Canberra book club is reading Finnegans Wake at the pace Joyce wrote it
A Canberra pub book club started reading James Joyce's Finnegans Wake in 2019 and expects to take 17 years to finish it.
A reading group in Canberra started tackling James Joyce's Finnegans Wake in 2019. The group meets in a back room of King O'Malley's pub in Civic and reads about one paragraph per week.
Seven years in, they have reached more than 150 pages and expect to keep going for about ten years more. The novel is famously difficult, opening halfway through a sentence and filled with made-up words that look like spelling mistakes.
Members come from all walks of life: musicians, security guards, and people with no literary background. The group was founded by Gabrielle Carey, co-author of Puberty Blues, who died in 2023.
The group continues carrying on her passion for Joyce's work.
- One paragraph per week
- Reading pace
- More than 150
- Pages reached after seven years
- 17 years
- Expected total time
Why it mattersIt shows how reading difficult literature together as a community makes something that seems impossible feel accessible and rewarding.
AustraliaThe group demonstrates how Australian pubs and shared spaces can host meaningful intellectual community experiences alongside casual gatherings.
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