Written in a complex, pun-based idiogloss and boasting a dreamlike narrative that defies conventions of plot and continuity, James Joyce's Finnegans Wake has been challenging readers since its first publication in 1939. The novel is so famously difficult that it is widely agreed that only the brave or foolhardy attempt to unravel this well-known but relatively little-read classic. Most tackle the text in reading groups, which provide mutual assistance (and moral support) in understanding Joyce's modern masterpiece.

Now, with the publication of Edmund Epstein's A Guide through Finnegans Wake, no one has to go it alone. Recognized as one of the world's foremost Joyce scholars, Epstein has been reading and thinking about Joyce for over fifty years, and his considerable experience and enthusiasm is preserved here for the benefit of anyone with an interest in reading the Wake. This accessible guide approaches the daunting work in a way that provides handrails for beginners while, at the same time, presenting new insights for experienced readers.