'My book does not pretend to scholarship, only to a desire to help the average reader who sees all his works available in paperback and is scared more of their content than of their price. The appearance of difficulty is part of Joyce's big joke; the profundities are usually expressed in good round Dublin terms; Joyce's heroes are humble men. If ever there was a writer for the people, Joyce was that writer. But there is a need for the kind of pilot-commentary I attempt to provide. After nearly fifty years of reading Joyce, it seems only right that I should pass on what I have learned of his methods to those who come fresh to his riches.' Anthony Burgess's own foreword to his work on Joyce establishes the purpose and the tone of his study. Vigorous, humorous, and perceptive, his commentary is an excellent introduction and a valuable companion to the reading of Joyce.
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Anthony Burgess (25th February 1917-22nd November 1993) was one of the UK's leading academics and most respected literary figures. A prolific author, during his writing career Burgess found success as a novelist, critic, composer, playwright, screenwriter, travel writer, essayist, poet and librettist, as well as working as a translator, broadcaster, linguist and educationalist. His fiction also includes NOTHING LIKE THE SUN, a recreation of Shakespeare's love-life, but he is perhaps most famous for the complex and controversial novel A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, exploring the nature of evil. Born in Manchester, he spent time living in Southeast Asia, the USA and Mediterranean Europe as well as in England, until his death in 1993.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific introduction,
By Tyrone Slothrop (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Here comes everybody: An introduction to James Joyce for the ordinary reader (Paperback)
Burgess, who is known for his almost fetishistic interest Shakespeare, was also quite a Joyce-head as well. This introduction, while difficult to find, is truly wonderful. I have read a few books on Joyce, and none can match Burgess' eloquence and enthusiasm. Ellman's biography is still the definitive Joyce tome, but Burgess has a freedom to wax fan boy in a way that Ellman could not, and the result is marvelous. Burgess' comments on Joyce's life are witty, touching and truthful, but what makes this book a must-have is his commentary on Finnegans Wake. No other critic has, in so few pages, made the "man-made mountain" seem so clear.
There are a few moments when Burgess labels certain linguistic acrobatics as "obvious" when they are clearly not. This book is not, in fact, for the ordinary reader. Presumably, however, an ordinary reader would not tackle the Wake in the first place. Burgess must be excused a touch of pretension here and there (he is a literary scholar, and literary scholars all lost touch with the ordinary reader ages ago), and the sheer rapture of this introduction makes it a must-read for any aspiring Joyce fan. A lovely book, well worth the high price for a used copy.
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