Finnegans Wake
by James Joyce · first published 1928
9% recommend79% neutral12% critical
Why HN recommends it
A dense experimental novel offering a rare literary experience, with inventive, playful language. Reading it aloud, dipping in, and rereading over time each reveal more.
Common criticism: Extremely hard to read, and some find it a slog and not worth the effort.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Follows a man's thoughts and dreams during a single night. It is also a book that participates in the re-reading of Irish history that was part of the revival of the early 20th century. The author also wrote "Ulysses", "Dubliners" and "Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man".
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2007–2026Dubliners
James Joyce
Recommended by 32 · mentioned by 4932 recommend · 49 mention32 recommend · 4932 recommend
2008–2026Ulysses
James Joyce
Recommended by 46 · mentioned by 21946 recommend · 219 mention46 recommend · 21946 recommend
Finnegan's wake
James Joyce
Recommended by 9 · mentioned by 819 recommend · 81 mention9 recommend · 819 recommend
2008–2026A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
James Joyce, J Joyce
Recommended by 11 · mentioned by 3311 recommend · 33 mention11 recommend · 3311 recommend
2008–2012When bad things happen to good people
Harold S. Kushner
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 33 recommend · 3 mention3 recommend · 33 recommend
2008–2026Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon
Recommended by 58 · mentioned by 17958 recommend · 179 mention58 recommend · 17958 recommend
2010–2025Sometimes a Great Notion
Ken Kesey
Recommended by 12 · mentioned by 1912 recommend · 19 mention12 recommend · 1912 recommend
…for something more tech-related, because I read and analyze on my own - I don't need college for that - but still, if I had a choice between a billion dollars and acute understanding of every line of Finnegans Wake, I'd take the latter.
on “Is College Working?” ↗…puzzle I still haven't fully solved. I consider it the first modern-era novel, and expect others will come like it. When I wrote a novel a year and a half ago, its design was my greatest inspiration. Finnegans Wake - This book can't be explained until you've seen it. The pinnacle of the English language.
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗a few off the top of my head in the fiction genre: Joyce's Dubliner, Ulysses & Finnegans Wake. Cervantes' Don Quixote. Borges. Dashiell Hammet. William Burroughs. Bukowski. Faulkner. Jim Thompson. Stewart O'Nan. Nabakov. Philip K Dick's more schizophrenic works ( Scanner Darkly, Do Andriods Dream…
on “Do Hackers read *other* books?” ↗This is a silly joke. A good number (I won't say plenty) of people have read Finnegans Wake and enjoyed it. At the risk of being branded a liar I can say that I've read the whole thing (out loud) and found it a very worthwhile experience. Some of the language play is very enjoyable.
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗finnegans wake
on “What one book could give me a new, useful superpower?” ↗In truth, if you haven't actually read Finnegans Wake, you've missed a grand literary experience.
on “Ask HN: Is Knuth's TAOCP worth the time and effort?” ↗…something that art and art alone can do. I'm not mystical about it: I just care about that idea of the artistic statement, sort of a declaration of intent. So that's what I focus on. Beyond that, however, Finnegans Wake is just the most incredible piece of art I've ever seen. If you like solving puzzles, that's a book for you. It's the hardest book on the planet, and it's beautiful. A single sentence in that book blows…
on “Is College Working?” ↗Very cool stuff unalone, you're consistently one of my favorite commentators here. I'd toss out there that science and philosophy also shatter paradigms, but I'm with you on art. From your description of Finnegans Wake, I'll add it to my things to read list - thanks.
on “Is College Working?” ↗Just dive in. Finnegans Wake is not meant to be understood in totality, you get what you can and let what you do get suggest meaning of the parts you do not get. Reread it every couple of years, you will get a bit more each time…
on “Finnegans Wake Extensible Elucidation Treasury” ↗…feeds most. Azotes. Hothouse in Botanic gardens. Sensitive plants. Waterlilies. Petals too tired to. Sleeping sickness in the air. Hard to be too confused by the imagery and mood in this passage. Now, Finnegans Wake...
on “Do 20 pages of a book gives you 90% of its words?” ↗…about Lucia Joyce. [0] In that article, Hastings writes about the troubling hint of incestuous intimacy between the father-daughter relationship that sits at the heart of Joyce's avant garde masterpiece _Finnegans Wake_. > [In _Finnegans Wake_] is a hint of intimacy between father and daughter here > that borders on incest. Lucia once remarked to her father > that no matter how many loves she had, she could never…
on “Stanford scholar gets six-figure settlement from James Joyce Estate (2009)” ↗…at a snail's pace. If the idea of reading a book where you literally can't understand half of it gives you pause, Ulysses is probably not the book for you. For what it's worth, Joyce is commenting on Finnegans Wake, which goes 10x on everything above and is basically entirely incomprehensible.
on “Who the Hell Is This Joyce (1928)” ↗…technical analysis or documentation, you are expected to create easily understood document that is tailored for the reader. Even if you really enjoy Joyce, you usually do not do your technical writing in Finnegans Wake style. That would be a terrible practice. It is similar with code. People are writing obscure code for various reasons (trying to break the language, code golfing, etc.), but when you write code for…
on “What does code readability mean? (2018)” ↗> The kids are too dumb to be corrupted by this book! Or Joyce is just that impenetrable. Have you seen Finnegans Wake?
on “The Banning of Joyce's Ulysses” ↗"bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk" Oh the sweet sound of lightning that only Joyce could've understood. Finnegans Wake's concept is great in terms of challenging language and structure, but the unfinished result is a disaster. If anyone dedicates time to analyze FW, then they misspent years trying to understand gibberish.
on “What to Make of Finnegans Wake? (2012)” ↗