This Naxos AudioBook is an abridged version, 19 Jun 2007
As is usual for Naxos, this Naxos AudioBook reading of 'Finnegan's Wake' is excellent value for money. Nevertheless, buyers should be aware that this is an abridged version of the book.

finnegans wake, 28 Jan 2007
some good reviews for this book, it does tend to provoke some strong reactions in its readers. joyce, a genius? an overbearing egotist? maybe both? a difficult question for some, but whatever, this book has caused a storm in the literary world since its publication. it is indeed difficult to read in the conventional sense, and in scope (through its often obscure allusions and language) is incredibly huge, covering ancient mythology, history, both of ireland and of the whole human race, language, christian theology etc etc, a mind bending project and probably as valuable as you care to make it. This text is definately demanding and requires a great deal of effort and concentration on the part of its readers, and while it is all too easy to give up on it as pompus intellectual showing off, or to try extremely hard to understand and master this book when you arent really gaining much from it, my advice would just to be honest and open minded, try it and see what you can learn from it (if anything). in my opinion joyce is an a grade 1st class superfunk human being, respect etc.

The Book of Books, 14 Mar 2006
People who don't like Finnegans Wake often feel obscurely resentful, and can't believe that anyone else genuinely does like it. I firmly believe that you can't persuade anyone to like anything, so I'm not going to argue with anyone who thinks that I'm fooling myself, or trying to show off. Saying you like Finnegans Wake is in any case a bit like saying you like Arnold Schoenberg's music; most people won't know what you're talking about, and most of the rest won't believe you and think you're pretentious anyway, so the moral is, there's very little kudos in saying that you _do_ like the damn book.

It's just the ultimate novel. All novels, even the simplest, have various layers of allusion or symbolism going on; this one just has more. All novels are written with some kind of self-conscious style; this is the most stylish. All novels are structured one way or the other; this is uber-structured. I've often thought that Finnegans Wake is in many ways a precursor of HTML. Some genius should do an online version of it. Practically every word would be a hyperlink, leading to a page or so of annotation (Roland McHugh's book 'Annotations to Finnegans Wake' is the most ambitious print venture of that sort, but with the novel itself you get the most alarming sense that the layers go on forever...)

Every novel is difficult if you've never read novels before. If you've only read trash, then even a middling good novel is tough going; the writer demands more of the reader. James Joyce merely wants you to spend the rest of your life reading this book. Personally I think that's one of his better jokes. To go back to Schoenberg again (yeah, I know it's not exactly enticing to compare Joyce to Schoenberg, but bear with me), the essential thing is that there's just more going on here; Schoenberg has a million tunes going on at once, Joyce has a million linguistic things going on at once. I don't call that "having a shoddy grip on his talent", I call that generosity.

After trying to work out why people resent this book so much, I've come to believe that some people hate to think that there's anyone out there who's effortlessly smarter than they are. I, for one, am happy to accept that Joyce can just write anyone else off the planet.

Personally, I believe that the book becomes a lot more realistic if you read it with an Irish accent in your head. But try it and see. Nobody will seriously believe that you're reading it, so what have you got to lose?

Leave all inhibitions and prejudices at the entrance, please, 08 Oct 2005
Before you read this, forget absolutely everything anybody has ever told you or anything you have ever read previously about the book. Perhaps even the very review you are reading right now. I've read something a guy wrote here about Joyce not being an intellectual - wrong. He was, in my opinion, of a mammoth intelligence quite difficult to comprehend. Everything he published was a masterpiece, though I think we all know that deep down. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy his work, but it helps.
The beauty of Joyce's art was his ability to craft literature that was representive of all existence as we know it by using symbolisation and observant detail into ordinary happenings. His work was never based around conventional plots. Ullyses was a close detail of two character's thoughts and actions in the space of one day, yet it symbolised more than any other novel ever written before or after... with the exception of Finnegans Wake.
The impression I've got from the majority of Joyce's critics with negative reactions is fear. The fear of misunderstanding. They fear they are, for some reason, unable to comprehend these works like others can, and so they slander it and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. No one can understand Joyce's works (he himself was the only one who could truly do so), the most they can do is form a personal interpretation. That is all these endlessly open texts demand of their readers. Some might prefer their meanings written in stone. If so, Joyce is not the author for you. That's something I've never understood - you don't like Joyce, so what? Joyce appeals to readers in search of something more mysterious, something to dig into, something to live in. Those looking for a summer-holiday paperback may look elsewhere.
Finnegans Wake has no beginning or no end. It does not grip the reader, the reader must grip it. There are over a thousand ways to enjoy this book. Some may find it lyrically beautiful, some may find it amazingly detailed and complex, some may find it hilariously witty, some may find it a maze of subtle delights in which they can seek and find, and so on. I enjoy it in all of the above ways. Seeing as Joyce spent sixteen years writing it, there's obviously a lot of depth and meaning to it, but it is hidden in layers of linguistic prowess. It is a history of the universe in the language of dreams. It is completely still and timeless, open to observation, but never changing. There is no limit to it's possibilities, no definition of its nature. There is no right or wrong way to interpret it. Study it, any way you wish, and it is yours for as long as you live.
So, if my description enthralls you to read this masterpiece in any way, I recommend you should. If you find what I have written to be an overwhelming piece of pompous trash, stick to your Dan Brown paperbacks. No offence intended - it's just not for the casual reader. So, in hope that you are of the former, I ask you to completely forget everything, like I said at the start, and buy the book, open a page and allow your mind to grip its words within itself and explore its vast and bottomless planes.

Intriguing, 22 Jan 2005
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. James Joyce stretched the language and brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, I recommend the works of Janvier Tisi. DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is lovely

This Naxos AudioBook is an abridged version, 19 Jun 2007
As is usual for Naxos, this Naxos AudioBook reading of 'Finnegan's Wake' is excellent value for money. Nevertheless, buyers should be aware that this is an abridged version of the book.

finnegans wake, 28 Jan 2007
some good reviews for this book, it does tend to provoke some strong reactions in its readers. joyce, a genius? an overbearing egotist? maybe both? a difficult question for some, but whatever, this book has caused a storm in the literary world since its publication. it is indeed difficult to read in the conventional sense, and in scope (through its often obscure allusions and language) is incredibly huge, covering ancient mythology, history, both of ireland and of the whole human race, language, christian theology etc etc, a mind bending project and probably as valuable as you care to make it. This text is definately demanding and requires a great deal of effort and concentration on the part of its readers, and while it is all too easy to give up on it as pompus intellectual showing off, or to try extremely hard to understand and master this book when you arent really gaining much from it, my advice would just to be honest and open minded, try it and see what you can learn from it (if anything). in my opinion joyce is an a grade 1st class superfunk human being, respect etc.

The Book of Books, 14 Mar 2006
People who don't like Finnegans Wake often feel obscurely resentful, and can't believe that anyone else genuinely does like it. I firmly believe that you can't persuade anyone to like anything, so I'm not going to argue with anyone who thinks that I'm fooling myself, or trying to show off. Saying you like Finnegans Wake is in any case a bit like saying you like Arnold Schoenberg's music; most people won't know what you're talking about, and most of the rest won't believe you and think you're pretentious anyway, so the moral is, there's very little kudos in saying that you _do_ like the damn book.

It's just the ultimate novel. All novels, even the simplest, have various layers of allusion or symbolism going on; this one just has more. All novels are written with some kind of self-conscious style; this is the most stylish. All novels are structured one way or the other; this is uber-structured. I've often thought that Finnegans Wake is in many ways a precursor of HTML. Some genius should do an online version of it. Practically every word would be a hyperlink, leading to a page or so of annotation (Roland McHugh's book 'Annotations to Finnegans Wake' is the most ambitious print venture of that sort, but with the novel itself you get the most alarming sense that the layers go on forever...)

Every novel is difficult if you've never read novels before. If you've only read trash, then even a middling good novel is tough going; the writer demands more of the reader. James Joyce merely wants you to spend the rest of your life reading this book. Personally I think that's one of his better jokes. To go back to Schoenberg again (yeah, I know it's not exactly enticing to compare Joyce to Schoenberg, but bear with me), the essential thing is that there's just more going on here; Schoenberg has a million tunes going on at once, Joyce has a million linguistic things going on at once. I don't call that "having a shoddy grip on his talent", I call that generosity.

After trying to work out why people resent this book so much, I've come to believe that some people hate to think that there's anyone out there who's effortlessly smarter than they are. I, for one, am happy to accept that Joyce can just write anyone else off the planet.

Personally, I believe that the book becomes a lot more realistic if you read it with an Irish accent in your head. But try it and see. Nobody will seriously believe that you're reading it, so what have you got to lose?

Leave all inhibitions and prejudices at the entrance, please, 08 Oct 2005
Before you read this, forget absolutely everything anybody has ever told you or anything you have ever read previously about the book. Perhaps even the very review you are reading right now. I've read something a guy wrote here about Joyce not being an intellectual - wrong. He was, in my opinion, of a mammoth intelligence quite difficult to comprehend. Everything he published was a masterpiece, though I think we all know that deep down. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy his work, but it helps.
The beauty of Joyce's art was his ability to craft literature that was representive of all existence as we know it by using symbolisation and observant detail into ordinary happenings. His work was never based around conventional plots. Ullyses was a close detail of two character's thoughts and actions in the space of one day, yet it symbolised more than any other novel ever written before or after... with the exception of Finnegans Wake.
The impression I've got from the majority of Joyce's critics with negative reactions is fear. The fear of misunderstanding. They fear they are, for some reason, unable to comprehend these works like others can, and so they slander it and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. No one can understand Joyce's works (he himself was the only one who could truly do so), the most they can do is form a personal interpretation. That is all these endlessly open texts demand of their readers. Some might prefer their meanings written in stone. If so, Joyce is not the author for you. That's something I've never understood - you don't like Joyce, so what? Joyce appeals to readers in search of something more mysterious, something to dig into, something to live in. Those looking for a summer-holiday paperback may look elsewhere.
Finnegans Wake has no beginning or no end. It does not grip the reader, the reader must grip it. There are over a thousand ways to enjoy this book. Some may find it lyrically beautiful, some may find it amazingly detailed and complex, some may find it hilariously witty, some may find it a maze of subtle delights in which they can seek and find, and so on. I enjoy it in all of the above ways. Seeing as Joyce spent sixteen years writing it, there's obviously a lot of depth and meaning to it, but it is hidden in layers of linguistic prowess. It is a history of the universe in the language of dreams. It is completely still and timeless, open to observation, but never changing. There is no limit to it's possibilities, no definition of its nature. There is no right or wrong way to interpret it. Study it, any way you wish, and it is yours for as long as you live.
So, if my description enthralls you to read this masterpiece in any way, I recommend you should. If you find what I have written to be an overwhelming piece of pompous trash, stick to your Dan Brown paperbacks. No offence intended - it's just not for the casual reader. So, in hope that you are of the former, I ask you to completely forget everything, like I said at the start, and buy the book, open a page and allow your mind to grip its words within itself and explore its vast and bottomless planes.

Intriguing, 22 Jan 2005
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. James Joyce stretched the language and brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, I recommend the works of Janvier Tisi. DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is lovely

Works best as a sedative, 30 Dec 2006
This book brings new meaning to the word 'boring'. The first chapter is reasonable, which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1, and this lulled me into a false sense of security. It rapidly decends into endless dull rambles that make little sense, and if you are going to read it, you really need detailed knowledge of Irish history and the religious troubles. I found I had to constantly flick to the back of the book to read the footnote that explained an obscure reference, and that quickly became very irritating. It annoys me that this is viewed as a classic, the writing is incredibly self-conscious and I can't imagine enjoying this dull, pretentious novel. It is one of those books that people feel they ought to like, but if you don't like suffering, then avoid.

..(from) THE DEPTHS, 16 Sep 2003
"A Portrait..", written with such creative wise insight, unfolds an extrordinary mind through its inner voice,
and lets the reader sense its overwhelming life-flow from cradle through the "unshackeling" towards freedom.
Reading this masterpiece, moving through ideas in literature,poetry,phylosophy,politics;
encountering situations,sights&sounds,thoughts&feelings through the books unique language, is both a beautiful & a thought-provoking journey.
This book i recommend to any reader who's curious to step beyond, read deeper, & find inspiration
--a personal favorite..enjoy.

Gloomy, harsh and quite soulless, 31 Jan 2003
Joyce's POTAYM is dominated by Catholicism which seeps from almost every aspect of his writing. Unfortunately this can be almost a turn off for anyone attempting to read Joyce who isn't an Irish Catholic as the preoccupation with Church dogma and paraphernalia can be overbearing.
POTAYM also suffers from the narrator being unlovable. The stream of conscious format (a headache and a waste of space at the best of times) can become almost insufferable in places and feels like a cheaper alternative to a real narrative or dialogue. Added to this is the sense of a dark, cold atmosphere that makes the novel wholly unwelcoming.
Joyce does save the book from being entirely bleak and unreadable by studying some interesting themes such as sexual sin and corporal punishment. However for a truly moving memoir of boarding school Roald Dahl's Boy is by far superior in nostalgia and atmosphere.
My lasting impression of POTAYM is one of uninterest- it seemed too dull, bitter and long winded to justify its themes if slightly more accessible than Dubliners and far more mainstream than the rest of Joyce's work. I would not recommend this unless you have prior interest in Irish Catholicism and education circa 1900

A thoughtful and brilliant book!, 07 Jan 2002
I can't believe that no one has taken the time to write a review for this book. The reason? Possibly the overexaggerated appeal of Ulysses. As a young man myself I found his experiences of childhood and of Ireland poignant and thoughtful. Everyone should read this book to see just how well he got inside the mind of himself (for it is surely autobiographical) as a child and presented it in such a way that makes it a believable and brilliant novel. This book should be read and re-read!

This Naxos AudioBook is an abridged version, 19 Jun 2007
As is usual for Naxos, this Naxos AudioBook reading of 'Finnegan's Wake' is excellent value for money. Nevertheless, buyers should be aware that this is an abridged version of the book.

finnegans wake, 28 Jan 2007
some good reviews for this book, it does tend to provoke some strong reactions in its readers. joyce, a genius? an overbearing egotist? maybe both? a difficult question for some, but whatever, this book has caused a storm in the literary world since its publication. it is indeed difficult to read in the conventional sense, and in scope (through its often obscure allusions and language) is incredibly huge, covering ancient mythology, history, both of ireland and of the whole human race, language, christian theology etc etc, a mind bending project and probably as valuable as you care to make it. This text is definately demanding and requires a great deal of effort and concentration on the part of its readers, and while it is all too easy to give up on it as pompus intellectual showing off, or to try extremely hard to understand and master this book when you arent really gaining much from it, my advice would just to be honest and open minded, try it and see what you can learn from it (if anything). in my opinion joyce is an a grade 1st class superfunk human being, respect etc.

The Book of Books, 14 Mar 2006
People who don't like Finnegans Wake often feel obscurely resentful, and can't believe that anyone else genuinely does like it. I firmly believe that you can't persuade anyone to like anything, so I'm not going to argue with anyone who thinks that I'm fooling myself, or trying to show off. Saying you like Finnegans Wake is in any case a bit like saying you like Arnold Schoenberg's music; most people won't know what you're talking about, and most of the rest won't believe you and think you're pretentious anyway, so the moral is, there's very little kudos in saying that you _do_ like the damn book.

It's just the ultimate novel. All novels, even the simplest, have various layers of allusion or symbolism going on; this one just has more. All novels are written with some kind of self-conscious style; this is the most stylish. All novels are structured one way or the other; this is uber-structured. I've often thought that Finnegans Wake is in many ways a precursor of HTML. Some genius should do an online version of it. Practically every word would be a hyperlink, leading to a page or so of annotation (Roland McHugh's book 'Annotations to Finnegans Wake' is the most ambitious print venture of that sort, but with the novel itself you get the most alarming sense that the layers go on forever...)

Every novel is difficult if you've never read novels before. If you've only read trash, then even a middling good novel is tough going; the writer demands more of the reader. James Joyce merely wants you to spend the rest of your life reading this book. Personally I think that's one of his better jokes. To go back to Schoenberg again (yeah, I know it's not exactly enticing to compare Joyce to Schoenberg, but bear with me), the essential thing is that there's just more going on here; Schoenberg has a million tunes going on at once, Joyce has a million linguistic things going on at once. I don't call that "having a shoddy grip on his talent", I call that generosity.

After trying to work out why people resent this book so much, I've come to believe that some people hate to think that there's anyone out there who's effortlessly smarter than they are. I, for one, am happy to accept that Joyce can just write anyone else off the planet.

Personally, I believe that the book becomes a lot more realistic if you read it with an Irish accent in your head. But try it and see. Nobody will seriously believe that you're reading it, so what have you got to lose?

Leave all inhibitions and prejudices at the entrance, please, 08 Oct 2005
Before you read this, forget absolutely everything anybody has ever told you or anything you have ever read previously about the book. Perhaps even the very review you are reading right now. I've read something a guy wrote here about Joyce not being an intellectual - wrong. He was, in my opinion, of a mammoth intelligence quite difficult to comprehend. Everything he published was a masterpiece, though I think we all know that deep down. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy his work, but it helps.
The beauty of Joyce's art was his ability to craft literature that was representive of all existence as we know it by using symbolisation and observant detail into ordinary happenings. His work was never based around conventional plots. Ullyses was a close detail of two character's thoughts and actions in the space of one day, yet it symbolised more than any other novel ever written before or after... with the exception of Finnegans Wake.
The impression I've got from the majority of Joyce's critics with negative reactions is fear. The fear of misunderstanding. They fear they are, for some reason, unable to comprehend these works like others can, and so they slander it and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. No one can understand Joyce's works (he himself was the only one who could truly do so), the most they can do is form a personal interpretation. That is all these endlessly open texts demand of their readers. Some might prefer their meanings written in stone. If so, Joyce is not the author for you. That's something I've never understood - you don't like Joyce, so what? Joyce appeals to readers in search of something more mysterious, something to dig into, something to live in. Those looking for a summer-holiday paperback may look elsewhere.
Finnegans Wake has no beginning or no end. It does not grip the reader, the reader must grip it. There are over a thousand ways to enjoy this book. Some may find it lyrically beautiful, some may find it amazingly detailed and complex, some may find it hilariously witty, some may find it a maze of subtle delights in which they can seek and find, and so on. I enjoy it in all of the above ways. Seeing as Joyce spent sixteen years writing it, there's obviously a lot of depth and meaning to it, but it is hidden in layers of linguistic prowess. It is a history of the universe in the language of dreams. It is completely still and timeless, open to observation, but never changing. There is no limit to it's possibilities, no definition of its nature. There is no right or wrong way to interpret it. Study it, any way you wish, and it is yours for as long as you live.
So, if my description enthralls you to read this masterpiece in any way, I recommend you should. If you find what I have written to be an overwhelming piece of pompous trash, stick to your Dan Brown paperbacks. No offence intended - it's just not for the casual reader. So, in hope that you are of the former, I ask you to completely forget everything, like I said at the start, and buy the book, open a page and allow your mind to grip its words within itself and explore its vast and bottomless planes.

Intriguing, 22 Jan 2005
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. James Joyce stretched the language and brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, I recommend the works of Janvier Tisi. DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is lovely

Works best as a sedative, 30 Dec 2006
This book brings new meaning to the word 'boring'. The first chapter is reasonable, which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1, and this lulled me into a false sense of security. It rapidly decends into endless dull rambles that make little sense, and if you are going to read it, you really need detailed knowledge of Irish history and the religious troubles. I found I had to constantly flick to the back of the book to read the footnote that explained an obscure reference, and that quickly became very irritating. It annoys me that this is viewed as a classic, the writing is incredibly self-conscious and I can't imagine enjoying this dull, pretentious novel. It is one of those books that people feel they ought to like, but if you don't like suffering, then avoid.

..(from) THE DEPTHS, 16 Sep 2003
"A Portrait..", written with such creative wise insight, unfolds an extrordinary mind through its inner voice,
and lets the reader sense its overwhelming life-flow from cradle through the "unshackeling" towards freedom.
Reading this masterpiece, moving through ideas in literature,poetry,phylosophy,politics;
encountering situations,sights&sounds,thoughts&feelings through the books unique language, is both a beautiful & a thought-provoking journey.
This book i recommend to any reader who's curious to step beyond, read deeper, & find inspiration
--a personal favorite..enjoy.

Gloomy, harsh and quite soulless, 31 Jan 2003
Joyce's POTAYM is dominated by Catholicism which seeps from almost every aspect of his writing. Unfortunately this can be almost a turn off for anyone attempting to read Joyce who isn't an Irish Catholic as the preoccupation with Church dogma and paraphernalia can be overbearing.
POTAYM also suffers from the narrator being unlovable. The stream of conscious format (a headache and a waste of space at the best of times) can become almost insufferable in places and feels like a cheaper alternative to a real narrative or dialogue. Added to this is the sense of a dark, cold atmosphere that makes the novel wholly unwelcoming.
Joyce does save the book from being entirely bleak and unreadable by studying some interesting themes such as sexual sin and corporal punishment. However for a truly moving memoir of boarding school Roald Dahl's Boy is by far superior in nostalgia and atmosphere.
My lasting impression of POTAYM is one of uninterest- it seemed too dull, bitter and long winded to justify its themes if slightly more accessible than Dubliners and far more mainstream than the rest of Joyce's work. I would not recommend this unless you have prior interest in Irish Catholicism and education circa 1900

A thoughtful and brilliant book!, 07 Jan 2002
I can't believe that no one has taken the time to write a review for this book. The reason? Possibly the overexaggerated appeal of Ulysses. As a young man myself I found his experiences of childhood and of Ireland poignant and thoughtful. Everyone should read this book to see just how well he got inside the mind of himself (for it is surely autobiographical) as a child and presented it in such a way that makes it a believable and brilliant novel. This book should be read and re-read!

Brian Friel is one of the best contemporary authors, read it, 26 Mar 2001
There is no play by Friel better than The Freedom of the City. This play conjures the events of Bloody Sunday. Full of themes to explore and sensitivity, it is one of the best plays I have every read.

The Derry of poet Seamus Deane's first novel, Reading in the Dark is a perilous place. Ghosts haunt the stairwells of apartment buildings, a curse follows two families down through the generations, close friends turn out to be police informers and the police are as likely to persecute an innocent man as protect him. And hovering over all the violence, poverty and despair of 1940s Northern Ireland is the spectre of the "Troubles". The hero of the novel is an unnamed young man whose life turns upside down when a policeman frames him. Deception becomes his only means of self-defence. But the initial lie on the part of the policeman and the narrator's corresponding trickery are only part of the tangled web Deane weaves here. Early in the novel we learn that Uncle Eddie, an Irish Republican Army gunman, was blown up in the town distillery in 1922. In addition to sorting out his own problems, the narrator seeks the truth about his uncle's death.

Reading in the Dark sounds grim, and in some respects it is, yet leavening is provided by infusions of the Irish folktales and legends that inform the characters' daily life. And then there is the language. Deane is a poet, and his prose shows it: sex is like fire, "glinting with greed and danger"; ice snores and candles are swathed in a "thick drapery of wax". Readers looking for a thoughtful, serious and beautifully written novel will find one in Reading in the Dark.

This Naxos AudioBook is an abridged version, 19 Jun 2007
As is usual for Naxos, this Naxos AudioBook reading of 'Finnegan's Wake' is excellent value for money. Nevertheless, buyers should be aware that this is an abridged version of the book.

finnegans wake, 28 Jan 2007
some good reviews for this book, it does tend to provoke some strong reactions in its readers. joyce, a genius? an overbearing egotist? maybe both? a difficult question for some, but whatever, this book has caused a storm in the literary world since its publication. it is indeed difficult to read in the conventional sense, and in scope (through its often obscure allusions and language) is incredibly huge, covering ancient mythology, history, both of ireland and of the whole human race, language, christian theology etc etc, a mind bending project and probably as valuable as you care to make it. This text is definately demanding and requires a great deal of effort and concentration on the part of its readers, and while it is all too easy to give up on it as pompus intellectual showing off, or to try extremely hard to understand and master this book when you arent really gaining much from it, my advice would just to be honest and open minded, try it and see what you can learn from it (if anything). in my opinion joyce is an a grade 1st class superfunk human being, respect etc.

The Book of Books, 14 Mar 2006
People who don't like Finnegans Wake often feel obscurely resentful, and can't believe that anyone else genuinely does like it. I firmly believe that you can't persuade anyone to like anything, so I'm not going to argue with anyone who thinks that I'm fooling myself, or trying to show off. Saying you like Finnegans Wake is in any case a bit like saying you like Arnold Schoenberg's music; most people won't know what you're talking about, and most of the rest won't believe you and think you're pretentious anyway, so the moral is, there's very little kudos in saying that you _do_ like the damn book.

It's just the ultimate novel. All novels, even the simplest, have various layers of allusion or symbolism going on; this one just has more. All novels are written with some kind of self-conscious style; this is the most stylish. All novels are structured one way or the other; this is uber-structured. I've often thought that Finnegans Wake is in many ways a precursor of HTML. Some genius should do an online version of it. Practically every word would be a hyperlink, leading to a page or so of annotation (Roland McHugh's book 'Annotations to Finnegans Wake' is the most ambitious print venture of that sort, but with the novel itself you get the most alarming sense that the layers go on forever...)

Every novel is difficult if you've never read novels before. If you've only read trash, then even a middling good novel is tough going; the writer demands more of the reader. James Joyce merely wants you to spend the rest of your life reading this book. Personally I think that's one of his better jokes. To go back to Schoenberg again (yeah, I know it's not exactly enticing to compare Joyce to Schoenberg, but bear with me), the essential thing is that there's just more going on here; Schoenberg has a million tunes going on at once, Joyce has a million linguistic things going on at once. I don't call that "having a shoddy grip on his talent", I call that generosity.

After trying to work out why people resent this book so much, I've come to believe that some people hate to think that there's anyone out there who's effortlessly smarter than they are. I, for one, am happy to accept that Joyce can just write anyone else off the planet.

Personally, I believe that the book becomes a lot more realistic if you read it with an Irish accent in your head. But try it and see. Nobody will seriously believe that you're reading it, so what have you got to lose?

Leave all inhibitions and prejudices at the entrance, please, 08 Oct 2005
Before you read this, forget absolutely everything anybody has ever told you or anything you have ever read previously about the book. Perhaps even the very review you are reading right now. I've read something a guy wrote here about Joyce not being an intellectual - wrong. He was, in my opinion, of a mammoth intelligence quite difficult to comprehend. Everything he published was a masterpiece, though I think we all know that deep down. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy his work, but it helps.
The beauty of Joyce's art was his ability to craft literature that was representive of all existence as we know it by using symbolisation and observant detail into ordinary happenings. His work was never based around conventional plots. Ullyses was a close detail of two character's thoughts and actions in the space of one day, yet it symbolised more than any other novel ever written before or after... with the exception of Finnegans Wake.
The impression I've got from the majority of Joyce's critics with negative reactions is fear. The fear of misunderstanding. They fear they are, for some reason, unable to comprehend these works like others can, and so they slander it and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. No one can understand Joyce's works (he himself was the only one who could truly do so), the most they can do is form a personal interpretation. That is all these endlessly open texts demand of their readers. Some might prefer their meanings written in stone. If so, Joyce is not the author for you. That's something I've never understood - you don't like Joyce, so what? Joyce appeals to readers in search of something more mysterious, something to dig into, something to live in. Those looking for a summer-holiday paperback may look elsewhere.
Finnegans Wake has no beginning or no end. It does not grip the reader, the reader must grip it. There are over a thousand ways to enjoy this book. Some may find it lyrically beautiful, some may find it amazingly detailed and complex, some may find it hilariously witty, some may find it a maze of subtle delights in which they can seek and find, and so on. I enjoy it in all of the above ways. Seeing as Joyce spent sixteen years writing it, there's obviously a lot of depth and meaning to it, but it is hidden in layers of linguistic prowess. It is a history of the universe in the language of dreams. It is completely still and timeless, open to observation, but never changing. There is no limit to it's possibilities, no definition of its nature. There is no right or wrong way to interpret it. Study it, any way you wish, and it is yours for as long as you live.
So, if my description enthralls you to read this masterpiece in any way, I recommend you should. If you find what I have written to be an overwhelming piece of pompous trash, stick to your Dan Brown paperbacks. No offence intended - it's just not for the casual reader. So, in hope that you are of the former, I ask you to completely forget everything, like I said at the start, and buy the book, open a page and allow your mind to grip its words within itself and explore its vast and bottomless planes.

Intriguing, 22 Jan 2005
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. James Joyce stretched the language and brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, I recommend the works of Janvier Tisi. DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is lovely

Works best as a sedative, 30 Dec 2006
This book brings new meaning to the word 'boring'. The first chapter is reasonable, which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1, and this lulled me into a false sense of security. It rapidly decends into endless dull rambles that make little sense, and if you are going to read it, you really need detailed knowledge of Irish history and the religious troubles. I found I had to constantly flick to the back of the book to read the footnote that explained an obscure reference, and that quickly became very irritating. It annoys me that this is viewed as a classic, the writing is incredibly self-conscious and I can't imagine enjoying this dull, pretentious novel. It is one of those books that people feel they ought to like, but if you don't like suffering, then avoid.

..(from) THE DEPTHS, 16 Sep 2003
"A Portrait..", written with such creative wise insight, unfolds an extrordinary mind through its inner voice,
and lets the reader sense its overwhelming life-flow from cradle through the "unshackeling" towards freedom.
Reading this masterpiece, moving through ideas in literature,poetry,phylosophy,politics;
encountering situations,sights&sounds,thoughts&feelings through the books unique language, is both a beautiful & a thought-provoking journey.
This book i recommend to any reader who's curious to step beyond, read deeper, & find inspiration
--a personal favorite..enjoy.

Gloomy, harsh and quite soulless, 31 Jan 2003
Joyce's POTAYM is dominated by Catholicism which seeps from almost every aspect of his writing. Unfortunately this can be almost a turn off for anyone attempting to read Joyce who isn't an Irish Catholic as the preoccupation with Church dogma and paraphernalia can be overbearing.
POTAYM also suffers from the narrator being unlovable. The stream of conscious format (a headache and a waste of space at the best of times) can become almost insufferable in places and feels like a cheaper alternative to a real narrative or dialogue. Added to this is the sense of a dark, cold atmosphere that makes the novel wholly unwelcoming.
Joyce does save the book from being entirely bleak and unreadable by studying some interesting themes such as sexual sin and corporal punishment. However for a truly moving memoir of boarding school Roald Dahl's Boy is by far superior in nostalgia and atmosphere.
My lasting impression of POTAYM is one of uninterest- it seemed too dull, bitter and long winded to justify its themes if slightly more accessible than Dubliners and far more mainstream than the rest of Joyce's work. I would not recommend this unless you have prior interest in Irish Catholicism and education circa 1900

A thoughtful and brilliant book!, 07 Jan 2002
I can't believe that no one has taken the time to write a review for this book. The reason? Possibly the overexaggerated appeal of Ulysses. As a young man myself I found his experiences of childhood and of Ireland poignant and thoughtful. Everyone should read this book to see just how well he got inside the mind of himself (for it is surely autobiographical) as a child and presented it in such a way that makes it a believable and brilliant novel. This book should be read and re-read!

Brian Friel is one of the best contemporary authors, read it, 26 Mar 2001
There is no play by Friel better than The Freedom of the City. This play conjures the events of Bloody Sunday. Full of themes to explore and sensitivity, it is one of the best plays I have every read.

Haunting..in every sense, 15 May 2003
It's quite a while since I read this book and it still haunts my thoughts and dreams. A book that gives the average Brit some idea what it's like to live on the edge of war and peace, one community and another, the industrial and the agricultural economy, and the physical and the ghost or paranormal world.

Quite beautiful, and at the same time seriously disturbing.

Thank you Mr Deane.

A joy, 24 Oct 2001
According to my lecturer, this is a Bildungsroman - a novel that paints a picture of the protagonist's development. Well, lecturers can call it whatever they want, I'll just call it a must-read. I'm someone who has little interest in Irish affairs, less interest in Irish history and even less interest in the IRA. However, this novel features all three, and I could hardly recommend it more.

It starts slowly, shortly after the war, in which we get brief glimpses of the unnamed narrator's world, stooped in the innocence and naivety of youth. In fact, it carries on much like this for about a third of the book, but whilst in the hands of lesser writers it would be a laborious struggle, this third flies by. Deane knows how to touch our hearts but also engage and intrigue our minds.

A mystery slowly unfolds throughout the book, full of secrets, lies, betrayals and family myths. But this is not melodrama, though it would be difficult to describe it further without making it sound like an episode of Eastenders. Deane's story gripped me, and I could easily drown in his beautiful, lucid prose.

If only more university set texts could be like this...

A Brave New Ireland, 01 Mar 2001
Reading in the Dark might merely have been one more "miserable Irish childhood" story, sandwiched between Angela's Ashes and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and dismissed. Seamus Deane's unnamed boy author -- nameless, it seems, because his world can't be bothered to notice him -- fits squarely between Frank McCourt and Paddy Clarke in era and in social class. He does not suffer Frank's horrific poverty, nor does he own the books that he reads, as Paddy does. The boy's life in a large working-class Catholic family, with its minimal adult supervision, at least one parent who cannot cope, cruel priests for teachers, and the necessary string of funerals, initially seems to be heading down the literary path to deja-vu.

Seamus Deane, born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1940, and now a professor at the University of Notre Dame, rescues his first novel from this downward spiral with his ability to transform stereotypical storylines into shattering new tales. Deane masterfully subverts the IRA theme of glory and honour; of fighting and dying for Ireland. He gives us the story of the narrator's Uncle Eddie, introduced as an IRA hero who either escaped from or was killed in a shoot-out with Protestant policemen, but who has not been seen or heard from since.

Deane plays with this contrived, glorious IRA getaway story, tempting the reader to take the anecdote at face value, to romanticize Eddie as a hero. He then inserts a twist -- we learn that Eddie does not have a hero's reputation outside of his family, but is seen as a police informer, a "stooly," by the Catholic community. This reputation stains Eddie's entire family, including the nephew that he never met. The boy is ostracized by his community when, about to be beaten by a gang of boys, he throws a stone at a passing police car in an attempt to escape.

"Once and informer, always an informer," the Protestant policemen sneer.

"F----- stooly," shout his friends.

"Is there something amiss with you?" his father asks.

Deane's layered treatment of conflict is gripping. Hiding beneath each layer -- political, religious, familial, and parent-child -- is a secret, founded partly in myth, partly in history, and considered sacred by the novel's adults. Deane turns the centrality of myth and history in Irish society from a charming tale, as it is most often seen, to a source of great turmoil for a young boy.

The narrator, skeptical of the myths that he is bombarded with, and determined to uncover the truth about his family and world, asks questions in a society in which blind faith is required. This throws him and, to an extent, the reader into conflict with everyone around him. The novel's structure, a series of snapshots of events in the boy's life, puts the reader and the boy on even ground in their quest for the truth. Both are privy to the same limited sources of information, both are told the same stories, and both must piece these tidbits together to make sense of the novel's new Ireland.

THE Review of "Reading in the Dark" by Ben Shackleford, 20 Jan 2000
Reading in the Dark is a novel about a boy who grows up during the midst of the troubles in Ireland. We are never told his name, due to the fact that I think it is meant to show that conflict can affect everyone, regardless of who they are. This boy has grown up in a strong Catholic family in an area of Derry, and his views are affected by those around him, particularly the religious people. There is a noticeable them and us feeling from the young narrator, yet this is not chil-like - it reflects how society was at the time. The book is written in prose as a record, almost diary-like. It spans several decades, from when he is a young boy in 1945, ending in 1961. During this time he obviusly becomes a young man. At the heart of the story is the dissappearance of the boys Uncle Eddie, accused of being an informer, in 1922. There is great mistrust, confusion and divide in the family, and only late in the book is the truth revealed. The book is set in the real world setting of Derry, yet there is another, mystical side to the book, based on the old Irish Celtic legends, such as the Sun-Fort of Grianan. The references to Irish traditional culture reflect how Ireland was before the troubles, and could still be. This brings a stark contrast that is effective but slightly confusing. The characters in the book are very extreme, such as the eccentric Crazy Joe Johnson, who's apparent insanity belies is involvement in the family's strife, and the emotional but heartbreakingly quiet members of his family. These characters bring extreme vies and help to accentuate the events. The tragedy of the troubles go right into the family, causing much heartache. The author is trying to make us feel how the destruction of a family as a result of the war makes it seem not worth it. As one character, Seargant Burke points out, the country got caught up in the troubles so fast, they never stopped to think and try to stop. The war eventually takes a back seat to the boy growing up. It goes from a story about a family to a book about the war and its effects on the community, eventually combining both aspects. In my opinion, this book deals with very serious issues, and by putting them through the eyes of a child growing up, it is a thoughtful and in many cases humorous. However, sometimes I found that the referenece to Irish culture and Ireland itself were confusing. The book is wonderful, as heartbreak and humour are mixed in an effective way, but it requires concentration at all times, so is not "easy reading". The rewards far outway the cost of the extra effort. Ben Shackleford.

superb, 09 Jan 2000
Seamus Deane has written a masterpiece. This book, spread over thirty years in short intense bursts, combines the surreal world of childhood, the poisonous small-town hatred making pawns of the individual lives in Derry and the frustrations of a narrator maturing into someone more openminded than his predecessors. The bite-sized portions interweave as densely as a Rushdie tale but are as palatable as an Adrian Mole diary. Covering similar terrain to Angela's Ashes (with which it will inevitably be compared) this is a wonderful piece of modern Irish fiction

The Derry of poet Seamus Deane's first novel, Reading in the Dark is a perilous place. Ghosts haunt the stairwells of apartment buildings, a curse follows two families down through the generations, close friends turn out to be police informers and the police are as likely to persecute an innocent man as protect him. And hovering over all the violence, poverty and despair of 1940s Northern Ireland is the spectre of the "Troubles". The hero of the novel is an unnamed young man whose life turns upside down when a policeman frames him. Deception becomes his only means of self-defence. But the initial lie on the part of the policeman and the narrator's corresponding trickery are only part of the tangled web Deane weaves here. Early in the novel we learn that Uncle Eddie, an Irish Republican Army gunman, was blown up in the town distillery in 1922. In addition to sorting out his own problems, the narrator seeks the truth about his uncle's death.

Reading in the Dark sounds grim, and in some respects it is, yet leavening is provided by infusions of the Irish folktales and legends that inform the characters' daily life. And then there is the language. Deane is a poet, and his prose shows it: sex is like fire, "glinting with greed and danger"; ice snores and candles are swathed in a "thick drapery of wax". Readers looking for a thoughtful, serious and beautifully written novel will find one in Reading in the Dark.

This Naxos AudioBook is an abridged version, 19 Jun 2007
As is usual for Naxos, this Naxos AudioBook reading of 'Finnegan's Wake' is excellent value for money. Nevertheless, buyers should be aware that this is an abridged version of the book.

finnegans wake, 28 Jan 2007
some good reviews for this book, it does tend to provoke some strong reactions in its readers. joyce, a genius? an overbearing egotist? maybe both? a difficult question for some, but whatever, this book has caused a storm in the literary world since its publication. it is indeed difficult to read in the conventional sense, and in scope (through its often obscure allusions and language) is incredibly huge, covering ancient mythology, history, both of ireland and of the whole human race, language, christian theology etc etc, a mind bending project and probably as valuable as you care to make it. This text is definately demanding and requires a great deal of effort and concentration on the part of its readers, and while it is all too easy to give up on it as pompus intellectual showing off, or to try extremely hard to understand and master this book when you arent really gaining much from it, my advice would just to be honest and open minded, try it and see what you can learn from it (if anything). in my opinion joyce is an a grade 1st class superfunk human being, respect etc.

The Book of Books, 14 Mar 2006
People who don't like Finnegans Wake often feel obscurely resentful, and can't believe that anyone else genuinely does like it. I firmly believe that you can't persuade anyone to like anything, so I'm not going to argue with anyone who thinks that I'm fooling myself, or trying to show off. Saying you like Finnegans Wake is in any case a bit like saying you like Arnold Schoenberg's music; most people won't know what you're talking about, and most of the rest won't believe you and think you're pretentious anyway, so the moral is, there's very little kudos in saying that you _do_ like the damn book.

It's just the ultimate novel. All novels, even the simplest, have various layers of allusion or symbolism going on; this one just has more. All novels are written with some kind of self-conscious style; this is the most stylish. All novels are structured one way or the other; this is uber-structured. I've often thought that Finnegans Wake is in many ways a precursor of HTML. Some genius should do an online version of it. Practically every word would be a hyperlink, leading to a page or so of annotation (Roland McHugh's book 'Annotations to Finnegans Wake' is the most ambitious print venture of that sort, but with the novel itself you get the most alarming sense that the layers go on forever...)

Every novel is difficult if you've never read novels before. If you've only read trash, then even a middling good novel is tough going; the writer demands more of the reader. James Joyce merely wants you to spend the rest of your life reading this book. Personally I think that's one of his better jokes. To go back to Schoenberg again (yeah, I know it's not exactly enticing to compare Joyce to Schoenberg, but bear with me), the essential thing is that there's just more going on here; Schoenberg has a million tunes going on at once, Joyce has a million linguistic things going on at once. I don't call that "having a shoddy grip on his talent", I call that generosity.

After trying to work out why people resent this book so much, I've come to believe that some people hate to think that there's anyone out there who's effortlessly smarter than they are. I, for one, am happy to accept that Joyce can just write anyone else off the planet.

Personally, I believe that the book becomes a lot more realistic if you read it with an Irish accent in your head. But try it and see. Nobody will seriously believe that you're reading it, so what have you got to lose?

Leave all inhibitions and prejudices at the entrance, please, 08 Oct 2005
Before you read this, forget absolutely everything anybody has ever told you or anything you have ever read previously about the book. Perhaps even the very review you are reading right now. I've read something a guy wrote here about Joyce not being an intellectual - wrong. He was, in my opinion, of a mammoth intelligence quite difficult to comprehend. Everything he published was a masterpiece, though I think we all know that deep down. You don't have to be Irish to enjoy his work, but it helps.
The beauty of Joyce's art was his ability to craft literature that was representive of all existence as we know it by using symbolisation and observant detail into ordinary happenings. His work was never based around conventional plots. Ullyses was a close detail of two character's thoughts and actions in the space of one day, yet it symbolised more than any other novel ever written before or after... with the exception of Finnegans Wake.
The impression I've got from the majority of Joyce's critics with negative reactions is fear. The fear of misunderstanding. They fear they are, for some reason, unable to comprehend these works like others can, and so they slander it and dismiss it as meaningless jargon. No one can understand Joyce's works (he himself was the only one who could truly do so), the most they can do is form a personal interpretation. That is all these endlessly open texts demand of their readers. Some might prefer their meanings written in stone. If so, Joyce is not the author for you. That's something I've never understood - you don't like Joyce, so what? Joyce appeals to readers in search of something more mysterious, something to dig into, something to live in. Those looking for a summer-holiday paperback may look elsewhere.
Finnegans Wake has no beginning or no end. It does not grip the reader, the reader must grip it. There are over a thousand ways to enjoy this book. Some may find it lyrically beautiful, some may find it amazingly detailed and complex, some may find it hilariously witty, some may find it a maze of subtle delights in which they can seek and find, and so on. I enjoy it in all of the above ways. Seeing as Joyce spent sixteen years writing it, there's obviously a lot of depth and meaning to it, but it is hidden in layers of linguistic prowess. It is a history of the universe in the language of dreams. It is completely still and timeless, open to observation, but never changing. There is no limit to it's possibilities, no definition of its nature. There is no right or wrong way to interpret it. Study it, any way you wish, and it is yours for as long as you live.
So, if my description enthralls you to read this masterpiece in any way, I recommend you should. If you find what I have written to be an overwhelming piece of pompous trash, stick to your Dan Brown paperbacks. No offence intended - it's just not for the casual reader. So, in hope that you are of the former, I ask you to completely forget everything, like I said at the start, and buy the book, open a page and allow your mind to grip its words within itself and explore its vast and bottomless planes.

Intriguing, 22 Jan 2005
You will probably consider this novel to be difficult. I agree with anybody who thinks so. It is very difficult. It certainly is hard to grasp, but once you get into it, that is it. James Joyce stretched the language and brought the book to a far higher form of writing that is uncommon around. Uncommon in the sense that you have to get into it to love it. For easier, compelling reads, I recommend the works of Janvier Tisi. DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE is lovely

Works best as a sedative, 30 Dec 2006
This book brings new meaning to the word 'boring'. The first chapter is reasonable, which is why I gave 2 stars instead of 1, and this lulled me into a false sense of security. It rapidly decends into endless dull rambles that make little sense, and if you are going to read it, you really need detailed knowledge of Irish history and the religious troubles. I found I had to constantly flick to the back of the book to read the footnote that explained an obscure reference, and that quickly became very irritating. It annoys me that this is viewed as a classic, the writing is incredibly self-conscious and I can't imagine enjoying this dull, pretentious novel. It is one of those books that people feel they ought to like, but if you don't like suffering, then avoid.

..(from) THE DEPTHS, 16 Sep 2003
"A Portrait..", written with such creative wise insight, unfolds an extrordinary mind through its inner voice,
and lets the reader sense its overwhelming life-flow from cradle through the "unshackeling" towards freedom.
Reading this masterpiece, moving through ideas in literature,poetry,phylosophy,politics;
encountering situations,sights&sounds,thoughts&feelings through the books unique language, is both a beautiful & a thought-provoking journey.
This book i recommend to any reader who's curious to step beyond, read deeper, & find inspiration
--a personal favorite..enjoy.

Gloomy, harsh and quite soulless, 31 Jan 2003
Joyce's POTAYM is dominated by Catholicism which seeps from almost every aspect of his writing. Unfortunately this can be almost a turn off for anyone attempting to read Joyce who isn't an Irish Catholic as the preoccupation with Church dogma and paraphernalia can be overbearing.
POTAYM also suffers from the narrator being unlovable. The stream of conscious format (a headache and a waste of space at the best of times) can become almost insufferable in places and feels like a cheaper alternative to a real narrative or dialogue. Added to this is the sense of a dark, cold atmosphere that makes the novel wholly unwelcoming.
Joyce does save the book from being entirely bleak and unreadable by studying some interesting themes such as sexual sin and corporal punishment. However for a truly moving memoir of boarding school Roald Dahl's Boy is by far superior in nostalgia and atmosphere.
My lasting impression of POTAYM is one of uninterest- it seemed too dull, bitter and long winded to justify its themes if slightly more accessible than Dubliners and far more mainstream than the rest of Joyce's work. I would not recommend this unless you have prior interest in Irish Catholicism and education circa 1900

A thoughtful and brilliant book!, 07 Jan 2002
I can't believe that no one has taken the time to write a review for this book. The reason? Possibly the overexaggerated appeal of Ulysses. As a young man myself I found his experiences of childhood and of Ireland poignant and thoughtful. Everyone should read this book to see just how well he got inside the mind of himself (for it is surely autobiographical) as a child and presented it in such a way that makes it a believable and brilliant novel. This book should be read and re-read!

Brian Friel is one of the best contemporary authors, read it, 26 Mar 2001
There is no play by Friel better than The Freedom of the City. This play conjures the events of Bloody Sunday. Full of themes to explore and sensitivity, it is one of the best plays I have every read.

Haunting..in every sense, 15 May 2003
It's quite a while since I read this book and it still haunts my thoughts and dreams. A book that gives the average Brit some idea what it's like to live on the edge of war and peace, one community and another, the industrial and the agricultural economy, and the physical and the ghost or paranormal world.

Quite beautiful, and at the same time seriously disturbing.

Thank you Mr Deane.

A joy, 24 Oct 2001
According to my lecturer, this is a Bildungsroman - a novel that paints a picture of the protagonist's development. Well, lecturers can call it whatever they want, I'll just call it a must-read. I'm someone who has little interest in Irish affairs, less interest in Irish history and even less interest in the IRA. However, this novel features all three, and I could hardly recommend it more.

It starts slowly, shortly after the war, in which we get brief glimpses of the unnamed narrator's world, stooped in the innocence and naivety of youth. In fact, it carries on much like this for about a third of the book, but whilst in the hands of lesser writers it would be a laborious struggle, this third flies by. Deane knows how to touch our hearts but also engage and intrigue our minds.

A mystery slowly unfolds throughout the book, full of secrets, lies, betrayals and family myths. But this is not melodrama, though it would be difficult to describe it further without making it sound like an episode of Eastenders. Deane's story gripped me, and I could easily drown in his beautiful, lucid prose.

If only more university set texts could be like this...

A Brave New Ireland, 01 Mar 2001
Reading in the Dark might merely have been one more "miserable Irish childhood" story, sandwiched between Angela's Ashes and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and dismissed. Seamus Deane's unnamed boy author -- nameless, it seems, because his world can't be bothered to notice him -- fits squarely between Frank McCourt and Paddy Clarke in era and in social class. He does not suffer Frank's horrific poverty, nor does he own the books that he reads, as Paddy does. The boy's life in a large working-class Catholic family, with its minimal adult supervision, at least one parent who cannot cope, cruel priests for teachers, and the necessary string of funerals, initially seems to be heading down the literary path to deja-vu.

Seamus Deane, born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1940, and now a professor at the University of Notre Dame, rescues his first novel from this downward spiral with his ability to transform stereotypical storylines into shattering new tales. Deane masterfully subverts the IRA theme of glory and honour; of fighting and dying for Ireland. He gives us the story of the narrator's Uncle Eddie, introduced as an IRA hero who either escaped from or was killed in a shoot-out with Protestant policemen, but who has not been seen or heard from since.

Deane plays with this contrived, glorious IRA getaway story, tempting the reader to take the anecdote at face value, to romanticize Eddie as a hero. He then inserts a twist -- we learn that Eddie does not have a hero's reputation outside of his family, but is seen as a police informer, a "stooly," by the Catholic community. This reputation stains Eddie's entire family, including the nephew that he never met. The boy is ostracized by his community when, about to be beaten by a gang of boys, he throws a stone at a passing police car in an attempt to escape.

"Once and informer, always an informer," the Protestant policemen sneer.

"F----- stooly," shout his friends.

"Is there something amiss with you?" his father asks.

Deane's layered treatment of conflict is gripping. Hiding beneath each layer -- political, religious, familial, and parent-child -- is a secret, founded partly in myth, partly in history, and considered sacred by the novel's adults. Deane turns the centrality of myth and history in Irish society from a charming tale, as it is most often seen, to a source of great turmoil for a young boy.

The narrator, skeptical of the myths that he is bombarded with, and determined to uncover the truth about his family and world, asks questions in a society in which blind faith is required. This throws him and, to an extent, the reader into conflict with everyone around him. The novel's structure, a series of snapshots of events in the boy's life, puts the reader and the boy on even ground in their quest for the truth. Both are privy to the same limited sources of information, both are told the same stories, and both must piece these tidbits together to make sense of the novel's new Ireland.

THE Review of "Reading in the Dark" by Ben Shackleford, 20 Jan 2000
Reading in the Dark is a novel about a boy who grows up during the midst of the troubles in Ireland. We are never told his name, due to the fact that I think it is meant to show that conflict can affect everyone, regardless of who they are. This boy has grown up in a strong Catholic family in an area of Derry, and his views are affected by those around him, particularly the religious people. There is a noticeable them and us feeling from the young narrator, yet this is not chil-like - it reflects how society was at the time. The book is written in prose as a record, almost diary-like. It spans several decades, from when he is a young boy in 1945, ending in 1961. During this time he obviusly becomes a young man. At the heart of the story is the dissappearance of the boys Uncle Eddie, accused of being an informer, in 1922. There is great mistrust, confusion and divide in the family, and only late in the book is the truth revealed. The book is set in the real world setting of Derry, yet there is another, mystical side to the book, based on the old Irish Celtic legends, such as the Sun-Fort of Grianan. The references to Irish traditional culture reflect how Ireland was before the troubles, and could still be. This brings a stark contrast that is effective but slightly confusing. The characters in the book are very extreme, such as the eccentric Crazy Joe Johnson, who's apparent insanity belies is involvement in the family's strife, and the emotional but heartbreakingly quiet members of his family. These characters bring extreme vies and help to accentuate the events. The tragedy of the troubles go right into the family, causing much heartache. The author is trying to make us feel how the destruction of a family as a result of the war makes it seem not worth it. As one character, Seargant Burke points out, the country got caught up in the troubles so fast, they never stopped to think and try to stop. The war eventually takes a back seat to the boy growing up. It goes from a story about a family to a book about the war and its effects on the community, eventually combining both aspects. In my opinion, this book deals with very serious issues, and by putting them through the eyes of a child growing up, it is a thoughtful and in many cases humorous. However, sometimes I found that the referenece to Irish culture and Ireland itself were confusing. The book is wonderful, as heartbreak and humour are mixed in an effective way, but it requires concentration at all times, so is not "easy reading". The rewards far outway the cost of the extra effort. Ben Shackleford.

superb, 09 Jan 2000
Seamus Deane has written a masterpiece. This book, spread over thirty years in short intense bursts, combines the surreal world of childhood, the poisonous small-town hatred making pawns of the individual lives in Derry and the frustrations of a narrator maturing into someone more openminded than his predecessors. The bite-sized portions interweave as densely as a Rushdie tale but are as palatable as an Adrian Mole diary. Covering similar terrain to Angela's Ashes (with which it will inevitably be compared) this is a wonderful piece of modern Irish fiction

Haunting..in every sense, 15 May 2003
It's quite a while since I read this book and it still haunts my thoughts and dreams. A book that gives the average Brit some idea what it's like to live on the edge of war and peace, one community and another, the industrial and the agricultural economy, and the physical and the ghost or paranormal world.

Quite beautiful, and at the same time seriously disturbing.

Thank you Mr Deane.

A joy, 24 Oct 2001
According to my lecturer, this is a Bildungsroman - a novel that paints a picture of the protagonist's development. Well, lecturers can call it whatever they want, I'll just call it a must-read. I'm someone who has little interest in Irish affairs, less interest in Irish history and even less interest in the IRA. However, this novel features all three, and I could hardly recommend it more.

It starts slowly, shortly after the war, in which we get brief glimpses of the unnamed narrator's world, stooped in the innocence and naivety of youth. In fact, it carries on much like this for about a third of the book, but whilst in the hands of lesser writers it would be a laborious struggle, this third flies by. Deane knows how to touch our hearts but also engage and intrigue our minds.

A mystery slowly unfolds throughout the book, full of secrets, lies, betrayals and family myths. But this is not melodrama, though it would be difficult to describe it further without making it sound like an episode of Eastenders. Deane's story gripped me, and I could easily drown in his beautiful, lucid prose.

If only more university set texts could be like this...

A Brave New Ireland, 01 Mar 2001
Reading in the Dark might merely have been one more "miserable Irish childhood" story, sandwiched between Angela's Ashes and Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and dismissed. Seamus Deane's unnamed boy author -- nameless, it seems, because his world can't be bothered to notice him -- fits squarely between Frank McCourt and Paddy Clarke in era and in social class. He does not suffer Frank's horrific poverty, nor does he own the books that he reads, as Paddy does. The boy's life in a large working-class Catholic family, with its minimal adult supervision, at least one parent who cannot cope, cruel priests for teachers, and the necessary string of funerals, initially seems to be heading down the literary path to deja-vu.

Seamus Deane, born in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1940, and now a professor at the University of Notre Dame, rescues his first novel from this downward spiral with his ability to transform stereotypical storylines into shattering new tales. Deane masterfully subverts the IRA theme of glory and honour; of fighting and dying for Ireland. He gives us the story of the narrator's Uncle Eddie, introduced as an IRA hero who either escaped from or was killed in a shoot-out with Protestant policemen, but who has not been seen or heard from since.

Deane plays with this contrived, glorious IRA getaway story, tempting the reader to take the anecdote at face value, to romanticize Eddie as a hero. He then inserts a twist -- we learn that Eddie does not have a hero's reputation outside of his family, but is seen as a police informer, a "stooly," by the Catholic community. This reputation stains Eddie's entire family, including the nephew that he never met. The boy is ostracized by his community when, about to be beaten by a gang of boys, he throws a stone at a passing police car in an attempt to escape.

"Once and informer, always an informer," the Protestant policemen sneer.

"F----- stooly," shout his friends.

"Is there something amiss with you?" his father asks.

Deane's layered treatment of conflict is gripping. Hiding beneath each layer -- political, religious, familial, and parent-child -- is a secret, founded partly in myth, partly in history, and considered sacred by the novel's adults. Deane turns the centrality of myth and history in Irish society from a charming tale, as it is most often seen, to a source of great turmoil for a young boy.

The narrator, skeptical of the myths that he is bombarded with, and determined to uncover the truth about his family and world, asks questions in a society in which blind faith is required. This throws him and, to an extent, the reader into conflict with everyone around him. The novel's structure, a series of snapshots of events in the boy's life, puts the reader and the boy on even ground in their quest for the truth. Both are privy to the same limited sources of information, both are told the same stories, and both must piece these tidbits together to make sense of the novel's new Ireland.

THE Review of "Reading in the Dark" by Ben Shackleford, 20 Jan 2000
Reading in the Dark is a novel about a boy who grows up during the midst of the troubles in Ireland. We are never told his name, due to the fact that I think it is meant to show that conflict can affect everyone, regardless of who they are. This boy has grown up in a strong Catholic family in an area of Derry, and his views are affected by those around him, particularly the religious people. There is a noticeable them and us feeling from the young narrator, yet this is not chil-like - it reflects how society was at the time. The book is written in prose as a record, almost diary-like. It spans several decades, from when he is a young boy in 1945, ending in 1961. During this time he obviusly becomes a young man. At the heart of the story is the dissappearance of the boys Uncle Eddie, accused of being an informer, in 1922. There is great mistrust, confusion and divide in the family, and only late in the book is the truth revealed. The book is set in the real world setting of Derry, yet there is another, mystical side to the book, based on the old Irish Celtic legends, such as the Sun-Fort of Grianan. The references to Irish traditional culture reflect how Ireland was before the troubles, and could still be. This brings a stark contrast that is effective but slightly confusing. The characters in the book are very extreme, such as the eccentric Crazy Joe Johnson, who's apparent insanity belies is involvement in the family's strife, and the emotional but heartbreakingly quiet members of his family. These characters bring extreme vies and help to accentuate the events. The tragedy of the troubles go right into the family, causing much heartache. The author is trying to make us feel how the destruction of a family as a result of the war makes it seem not worth it. As one character, Seargant Burke points out, the country got caught up in the troubles so fast, they never stopped to think and try to stop. The war eventually takes a back seat to the boy growing up. It goes from a story about a family to a book about the war and its effects on the community, eventually combining both aspects. In my opinion, this book deals with very serious issues, and by putting them through the eyes of a child growing up, it is a thoughtful and in many cases humorous. However, sometimes I found that the referenece to Irish culture and Ireland itself were confusing. The book is wonderful, as heartbreak and humour are mixed in an effective way, but it requires concentration at all times, so is not "easy reading". The rewards far outway the cost of the extra effort. Ben Shackleford.

superb, 09 Jan 2000
Seamus Deane has written a masterpiece. This book, spread over thirty years in short intense bursts, combines the surreal world of childhood, the poisonous small-town hatred making pawns of the individual lives in Derry and the frustrations of a narrator maturing into someone more openminded than his predecessors. The bite-sized portions interweave as densely as a Rushdie tale but are as palatable as an Adrian Mole diary. Covering similar terrain to Angela's Ashes (with which it will inevitably be compared) this is a wonderful piece of modern Irish fiction