A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake: Unlocking James Joyce's Masterwork (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)

The original work by Campbell and Robinson is insightful, and is essential reading for those wanting to understand Finnegan's Wake. Unfortunately, some self-anointed Joyce scholar has polluted the original work with inane comments and remarks. I found that these comments, by ELE, added nothing to understanding Joyce's master work and I found that they were very annoying.The vapid interruptions by ELE reminded me of a petulant child who tugs on your shirtsleeve while you are having a conversation with someone. Look at me... pay attention to me...; In addition, ELE make claims in his minutia that are not justified. As an example, on p. 69 of the Skeleton Key, ELE asserts that Campbell is wrong regarding a portrait of Dean Swift and asserts that the portrait is actually Lewis Carrol - without saying why. And does it matter? Useless.I wouldn't mind if ELE had written a forward, a summary, or collected all of his banal comments in one place;. I would not be so annoyed if ELE put his insipid remarks as footnotes at the bottom of the page -- but to splatter the original work with self serving noise in the middle of the original text is not justified.If you want to read A Skeleton Key - and I strongly suggest that you do before diving headlong into Finnegan's Wake - then you would be well served to find an earlier edition that does not have the 'benefit' of ELE's useless erudition.

This book is for my personal library. Really glad to have it The condion of the book is G+ and the pages are very good with no obvious damage and no markings. I'm happy to have gotten this book which is a little hard to find at present. Thank you.

While Joseph Campbell's A Skeleton Key is likely the best introduction and all-around macro-level guide to the landmark literary work, Finnegans Wake, it also manages to transcend the genre of academic criticism and reading guides to emerge as a literary work in its own right. Campbell's A Skeleton Key is well researched, impeccably indexed, and uniquely informative on the Wake, but what propels it to be the magnum opus that it is, in my opinion, is its eminent readability. The Wake has inspired many reading guides and explanatory texts, from McHugh's vast, ambitious  Annotations to Finnegans Wake  to Tindall's less ubiquitous but still widely read  A Reader's Guide to Finnegans Wake (Irish Studies) , but in this reader's opinion, none serve so well as both a reader-friendly introduction and in-depth study of the Wake as Campbell's A Skeleton Key.Don't take my word for it, though. If Finnegans Wake has ever interested, enthralled, or intimidated you, go out to your local bookstore and look through a copy of Campbell's A Skeleton Key. Read the first few pages and you'll likely be hooked - and then log onto Amazon.com and buy your copy right away.

finnagans wake is not comprehensible. it is not like reading or watching a film. Mr.Joyce spoke over a dozen languages fluently and this book is in English and french and Swahili and Italian and Latin, Greek AND mostly in his own language which is kindof like English. it is not understandable because some many words are derivative of others, the characters are always changing and the story is circular. It took a quarter of a lifetime to write and may well take that or longer to grasp. it also has many meanings depending on your perspective. One-review claims it is contains the recipe for making an atomic bomb, oh well. Campbell and Robinson have done just what they say- given the reader a skeleton- you supply the body and sole. A marvelous book to read and extremely helpful bones to knaw.

Great book! Securely packed, promptly shipped. Thanks!

Do you aspire to the summit: James Joyce's "Finnegans Wake"? This book will guide you through. I suggest reading this book cover-to-cover first (it is not a small book, but it is a fairly quick read) and then jumping in to the spellbinding mysteries of "Finnegans Wake." Joseph Campbell (like Anthony Burgess) is an astute guide and his explanations of the double (and even multiple) entendre of Joyce's passages opens them up to be appreciated (and delighted in!) by any observant reader. What more can I say? Campbell's "A Skeleton Key" is my go-to when I have questions about "Finnegans Wake." Happy Reading!

I already owned a lot of audio and print books by Joseph Campbell so this book was an easy choice. Campbell's analysis and commentary lead me into an understanding of Finnegans Wake that cleared up my understandings. Read Wake before any critical analysis of the book... make your own judgement calls then read Campbell for a true understanding of Joyce's last work. Campbell's critique and commentary was the first major analysis of Finnegans Wake and is still the most extensive and respected. Joseph Campbell's death is a great loss to the academic world.

Excellent Companion book to the most unreadable book ever written. I checked this out from the library and read one passage that stuck with me so thoroughly I had to buy it.Joseph Campbell is a master of unravelling Joyce's greatest riddle. The book is not a destination but truly an experience that taps deep below the subconscious. Campbell's experience with mythology makes it worth having him as a guide.

A great help to help access a difficult book. Worth the effort though.

Good and very interesting research. It can illuminate Joyce's "Finnegan's wake" in a magnificent, attractive way just to rise inside the feeling and need to keep on with Finnegan's , and reading it to better understand the nature and the myth of Finnegann -everyman- existence. A truly benefactor, Joseph Cambell, to reveal the different layers the writing hosts. "A Skeleton Key" is a superb book for inmates coming from other environments. A book to be read.

mythology, alchemy, jungian psychology...

Product as described and fast delivery!

Ce livre est un excellent complément au livre de Tindall. Je le recommande vivement à tous ceux qui souhaitent lire Finnegans Wake.