Monday, 19 December 2016, Pages 354 - 355

 Reading in 2016 has brought us up to ".... on allaround." (355.9)

It was party time!

We meet next on Monday, 9th January 2017 to continue about (but who else?) the Russian General.

Wishing all the FW readers a happy 2017 and - borrowing the words of one of my friends - good riddance 2016!

Monday, 12 December 2016, Pages 353 - 354

We made slow progress and stopped at "... cococancancacacanotioun." (354.21)

In one single paragraph on page 353, we read about splitting (abnihilisation) of the atom (etym) by Lord Rutherford (he is actually considered the father of nuclear physics) and - in the same breath - about Cinderella. 

Monday, 5 December 2016, Pages 351 - 353

Our reading stopped at "... all the rattles in his arctic!"  (353.13)

... wiz the healps of gosh and his bluzzid maikar, ... that he leaves nyet is my grafe.

By the way, the urssian gemenal, i.e., the Russian general is back. 

Monday, 28 November 2016, Pages 350 - 351

We read as far as "... let me down." (351.33)

I am getting foegutfulls of what it was all about, particularly with the hints of red light district areas in Hongkong (Lyndhurst Terrace) and Singapore (Mellay Street), but yet still in all, spit for spat, I had my billyfell of duckish delights... Oh, by the way, Chorney Chaplain made a visit too! Anyway, no more basquibezigues for this pole aprican!

Monday, 21 November 2016, Pages 349 - 350

Reading was all the way to "... hother prace!" (350.19)

All I understood was that the russuates jesuneral (Russian general, of course), Popey O'Donoshough, appeared in the figure of a wohly ghast (holy ghost, of course), and that we were told "Pleace to notnoys" (Please don't make noise?) because "Hll, smthngs gnwrng wthth sprssnwtch!" (Hell, something has gone wrong with the xxxx switch!) 

Monday, 14 November 2016, Pages 347 - 349

We read as far as "... the charge of a light barricade."  (349.10)

... how the thickens we came back to one to rust, and how Fritz dringed to us till all the junglemen were in agleement...

Monday, 7 November 2016, Pages 346 - 347

Our reading stopped at "... who haw haw." (347.33)

We met here Peadhar Piper, asked 'pollyvoulley foncey', understood pitchin ingles, said 'Harkabuddy, feign!' only to be told 'But Icantenue.'

Monday, 31 October 2016, Pages 345 - 346

We read as far as "... phumeral's a roselixion." (346.13)

It was all like susu glouglou biri biri gongos one enjoys with one's boesen fiennd.

Monday, 17 October 2016, Pages 342 - 343

We read to the end of page 343, and stopped at "Flute!"

Tickling sentences:
- Sinkathinks to oppen here!
- Sat will be off follteedee.
- ... nemesisplotsch...

Monday, 3 October 2016, Pages 339 - 341

We stopped our reading at "flup is unbu..." (341.2)

A couple of sentences that tickle:
- "... my farst is near to hear and my sackend is meet to sedon...."
- "Bang on the booche, gurg in the gorge, rap on the roof and your flup is unbu...”

Monday, 26 September 2016, Pages 338 - 339

We stopped at "Tenter and likeliness." (339.17)

Even by Fritz's standards these pages are (the conversation between Taff & Butt is) heavy going.

Monday, 19 September 2016, Pages 336 - 338

The reading stopped at "Tell ever so often?" (338.10)

It was all rhyttel in head! Wonder whether this site will help to solve it.

Monday, 12 September 2016, Pages 335 - 336

(Apologies that there is no info regarding the reading on Monday, 5 September 2016.)

Stopped at "... nullatinenties." (336.32)

The 'highlight' of the day's reading was the use of Maori language including the following folksong:

'Katu te ihis ihin! Katu te wana wana!' which means 'Face up to the fear, Fight the terror'

Original here.

Monday, 29 August 2016, Pages 332 - 334

We read as far as "... take her genial glow to bed." (334.5)

Important info:
- Fritz Senn will NOT be at the reading on next Monday, 5 September 2016. The group is supposed to carry on with the reading though.

- The group WILL meet - with Fritz Senn - on Monday, 12 September 2016. Knabenschiessen should not come in the way of our trying to decode FW.

Monday, 22 August 2016, Pages 331 - 332

Stopped at the middle of a looooong sentence, "fiounaregal games..." (332.26)

Have fun with
... the balder and of the sol and of the hollichrost,...
... poison keels,...

Monday, 15 August 2016, Pages 329 - 331

We stopped at "... pigpin upinto meh!" (331.13)

To decipher:
... hafts on glaives
... harefoot, birdy-hands
Lludd hillmythey,...
... I'll tittle your barents if you stick that pigpin upinto meh!

Monday, 8 August 2016, Pages 328 - 329

We stopped at "... her flame went huneysuckling." (329.20)

We encounter on these pages yet another version of Tom, Dick & Harry. Rather leaf, bud and berry.
And we learn the eternal truth: The soul of everyelsesbody rolled into its olesoleself.

This page cleared - for me - some of the mist on these pages.

Monday, 18 July 2016, Pages 325 - 326

We read as far as "But ear this:" (326.25)

We are still with the Norwegian captain aka generalman seelord aka Erievikkingr and the tailor aka gentlemens tealer. What they sayd to each other is pretty easy to understand if we are one of tome, thick and heavy.

Perhaps this link will be useful!

Monday, 20 June 2016, Pages 322 - 323

Stopped at "Fadgest-fudgist!" (323.24)

Important info: There will be no reading of FW on next two Mondays, on the 27th June and on 4th July.

Meanwhile, this website, another blog on Understanding Finnegans Wake, might be of interest to you all!

Monday, 23 May 2016, Pages 320 - 322

Important info: There will be no reading of FW on Monday, the 13th June.

Today we stopped at "... novice on the nevay." (322.4)

Try to decode!

• Ignorinsers' bliss
• Wazwollenzee Haven
• Hiccups Emptybolly

A tip:

If you are free on Friday, the 10th June, do try to attend the rehearsed reading of Tom Stoppard's play, Travesties, organized by the Zürich Comedy Club in Theater im Seefeld.

It is all about Joyce, Lenin, Tristan Tzara and Henry Carr of the Ulysses fame. A very enjoyable production!

More info: http://www.zcc.ch/rehearsed-readings

Monday, 23 May 2016, Pages 318 - 319

We stopped at "Tiptoptap, Mister Maut." (319.9)

... glowworld's lump is gloaming off ..
O Wanderness be wondernest...
The seven deadly sins.
We gin too grin...

Monday, 9 May 2016, Pages 316 - 318

Read as far as "... her climbing colour." (318.3)

We are still in the company of a Norwegian captain, who speaks Icelandic, Russian, etc. (Of course, we do not know with whom he talks.) A number of fish is mentioned, some talk about tailors, and then there is the Howth. A reader who knows Mark Twain recognizes Huckleberry Finn!

Important: The reading group meets next time on Monday, the 23rd May. Next Monday (16th May) is a holiday.

Monday, 2 May 2016, Pages 315 - 316

We stopped at the interesting place: "... to provide his bum end." (316.24)

It was something about a captain, a boat, and many other things like Kish met.

Monday,18 April 2016, Pages 312 - 313

The reading will start next week at "Thus as count the costs of liquid courage,..." (313.29)

Some nice things from today's reading:

... a maomette to his monetone, ...
... otherdogs churchees, ...
Godedown moseys and skeep thy beeble bee.

Please note that there will be no blogpost next week on 25th April. 

Monday, 4 April 2016, Pages 308 - 310

We started chapter 3 of book 2. And read as far as "... skull of skand." (310.30)

Nikki communicates the following:
"I suppose quite a few of us will be going to Rigiblick on June 22nd for the JoyceDada! reading by HansPeter MüllerDrossaart.  We will very probably be eating in the bistro next door before the performance.  If you or any one would like to join us, let me/Nikki know at Monday's FW reading and I'll make an expanded reservation."

Please note that there will be no blogpost next week on 11 April. 

Monday, 21 March 2016, Pages 307 - 308

We completed chapter 2 of book 2. The chapter is said to be about homework - mathematics, language, ...

Wow, the homework was quite difficult, though all the difficulty was forgotten when we read the NIGHTLETTER!

This is how Wikipedia summarizes chapter 2:

Chapter II.2 follows Shem, Shaun and Issy studying upstairs in the pub, after having been called inside in the previous chapter.^[50][51] The chapter depicts "[Shem] coaching [Shaun] how to do Euclid Bk I, 1", structured as "a reproduction of a schoolboys' (and schoolgirls') old classbook complete with marginalia by the twins, who change sides at half time, and footnotes by the girl (who doesn't)".^[52][53] Once Shem (here called Dolph) has helped Shaun (here called Kev) to draw the Euclid diagram, the latter realises that he has drawn a diagram of ALP's genitalia, and "Kev finally realises the significance of the triangles [..and..] strikes Dolph." After this "Dolph forgives Kev" and the children are given "[e]ssay assignments on 52 famous men."^[54] The chapter ends with the children's "nightletter" to HCE and ALP, in which they are "apparently united in a desire to overcome their parents."^[55]

Note: There will be no reading on Easter Monday, 28 March.

Have a nice Easter!

Monday, 14 March 2016, Pages 305 - 307

Read till "What is to be found in a dustheap?"  (307.23)

To decipher:
- "Biddy's hair, mine lubber."
- "Thou in shanty! Thou in scanty shanty!! Thou in slant scanty shanty!!!"

Monday, 7 March 2016, Pages 303 - 305

We stopped our reading at "... woolfell merger would be." (305.12)

The funniest sentence of the day:
'He prophets most who bilks the best.'

Stuff that is fun to decipher:
'... cog it out, here goes a sum.'
'Eyeinstye'

Monday, 29 February 2016, Pages 301 - 303

This Moanday, we read as far as "Eregobragh. Prouf!" (303.14)

Had fun deciphering,

• 'Ann opes tipoo soon ear!'
• 'Merrymoney thanks'
• 'Lifp year fends you all and moe, fouvenirs foft as fummer fnow, fweet willings and forget-uf-knots'

Google auto-corrected the middle part of the last sentence above as "souvenirs foot as summer now". I am glad that I saw it before I made this post public ;-)

The following sentence, on the other hand, was quite clear!
'This is Steal, this is Barke, this is Starn, this is Swhipt, this is Wiles, this is Pshaw, this is Doubbllinnbbay-yates.'

Monday, 22 February 2016, Pages 299 - 301

We stopped at "... the fear of the Law." (301.22)

Some reincarnations of the children's poem, baa baa black sheep, we found on these pages are:

Bag bag blockcheap, have you any will?
blaablaablack sheep.

Monday, 15 February 2016, Pages 298 - 299

We read as far as "... it will be a lozenge to me all my lauffe." (299.29)

Or did JJ mean to say, "... it will be a lesson to me all my life"?

There are lots of mathematical terms on page 298. For example:
vectorious, ready-eyes, circumflicksrent, searclhers, elipsities, quarrellary, logos, characteristically, mantissa, sin, cosin, consecant, cotangincies, redtangles, abscisssan, limitsing, infinisissimalls...

Qued! (Quite  Easily Done)

My Lourde! My Lourde!

Monday, 8 February 2016, Pages 296 - 298

Our reading stopped at "So post that to your pape and smarket." (298.6), which is said to mean "so put that in your pipe and smoke it."

The idea is supposed to be that the two brothers peek from underneath now that ALP's skirt is lifted. As it is dark there, they have to light a match (And light your mech) quickly (Jeldy!). In this sense, we really ended our reading with the most appropriate sentence!

Monday, 1 February 2016, Pages 295 - 296

The group continued to decipher the book and stopped at "... in the plap of the pfan. (296.22)

The following is the explanation from finwake.com
plap: to come down or fall with a flat impact, and with the sound that this makes
pfan: Pfanne (German)

This last sentence embellishes the English language using words from Armenian and Gaelic ;-)

Monday, 25 January 2016, Pages 293 - 295

We stopped at "But to return." (295.15)

Imp: Fritz Senn will not be at the reading on next Monday. He said the group should meet and read on!

Monday, 18 January 2016, Pages 291 - 293

We stopped at the perfect place: "Tis perfect." (page 293, last line)

We were treated to
(a) more mathematical symbols: because  and therefore 
(b) grammar: half a sylb, helf a solb, holf a salb
(c) yet another Joycean version of the aria from Verdi's Rigoletto: pi u la gonna e mobile

Important to note:
We shall go to have a drink after the reading next Monday (25 January 2016) to wish good bye and good luck to Talia, the current scholar at the Foundation. Nikki has offered to reserve a table at the pub.  More details on Monday at the reading. It is hoped that many of you will join.

Interesting links:
It was the 75th death anniversary of James Joyce on 13th January. The following articles in various newspapers would certainly of interest to many. (Click on the title of the articles to read.)

From The Irish Times:
'Endlessly exciting in its impenetrability': 1939 James Joyce review

From The Guardian UK:
Billy Mills: Finnegans Wake, The book the web was invented for
Sian Cain: Is James Joyce's Ulysses the hardest novel to finish?

From NZZ:
Angela Schader's comment on the Ulysses article above: Lesefrust start Leselust?