Finnegans Wake and Lemon Soap

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I happened upon a gem - a reading of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake at F.W. Sweny & Co. in Dublin. Sweny was frequented by Joyce back in the day (the 1920's) and is famously featured in Ulysses, chapter 5. The main character, Leopold Bloom, purchases lemon scented soap at Sweny. Aside from being a charming teeny tiny bookstore, the cast of characters reading that day could have been right out of a James Joyce short story. There is P.J. the worldy-wise "chemist" who bears a striking resemblance to Doc from Back to the Future, complete with white lab coat; Bridget, with her lilac colored hair; William, the self-professed expert in all things Irish; Flora, the heartbroken widow; Don, the Canadian historical fiction writer; Des, the Larry David lookalike who served as moderator; and a collective host of others. We each took turns reading a passage. It was up to Des to call time. In total, we read through three pages. Which means, in almost nine years, reading at this rate one day a week, they were on their third cycle of reading Finnegans Wake, page 59 to be exact. For me, the discussion which ensued afterwards only caused more confusion. It was hard enough to follow the book, let alone the interpretation of the passages expressed in the Irish accent of the Dubliners present. The brogue was thick and fast and choppy with references only understood by locals and Joyceans. I was not only lost, I was in the land of the lost. But I'll be back another Monday for the challenge to read again….among my new septuagenarian friends.

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(A Sample from Finnegans Wake, page 59)