
See there some interesting comments on reading Finnegans Wake. You hear a lot about the Wake from me, but you won't hear me telling others to pick it up and read it--not because it isn't worth it, nor because it is not good, but because it requires a certain mindset, a certain ability to let go of wanting to understand everything about it to read it successfully. To fully understand it, one would have to be be Joyce's Guardian Angel and Muse, because, like most authors, I suspect that his true comprehension of his own work was like the tip of an iceberg.
WSJ--Too complicated for words
Conversational Reading
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