Finnegans Wake

Interesting Facts

• The book is written in a mix of languages, including English, French, Italian, Latin, and others, making it one of the most challenging to understand.
• The title of the book refers to the Irish folk song «Finnegan's Wake», which tells the story of a bricklayer Tim Finnegan who dies and then resurrects at his own wake.
• The structure of the book is cyclical: it begins with an unfinished sentence that continues at the end of the book, creating an endless cycle.
• The book is full of puns, allusions, and ambiguous words, making it rich for interpretation and analysis.
• The main plot of the book revolves around the Earwicker family and their relationships, but it is often interrupted by various inserts and digressions.
• Many scholars believe the book reflects mythological and historical cycles, as well as themes of death and rebirth.
• The work on the book took the author over 17 years, and it was published in 1939.