The Mookse and The Gripes

Finnegans Wake is often described as one of the most impenetrable literary works ever written, but great riches and humour bubble beneath its opaque surface for all to enjoy. The Mookse and the Gripes is the peculiar and hilarious re-telling of Aesop’s ancient fable of ‘The Fox and the Grapes’, as presented in Joyce’s 1939 classic. This sequel to The Ondt & the Gracehoper (Lilliput, 2014) by Irish artist Th omas McNally features over one hundred full colour illustrations. Each one is based on a line from the fable and helps to interpret and illuminate the work. Almost eighty years on from the original publication, this illustrated edition of Joyce’s fable off ers to readers a comedic, much needed entry-point into Finnegans Wake, and to its appreciation. The book also contains an introduction by McNally and an essay by great European Joyce scholar, Fritz Senn, providing further guidance to readers in their exploration of Joyce’s masterwork.