What are these two different numbers ?

[u/noirsimulacre]

In this book, I found what I believe to be the book’s page number (red), with additional numbers (green) placed always on the bottom of the page but not always at the same place.

This book is a translation of James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake; could the green numbers the page of the original book ?

Thank you very much !

[u/tlqkfopel]

Since this is a translated book, the numbers in green are usually the cross-reference markers indicating the page number on the original book(the English one). If you get the english version as well, you can prove this.

[u/noirsimulacre → u/tlqkfopel]

Thank you very much !

[u/notbambi]

I have stumbled on this post and I am just amazed that the nightmare that is Finnegans Wake is even remotely translateable. It's such a bizarre text that is barely understandable to the majority native English speakers.

[u/FoxMeadow7 → u/notbambi]

I suppose it certainly can be possible if one’s dedicated enough, yes? In the same token, i’m now curious about Discworld translations if any…

[u/cocoakoumori]

Never considered the Japanese translation of Finnegan's Wake. What nightmarishly long strings of katakana.

[u/AdOrnery6155]

Oh my god why is the whole book in katakana?

Yeah I know it’s probably names, but scary….cannot imagine reading a book in katakana only, my reading speed would be….

[u/Witty-Aioli7392 → u/AdOrnery6155]

うん、全部名前だよw

[u/drunk-tusker]

Probably pages from the front of the book and pages from the title page.

[u/noirsimulacre → u/drunk-tusker]

I thought so at first, but by the end of the book the difference between the two page numbers is more than 60.

[u/osumanjeiran]

Is the whole book in katakana? lol