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Monday, June 10, 2024
Here Comes Everybody’s Karma by Shaharee Vyaas #BloomsdayFestival #20BooksofSummer24
A Literary Art Experiment Book blurb This publication is the result of a literary art experiment that aims to merge the most beautiful publication in English literature with its most enigmatic one. The result of this endeavor has been conden…
This publication is the result of a literary art experiment that aims to merge the most beautiful publication in English literature with its most enigmatic one. The result of this endeavor has been condensed in this retelling of Finnegans Wake as Here Comes Everybody's Karma.
It is widely agreed upon that the Kelmscott-Chaucer is the most beautiful book ever printed and that Joyce's Finnegan's Wake is the most ingenious one (or vilified one: depending upon one's personal opinion for what is appropriate English literature).
Weirdly enough, both publications seem to suffer from a rather uncommon literary defect that has been defined as: their readability!
The Kelmscott Chaucer used Walter William Skeat's edition of the complete Chaucer, after explaining to the delegates of the Clarendon Press that his edition was intended to be an "art object" and would not compete with their six-volume edition of Skeat's edition of Chaucer's complete works. It contains 87 wood engravings of drawings by Edward Burne-Jones. Peter Faulkner, a William Morris expert, expressed his preference for The Canterbury Tales by the Golden Cockerel Press, noting that in the Kelmscott Chaucer, "the two sixty-three-line columns of 12-point type on the large page do not make for easy reading."
Joyce claimed that by writing Finnegans Wake he was attempting to "reconstruct the nocturnal life", and that the book was his "experiment in interpreting 'the dark night of the soul'." Alas, for most lovers of English literature, he (subconsciously?) created a reader's ultimate nightmare.
The impression exists that only accomplished philologists have ever managed to decipher the novel's polysemantic vocabulary that was borrowed from approximately sixty-five languages and dialects.
This retelling is an effort to remediate those issues while enhancing their inherent qualities.
Evolutions in modern printing techniques have allowed to elevate this offspring of the Kelmscott-Chaucer from its black and white corset while avoiding the typographic setting that made for a difficult reading experience.
The foreign language idiosyncrasies in Finnegans Wake have been replaced by their English equivalent and Joyce's sibylline prose has been streamlined into a more fluid syntaxis.
Where Joyce proclaimed that the novel's cyclical nature is best demonstrated by the feature that it begins and ends in the middle of a sentence, this retelling expresses the cyclical nature of the tale by beginning and ending in connecting circumstances and its graphic layout.
Also, the colors of the decorative frames of each chapter are evolving in consecutive shades as they appear on the color wheel, with the color of the frames of this introduction featuring the frame-colors of the last chapter of this novel, while having a slightly different design.
Last but not least, the titles of this retelling, books and chapters, want to inspire the readers to rethink the whole tale into the context of the Asiatic philosophical concepts of Karma and Dharma, which are interacting cyclical principles.
That mentioned, Here Comes Everybody's Karma is a novel that tends to grow into the mind of the reader and therefore should be consumed at a leisurely pace to avoid a literary indigestion.
Enjoy!
My thoughts
As is indicated in the description of Here Comes Everybody's Karma the author, Shaharee Vyaas approached this book as a literary art experiment. Vyaas wanted to know what would emerge if you took two books. One which has been called the most beautiful book published - The Kelmscott Chaucer and the second that has been called the most ingenious (or vilified yet remarkable) book published - James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.
Each of these books have been subject to criticism. The Kelmscott, though beautiful, makes for difficult reading due to the typeset. Although, it has to be said that William Morris published The Kelmscott for its artistry. Similarly, Finnegans Wake is considered very difficult to read although the reasons for this are less about formatting than about the modernist stream of thought approach and the way that Joyce made up words using multiple languages.
In this retelling the author wants to make it a clear and readable story retaining the beauty of the Kelmscott and the originality and humour of the Joyce. Also, to relate this interpretation, this retelling, to the Asiatic concepts of Karma and Dharma.
So with all this Here Comes Everybody's Karma (HCEK) has been brought to life.
At 566pp it's not for the faint hearted!
With regard to The Kelmscott Chaucer that is an easier, visual comparison and I can quickly say that I believe that HCEK compares favourably on two counts. The first is readability and HCEK certainly has done that with much better typesetting yet still retaining an elegant font. It has also been written in English and so does not have the 'made up' language issue of the Joyce.
The second is with regard to how beautiful HCEK is. Well the author has similar borders to which colour has been introduced. The colour of the borders are those of the colour wheel which also gives an added nod to the cyclical element of Finnegans Wake (which starts and ends with the same half sentence) as the sections move through the wheel. The Kelmscott was printed in black on white paper or on vellum and the pictorial element was from hand carved wood blocks which make for some stunning artwork (see below for a link to The Kelmscott Chaucer online provided by Michael John Goodman) whilst Shaharee Vyaas has taken full advantage of modern technology to display his artwork in HCEK.
I have not read Finnegans Wake which, when invited to read HCEK, I was very open with the author about. So I have taken the points made in the authors description of his aims for his work and made my comments. The book is certainly readable and I found the overall project interesting. I didn't know The Kelmscott Chaucer and found that looking into it was a fascinating element. I was engaged when reading about Finnegans Wake to get some understanding of why this is such an enigmatic story.
Here Comes Everybody's Karma is also such a story. It is a not a simple read nor is it unreadable from the point of view of the language and typesetting. It has humour, it is cyclical in its telling and as already indicated in colour, it is a handsome book which gives the reader a sense of the free flowing mind of the author and I can see how this relates in its way to the modernist style of Joyce. The author has characters and other elements, for example, Asian food, culture and religion that give a slight nod towards the philosophical principles of Karma and Dharma. It's not a great leap to see why Vyaas feels Finnegans Wake with its cyclical implications would be a good fit.
Indeed, it's in life and death we see cycles - how birth then death then birth again - are found continually in nature; our old sayings such as 'what goes around, comes around', 'you reap what you sow' - the rhythm of life if you like. Also, we can influence some things, we choose to do or not to do things and that, in its turn has an influence on our lives and the lives of others. This is, as I understand it, we're Karma and Dharma come in and so we could choose to look at Finnegans Wake from this philosophical point of view.
So, in his retelling, this is what the author has tried to achieve and given that we are told this we can certainly choose to look at it with that point of view as it is incorporated into Here Comes Everybody's Karma. Perhaps this might raise a few eyebrows for Joyce fans but I would hope that they and all readers would take it in the spirit intended.
I didn't find this the easiest as it's not what I might normally read but I did find it fascinating and I enjoyed thinking on the authors ideas and looking into the various aspects (see below for just some examples of where my mind wandered) and whilst I'm not sure I have done complete justice to HCEK I have certainly enjoyed the journey and hope that, at least, comes across.
Thanks
Thank you to Shaharee Vyaas for inviting me to read Here Comes Everybody's Karma and also to Bostoen, Copeland & Day for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley and a further updated eCopy.
The launch of this novel will take place during the Bloomsday Festival in Dublin on June 11th between 6 – 8 pm at The Hole In The Wall Pub, 527 Blackhorse Avenue, Dublin, County Dublin, D07 NTP1, Ireland.
"I'm delighted to announce that my publisher has decided to launch this retelling of Finnegans Wake in the fringes of the Bloomsday Festival in Dublin on 11 June 2024 between 6 and 8 pm, at the Hole in the Wall, a venue that features multiple times in the book. Those attending will be welcomed with a snack and a drink, and have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book. Be aware that places for this event are limited to maximum 40 people and that local booksellers and press will get a preferential treatment. Only the first 20 inscriptions will get coupons for free drink and snack. Casual walk-ins are welcome too, but may have to cover for their consumptions by themselves. Maximum attendance is limited to 40 and inscriptions can be made on this facebook event." Shaharee Vyaas
Further reading
Here are just a few books, links etc that might be useful and interesting reading to accompany and support the reading of Here Comes Everybody's Karma by Shaharee Vyaas.
This novel has the cyclical nature of time as a subject. It is a literary art experiment that originally aimed to merge the most beautiful book in English literature, the Kelmscott-Chaucer, with its most enigmatic one, Finnegans Wake. Evolutions in modern printing techniques have allowed to elevate this offspring of the Kelmscott-Chaucer from its black and white corset while avoiding the typographic setting that made for a difficult reading experience. The foreign language idiosyncrasies in Finnegans Wake have been replaced by their English equivalent and Joyce's sibylline prose has been streamlined into a more fluid syntaxis. Last but not least, the titles of the four books and their chapters (all in one volume) of this retelling want to inspire the readers to rethink the whole tale into the context of the Asiatic philosophical concepts of Karma and Dharma, which are interacting cyclical principles. I also add a picture of the cover in attachment. At this instance I'm releasing excerpts of the book through my website I'm delighted to announce that my publisher has decided to launch this retelling of Finnegans Wake in the fringes of the Bloomfestival 2024 in Dublin, at the Hole in the Wall, a venue that features multiple times in the book. Those attending will be welcomed with a snack and a drink, and have the opportunity to purchase a copy of the book at the discounted price of 39 euros (normal price 49 euros).
Anthony Burgess (d. 1993) was a novelist, poet, playwright, composer, linguist, translator and critic. He is best known for his novel A Clockwork Orange (1962). Throughout his career wrote thirty-three novels, twenty-five works of non-fiction, two volumes of autobiography, three symphonies, more than 250 other musical works, and thousands of essays, articles and reviews. Burgess was a lifelong scholar of Joyce and his book, Here Comes Everybody (1964), the first of his critical books about Joyce, was called by the Observer, the best study of Joyce that I have ever read.
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (d. 1941) was an Irish novelist and poet. He is widely considered one of the most influential and important authors of the 20th century, particularly in his contributions to the modernist avant-garde movement.
Joyce is best known for Ulysses (1922), a landmark work in which the episodes of Homer's Odyssey are paralleled in an array of contrasting literary styles, perhaps most prominent among these the stream of consciousness technique he utilized. Other well-known works are the short-story collection Dubliners (1914), and the novels A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and Finnegans Wake (1939). In addition to his novels, he is also know for his three books of poetry, a play, occasional journalism, and his published letters.
A daring work of experimental, Modernist genius, James Joyce's Finnegans Wake is one of the greatest literary achievements of the twentieth century, and the crowning glory of Joyce's life. The Penguin Modern Classics edition of includes an introduction by Seamus Deane
'riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs'
Joyce's final work, Finnegan's Wake is his masterpiece of the night as Ulysses is of the day. Supreme linguistic virtuosity conjures up the dark underground worlds of sexuality and dream. Joyce undermines traditional storytelling and all official forms of English and confronts the different kinds of betrayal - cultural, political and sexual - that he saw at the heart of Irish history. Dazzlingly inventive, with passages of great lyrical beauty and humour, Finnegans Wake remains one of the most remarkable works of the twentieth century.
James Joyce (1882-1941), the eldest of ten children, was born in Dublin, but exiled himself to Paris at twenty as a rebellion against his upbringing. He only returned to Ireland briefly from the continent but Dublin was at heart of his greatest works, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. He lived in poverty until the last ten years of his life and was plagued by near blindness and the grief of his daughter's mental illness.
The James Joyce Centre : The James Joyce Centre is an educational charity, museum, and cultural institution which promotes the life, literature and legacy of "one of the world's greatest writers, James Joyce". Situated in a stunning Georgian townhouse in Dublin's North Inner City, the Centre offers visitors historical and biographical information about James Joyce and his influence upon the literary world.
Finnegans What? Finnegans Wake - A Guide by An Idiot by Lucy Brazier
A link is given here for this edition as it is mentioned in the introduction as the retelling being indebted to it.
Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: The William Morris Kelmscott Chaucer with Illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones (Calla Editions) Hardcover - Illustrated, 2017 by Geoffrey Chaucer (Author), Hugh G Evelyn-White (Author)
The Kelmscott Chaucer is a masterpiece of book and graphic design, and the jewel in the crown of Morris's Kelmscott Press. The poet W.B Yeats described the book as 'the most beautiful of all printed books', while a contemporary review in the Athenaeuem observed that 'In its own style, the book is, beyond dispute, the finest ever issued'. The book is also only one of three, along with Shakespeare's First Folio and the Gutenberg Bible, to have a census dedicated to it, to determine who owns a copy.
"The designer of the picture-blocks, the designer of the ornamental blocks, the wood-engraver, and the printer, all of them thoughtful, painstaking artists, and all working in harmonious cooperation for the production of a work of art"– william morris, 1892
Shaharee Vyaas is a polyvalent cryptomathician. As such he likes to hover above the demarcation zone between Science, Art, and Religion. Where most philosophers perceive the language as the limit of our knowledge, the cryptomathic method crosses the language barriers and stipulates that the unspeakable can be expressed in paintings, music or mathematical equations.
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