Ulysses

It's a shame that people always play up this book as if it's an impossible behemoth. Finnegans Wake is, perhaps, but Ulysses is actually very approachable. The episodic style makes it a book you can enjoy in digestible chunks, and it's "based" on a set of myths that most decently read people know anyway (i.e. the Odyssey). Of course, that's not to say that there is no tough slogging...more

It's a shame that people always play up this book as if it's an impossible behemoth. Finnegans Wake is, perhaps, but Ulysses is actually very approachable. The episodic style makes it a book you can enjoy in digestible chunks, and it's "based" on a set of myths that most decently read people know anyway (i.e. the Odyssey). Of course, that's not to say that there is no tough slogging -- this is the most advanced of the so called "stream of consciousness" novels, and needless to say it can be tough to follow the random thoughts of an intellectual like Stephen Dedalus. But my god, it's so worth it -- every episode works, and most of them do on a myriad of levels. It all adds up to a baffling achievement, a work that is somehow both undeniably universal and yet poignantly personal. Read it.   hide

Sorry everyone...I found it extremely long and boring & difficult to understand but was pretty excited to find plaques commemorating the hero's various stops in Dublin

Excellent but, at times, difficult book. One annoying thing about it is that the style changes throughout. The opening section is very literary and modern, and comical, and makes you long to just go for a pint and chat. There are so many things in this book, and so many layers, that my advice to the first time reader would be to just enjoy the events as they unfold, for their humour and...more

Excellent but, at times, difficult book. One annoying thing about it is that the style changes throughout. The opening section is very literary and modern, and comical, and makes you long to just go for a pint and chat. There are so many things in this book, and so many layers, that my advice to the first time reader would be to just enjoy the events as they unfold, for their humour and detail. I don't mean at the expense of the whole, but if you worry too much about 'getting it' on the first read, then it might just make it more difficult. I think it requires at least two, if not three readings. For me, the second reading was more enriching than the first, and it was on the third reading that it really opened up for me.   hide

I am in the middle of Nightown, the Circe episode, on my third readthrough. I will finish before the 16th, and celebrate alone this year. I have a fondness for this book that comes from its honesty. Yes, I said honesty. There is no question about the difficulty of this book, but there's also no question that it is indeed accessible. It was only until later that Joyce went too far and made what...more

I am in the middle of Nightown, the Circe episode, on my third readthrough. I will finish before the 16th, and celebrate alone this year. I have a fondness for this book that comes from its honesty. Yes, I said honesty. There is no question about the difficulty of this book, but there's also no question that it is indeed accessible. It was only until later that Joyce went too far and made what was to shape the novel into a far-reaching grasp at novelty. The book encompasses the entirety of human difficulty within one day and two men, old and young, artistic and scientific, poetic and pragmatic. Bloom is a man to love and for whom we can't help but have compassion. Daedalus is the image of our own artistic aspiration. And finally, the soft utterance of Yes to end what some mistake as a depressing novel is the completion of a cycle so timeless that it cannot be anything other than the affirmation of life and living.   hide

"this was a bit like thinking someone else's thoughts... " said one reviewer. Many years later I saw the film "Being John Markovitch" and realized that going through the portal into Markovitch's mind was not unlike the novel Ulysses. If the movie had been a novel it may be critiqued much as this novel of James Joyce.Ulysses is not for everyone. Some can pick it up and read it, others will put it...more

"this was a bit like thinking someone else's thoughts... " said one reviewer. Many years later I saw the film "Being John Markovitch" and realized that going through the portal into Markovitch's mind was not unlike the novel Ulysses. If the movie had been a novel it may be critiqued much as this novel of James Joyce.Ulysses is not for everyone. Some can pick it up and read it, others will put it down many times before struggling through to the last chapter. Perhaps the best way of evaluating this novel is to open it anywhere in the middle 2/3 of the book and read a page. One will either be fascinated and want to read more or will be turned off by the language, prose and lexicon.I resolved the issue of time and solitude required to give it due attention, by taking it to Brazil where my daughter left me for several days with nothing but miles of deserted beach on which to walk and read. I felt I was the protagonist in the novel on his walk... I finished it and very glad I did.   hide

I will agree with many an anguished student that not every part of this masterpiece is 100% captivating, enjoyable or even readable (I hate you Oxen of the Sun. I hate you with my soul.). However, the overall book is simply stunning in it's scope and brilliant in what it attempts to do. My favorite chapter of the work is the Proteus section - which has often been cited as one of the more...more

I will agree with many an anguished student that not every part of this masterpiece is 100% captivating, enjoyable or even readable (I hate you Oxen of the Sun. I hate you with my soul.). However, the overall book is simply stunning in it's scope and brilliant in what it attempts to do. My favorite chapter of the work is the Proteus section - which has often been cited as one of the more difficult, but nonetheless is hauntingly beautiful in it's depiction of youthful stream of consciousness - and I've found myself reciting portions of it often. Seriously, get a concordance, hunker down and tear into this thing. It's ultimately worth it.   hide

In the past, the book has always been a daunting challenge: no one I knew who'd actually attempted this book got past the character shaving in the first chapter. I had attempted once before, and hit the same wall as others. This time however, I realized the opening setting and actions are an interesting parallel of the Tridentine Mass, and suddenly it made sense. I heartily decided to take on the...more

In the past, the book has always been a daunting challenge: no one I knew who'd actually attempted this book got past the character shaving in the first chapter. I had attempted once before, and hit the same wall as others. This time however, I realized the opening setting and actions are an interesting parallel of the Tridentine Mass, and suddenly it made sense. I heartily decided to take on the rest of the book with gusto and aplomb. . . . Oh my goodness, I now don't think I'm ever going to finish this book. While at times the following of Bloom's rapid shift in conscious thought is fascinating and interesting (I enjoyed the funeral quite a bit), most of the time I find my self so lost that I actually get SLEEPY trying to read this book. I think I need a break . . .   hide

I've had two goes at this: once while I was at uni and once again on the 100th anniversary of Bloom's Day. Didn't manage to finish it the second time and didn't understand it either time. I'm sure it's a masterpiece but without an Irish dictionary and comprehensive notes, I found it pretty undecipherable.

This is THE greatest novel of the 20th century and it is nice to see that others agree with me. Difficult it certainly is but you have to stick to it and after 1 read though put it away for a year or 2 and get back into it again. My 1st reading was in 1964 - my last (4th) reading was at a Concordia class and was well worth it as it always gives you new and fascinating insights as you re-read. ...more

This is THE greatest novel of the 20th century and it is nice to see that others agree with me. Difficult it certainly is but you have to stick to it and after 1 read though put it away for a year or 2 and get back into it again. My 1st reading was in 1964 - my last (4th) reading was at a Concordia class and was well worth it as it always gives you new and fascinating insights as you re-read. I have even done (with my wife) a presentation on the music in Joyce and with particular reference to the Sirens chapter - written as a fugue!! What an innovator Jimmy Joyce was! The review by Robert on 2007-10-23 is spot on by the way. If you have trouble reading it - persist and/or join a group and read it that way. The Greatest book of the 20th Century!!!! This is THE most innovative and important book of the 20th Century   hide