Finnegans Wake

By: James Joyce

Narrated by: Barry McGovern, Marcella Riordan

Length: 29 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Riverrun past Eve and Adam’s, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs...."

So starts Finnegans Wake, the greatest challenge in 20th-century literature. Who is Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker? And what did he get up to in Phoenix Park? And what did Anna Livia Plurabelle have to say about it? In the rich nighttime and the language of dreams, here are history, anecdote, myth, folk tale and, above all, a wondrous sense of humor, colored by a clear sense of humanity. In this exceptional reading by the Irish actor Barry McGovern, with Marcella Riordan, the world of the Wake is more accessible than ever before.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©1975 The Trustees of the Estate of James Joyce (P)2021 Naxos AudioBooks

Magnificent reading

I’ve been fascinated with FW for decades now. I can’t tell you what a treat it is finally to have such a worthy reading of the entire text. Amazing!

Much Ado About Nothing

Finnegan’s Wake is a remarkable performance by gifted actors, who seem to understand what they’re talking about even though I had no idea what they were talking about from beginning to end. It was quite remarkable to spend 30 hours listening to what sounds like gibberish and yet somehow enjoying it. I feel the same way about much modern poetry and song which are both lovely and incoherent. I’m glad I listened to this “novel” but I don’t know what I listened to.

needs prep to enjoy

before and after each chapter I read a chapter guide/summary, which allowed me to pick up way more than going in blind. Very clever once you have the key.

Extraordinary

For longtime lovers of Finnegans Wake as for those diving in for the first time, this reading is a precious, moving accompaniment. “Lots of fun…”

The most entertaining experience of the year...

You will hear that Finnegans Wake is a difficult read, if not impossible. Instead of reading it, try experiencing it through the voices of Barry McGovern and Marcella Riordan. They bring to life what, at first reading, appears to be gibberish.

I think of Finnegans Wake as a story being dictated from a dream, complete with all you would expect from a dream; a stream of consciousness tale linking word and thought associations with double and tripple entendres. There is singing, there is prose, and there is poetry; there is a rhythm in a lot of the book that the narrators bring out nicely.

If you ever had a dream where everybody you ever met and everything you ever experienced got linked together, along with all the coincidences that ever happened in your life and you had the task of putting them all into one story, it just might turn out like Finnegans Wake. This was indeed the most enteraining experience of the year...

so helpful

i loved it and found it necessary to finally truly fall in love with this book. this performance is so daunting the effort alone should be celebrated!

Masterpiece

Truly Amazing! Every time I read Joyce the experience is deepened and expanded. There are so many levels to enjoy.

The keys to. Given!

Finnegans Wake is probably one of the most unconventional works of literature ever written. It demands so much from the reader but offers plenty of rewards, surprises, and even intense euphoric moments that all justify the effort. On the surface the sentences may appear to be gibberish since each word contains multiple meanings and is constructed like the nucleus of an atom. However, a deeper reading reveals thousands of different stories and layers being told at once, rewarding the reader again and again in a process of exciting discovery. One can spend the rest of his or her life reading and rereading the book and even then, there will be many secrets that will remain hidden for future readers to find.

This audiobook is a miracle in that it effectively provides keys to unlocking many of the novel’s treasure chests through a very careful and passionate reading by Barry McGovern and Marcella Riordan. The narrators seem very tuned in to the novel’s uniquely Irish voice, and the pace of their narration is perfect, not too fast but enough to keep the listener engaged. Pronouncing the words and keeping their flow requires a lot of talent, and I’m so thankful both narrators excel with flying colors. I have been searching most of my adult life for recordings of the book to listen to again and again and am just thrilled this audiobook is now available to the public on Bloomsday. James Joyce scholars have recommended reading the novel aloud to help guide the reader but this audiobook does all of that for you in the most extraordinary way. You won’t understand everything in the novel at first, but the more you allow its voice to sink in, the more like music the words will become.

For those up for the challenge of tackling this novel, a lifetime of pleasures awaits you!

The seim anew.

McGovern and Riordan do a great job of bringing this challenging work to life. I was particularly impressed by Riordan’s work on the Anna Livia Plurabelle chapter, the lessons chapter (she reads Issy’s footnotes), and the conclusion of book IV. I listened to it while reading along, which helped because I was able to see words where the pronunciation was ambiguous. Hearing the Wake aloud gives new levels of comprehension. If you want to try Finnegans Wake, this is a great way. It’s also a great way for experienced readers to hear it anew. I will definitely be coming back to it. For future readings, it would be great if there were a way to skip to each of the 17 chapters instead of just the four books. The next time through I’ll write down the times so I can find particular sections more easily.

An excellent reading of a difficult text

No one should pick up Finnegans Wake expecting an ordinary story. Look well before setting sail on this work. But if you have decided to read it, this audio rendition will be an outstanding help. (For one chapter, Shem the Penman, I am partial to the reading by Cyril Cusack, also available on Audible. But delightful as that recording is, it is of a heavily abridged text. This recording is unabridged. A monumental achievement.)