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1.9k reviews for:
Ulysses: Annotated Edition
Sam Slote, Marc A. Mamigonian, James Joyce, James Joyce
3.64 AVERAGE
1.9k reviews for:
Ulysses: Annotated Edition
Sam Slote, Marc A. Mamigonian, James Joyce, James Joyce
3.64 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Clunky!!!
Religious, mythological and literary references are found in every phrase of this exquisitely written work. Prose purist rightly love the novel while an equal number of readers rightly loathe it. The organic chemistry of a literature degree.
Ulysses sits proudly atop the Western Canon, and deserves consideration for such a list, but if judged on pacing and story-telling it would not make the top thousand. Joyce's uses of language is mind boggling but as a novel it's highly experimental.
Portrait of the Artist is a more traditional book that captures the author's brilliance. To many Ulysses will feel like a bizarre pretentious torture and others will sit up, completely soaked and thrilled, begging for repeated waterboarding.
Ulysses sits proudly atop the Western Canon, and deserves consideration for such a list, but if judged on pacing and story-telling it would not make the top thousand. Joyce's uses of language is mind boggling but as a novel it's highly experimental.
Portrait of the Artist is a more traditional book that captures the author's brilliance. To many Ulysses will feel like a bizarre pretentious torture and others will sit up, completely soaked and thrilled, begging for repeated waterboarding.
slow-paced
I barely dare say I've read it really, having been through the book twice now, but I'm not currently reading it anymore. The first time around was in 'Dory-mode' (just keep swimming!). The second time was the audiobook version read by John Lee, which was enormously enjoyable. The next time I will study chapter synopses and analyses in advance, highlight my favourite bits and look up whatever references I don't get, in other words, I'll make a study out of it. Summer project maybe? I expect the fourth time, with John Lee, will be ever more delightful.
The loneliness of the long distance reader: with a rush and a push and the land that we stand on is ours....a life in the day or maybe it just feels like it. An extraordinary roller coaster ride, read on a challenge from the lovely guide at the Little Museum of Dublin, who said everybody gives up at least five times and many never make it past the first hundred pages. But I did and the breadth of imagination and inspiration for others is what leaves the most impression. Did Joyce coin the cis/trans usage? He may not be Shakespeare or the Book of Common Prayer but he runs them a close third. And for up to dateness, the rants about the British have a certain post-Brexit ring of truth: "the fellows that never will be slaves, with the only hereditary chamber on the face of god's earth and their land in the hands of a dozen gamehogs and cottonball barons. That's the great empire they boast about of drudges and whipped serfs." A marathon, and bewildering, but awing to be in the presence of greatness.
I'm not going to rate Ulysses, because the rating system is about how much you (dis)liked it, and because I hardly knew what was going on, I cannot really say I either liked or disliked it. I did find it quite interesting, to see all the different styles Joyce uses: a bit that was written in the form of a play, a bit that mocked catechism, and of course stream of consciousness. The last seventy pages or so, Molly's soliloquy, I really liked, and it worked well too. My advice to anyone who is daunted by Ulysses right now, is: don't be. Yes, it's difficult to understand what's going on, and yes, it is impossible to see all the (intertextual) references, but I guess that the only one who did understand the aforementioned , was Joyce himself. Unless of course you don't think it's worth your while, then by all means don't read it. It's just a book.
P.S. If you want to read something beautiful by Joyce that is well, more readable, read Dubliners, it's lovely.
P.S. If you want to read something beautiful by Joyce that is well, more readable, read Dubliners, it's lovely.
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading this book is like being an explorer in an incredibly dense rainforest: you can either slash your way through or you can stop and analyse all the flora and fauna that get in your way. Sometimes, you reach a clearing, where the going becomes a lot easier and you realise just how incredible expedition (this Odyssey?) really is. I had to do a lot of slashing. Joyce’s plentiful references (which I never got), his bizarre punctuation, irrelevant tangents and random application of abbreviations or foreign-language phrases make it almost a nightmare to read; then, all of a sudden and for only a few pages, you realise what’s going on and are totally immersed in the scene and you’re truly able to appreciate just what kind of a phenomenal writer James Joyce is. Unfortunately, the 10% of the time that I was able to experience this doesn’t entirely make up for the 90% of the time where I struggled, so take from this what you will. I probably wouldn’t read it again or recommend it to anyone else.
i just don't like james joyce's writing style sue me
After more than a year since I started this book, I finished reading it. I read the first chapter about 10 times and then I found a few more companion books and lectures that helped me progress. I tried to finish reading it by Bloom's day 2022 and finally finished reading the book 8 days later.
This is a hard book to read, even with the 3 sources that I followed, I am sure I didn't understand even half of it, and there are a couple of chapters that I just heard, and I need to read them many more times to understand what the words were saying :) but I should say that I really enjoyed reading this book and following Bloom through his day and finishing the day/night in Molly's head. But I should say that Joyce is showing off in this book, a bit too much. Yes, he is a genius, we get it from chapter 1, but he keeps trying to show that he is even smarter. Still, it is a joy to read although painful at times!
It will take you a long time to read this book but, in my opinion, it is worth every minute you spend cracking Joyce's code!
This is a hard book to read, even with the 3 sources that I followed, I am sure I didn't understand even half of it, and there are a couple of chapters that I just heard, and I need to read them many more times to understand what the words were saying :) but I should say that I really enjoyed reading this book and following Bloom through his day and finishing the day/night in Molly's head. But I should say that Joyce is showing off in this book, a bit too much. Yes, he is a genius, we get it from chapter 1, but he keeps trying to show that he is even smarter. Still, it is a joy to read although painful at times!
It will take you a long time to read this book but, in my opinion, it is worth every minute you spend cracking Joyce's code!