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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
No doubt it is a really well written book. I probably would have enjoyed reading this in a literature class; as it is, I read it in the middle of summer. The descriptive passages were awesome but there wasn't enough of a plot to keep me interested.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really enjoyed this book. The prose was beautiful and I loved how the complexity of the prose grew as Stephen grew. This was my first real foray into futurism and stream of consciousness and I found it really intriguing. I’ll admit this was a difficult book to read at times but I think it served the story well. Where the book is scattered and constantly flipping back and forth between different time periods, it’s because Stephen is scatter brained and trying to make sense of his world.
I felt deeply connected to this book and to Stephen himself. The role of the Catholic Church in his life closely mirrors my own. I don’t think I could recommend this book to someone who didn’t grow up Catholic. But those mixture of emotions as one is struggling to become their own person while also struggling to keep up with the teachings of the church is something you have to live through to really understand. The chapters on Hell and Stephen’s reaction were so unbelievably relatable. I was screaming at him while I was reading it like Matthew McConaughey in Interatellar. The priest was so convincing and so terrifying with his depictions of eternal suffering, depictions that are not found anywhere in the Bible and only were added centuries afterwards by writers and poets. His reckoning towards the end of the book where he refutes that hypothesis was cathartic. He ended the book in a limbo between belief and nonbelief and I find myself in that same position.
I also loved reading historical insight into the fight for Irish home rule in the late 19th century. This is a period of history I find fascinating. It’s one thing to read nonfiction of these events but that never fully captures the actual every day response to that time period. The scene between Stephen’s father and Dante arguing about Parnell and his abandonment by the church was incredible. It was an unbelievable insight into the actual arguments and feelings of the time. The passion displayed was palpable. It felt so visceral.
I could say a lot more about this book. There wasn’t a lot in the way of plot and we only see other characters for brief periods through the eyes of Stephen. I can’t give it a perfect rating for that reason.
I felt deeply connected to this book and to Stephen himself. The role of the Catholic Church in his life closely mirrors my own. I don’t think I could recommend this book to someone who didn’t grow up Catholic. But those mixture of emotions as one is struggling to become their own person while also struggling to keep up with the teachings of the church is something you have to live through to really understand. The chapters on Hell and Stephen’s reaction were so unbelievably relatable. I was screaming at him while I was reading it like Matthew McConaughey in Interatellar. The priest was so convincing and so terrifying with his depictions of eternal suffering, depictions that are not found anywhere in the Bible and only were added centuries afterwards by writers and poets. His reckoning towards the end of the book where he refutes that hypothesis was cathartic. He ended the book in a limbo between belief and nonbelief and I find myself in that same position.
I also loved reading historical insight into the fight for Irish home rule in the late 19th century. This is a period of history I find fascinating. It’s one thing to read nonfiction of these events but that never fully captures the actual every day response to that time period. The scene between Stephen’s father and Dante arguing about Parnell and his abandonment by the church was incredible. It was an unbelievable insight into the actual arguments and feelings of the time. The passion displayed was palpable. It felt so visceral.
I could say a lot more about this book. There wasn’t a lot in the way of plot and we only see other characters for brief periods through the eyes of Stephen. I can’t give it a perfect rating for that reason.
challenging
slow-paced
This was my second time reading Portrait, with about, oh...ten years in between readings. I must have blocked most of it out, because most of it felt new. I remembered not liking it much and being sort of non-plussed the first time. I remembered why once I was knee deep in the hell fire section. Also, the latin. So. Much. Latin. Now I could've busted out my Latin-English dictionary, but I just didn't want to. Being a new mom means that I read things as deeply as I can on a first read and move on. I don't have time to research and analyze. So, I will most likely pick this novel up again at some future point with an aim to really dig in, because I think there's some really great material here. All that being said, definitely a worthwhile read, interesting character development, varied literary devices which kept me intrigued, etc. The first half of the novel reminded me quite a bit of Proust's Swann's Way, which I really loved. The ability to capture those very specific feelings and thoughts and moods of childhood is very...well, moving. It gets to me. I would have given Portrait 4 stars, but oh, the fires of hell. They tormented me. Truly. I'm sure there's a perfectly good reason for the incredible lengthiness of that whole sermon, but until I find out what that is the next time, it's a solid 3 stars from me.
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Brilliant work of art.
I read the Wordsworth Classics edition and it sports a whopping 526 endnotes, which reference one another occasionally too, which didn't really help with readability. Although some remarks in the endnotes are very helpful to understanding the story, it gets annoying to go back and forth ALL THE TIME and quick references and translations can be put into footnotes just as well. I will keep my eyes out for an edition like that.
The most remarkable thing about this novel in my opinion is the congruence between tone and subject matter. When Stephen is talking with his family or bantering with friends it's whimsical and it reads fluently and rapidly; an altogether different experience when you're reading father Arnall's sermons or when Stephen and his academic friends are having a philosophical discussion about beauty.
Like Ulysses, this is a novel to reread.
I read the Wordsworth Classics edition and it sports a whopping 526 endnotes, which reference one another occasionally too, which didn't really help with readability. Although some remarks in the endnotes are very helpful to understanding the story, it gets annoying to go back and forth ALL THE TIME and quick references and translations can be put into footnotes just as well. I will keep my eyes out for an edition like that.
The most remarkable thing about this novel in my opinion is the congruence between tone and subject matter. When Stephen is talking with his family or bantering with friends it's whimsical and it reads fluently and rapidly; an altogether different experience when you're reading father Arnall's sermons or when Stephen and his academic friends are having a philosophical discussion about beauty.
Like Ulysses, this is a novel to reread.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes