John Boose

Some scholars see James Joyce's Finnegans Wake as a work of satire and irony; others see it as a playground for the English language. I love the book, and its release into the public domain in many parts of the world enabled me to produce this illustrated Volume. Finnegans Wake endures the reputation of being one of the most challenging works of fiction in the English language. When asked what he made of it, Ezra Pound contended, “Nothing so far as I make out, nothing short of divine vision or a new cure for the clap can possibly be worth all the circumambient peripherization.” Oliver Gogarty believed it was “the most colossal leg pull in literature since Macpherson's Ossian.” But if a picture can clarify a thousand words, then perhaps pictures can help illuminate Joyce's masterpiece. My copy of Finnegans Wake includes 219,035 words. At one picture per one thousand words, it would take only 220 pictures to explain the entire text. This illustrated book, Volume 1, contains Finnegans Wake Book 1, Chapters 1 and 2, at 15,751 words. I have incorporated over 300 illustrations, so you can see that these two chapters are explained awfully thoroughly. At this rate, the final set of illustrated Volumes will contain over 4,170 images, an over-explanation ratio of more than 19:1. So quickly can confusing things come to brightness.All the illustrations are authentic and promote the tradition of prickly debate started with the publication of Joyce's original book. As critic Omar Gosh says, “It is a real piece of work.”“I can't wait to see the movie.” – Dick Tator, The Banana Republican. “We hope to carry on the tradition for this work of many initially negative reviews, ranging from bafflement to open hostility: It's a real piece of work.” – Segovia Carpet, The Unterrified English Major News. “If Boose isn't America's leading classic literature illustrator, I can see why.” – Isabelle Ringing. “Where's Finnegan? Where's the wake?” – Ginger Vitas, The Typesetter Tabloid. “This is the best e-book I've ever seen.” – Abraham Lincoln. “Here Comes – Pictures of – Everybody.” – Vito Powers. “Even more dense and obscure than the original.” – Stephen Dedalus, The Fowlmouth Forum. “Clearly, the author's mind is not polluted with a single idea.” – Ira Gurgitate, The Emma Wroyd Journal of Paid Endorsements. “…truly… a book… Joyce… pictures… lunchtime…” – Felix Cited. “The author continues to erode the literary value of Finnegans Wake, now infesting it with dubious illustrations.” – Daryl Lickt, The Cellar Door Shower“Boose is an unbelievable illustrator.” – F. Stop Fitzgerald. “O june of eves the jenniest, thou who fleeest flicklesome the fond fervid frondeur to thickly thyself attach...” – J. Joyce, Finnegans Wake.

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