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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
The last time I read this book in an academic setting (sometime around my sophmore year of college), my roommate and I considered starting releasing a concept album about the travails of Stephen Dedalus. Ideally, this record would be in the style of a Motown-style girl group (the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas) and would largely concern itself with the protagonist's increasingly explicit need for (insert your favorite slang term for the female reproductive system here).
This was first Joyce I ever read, and (full disclosure) I read it to impress a boy I was much impressed with whilst at soph0more in high school. Though I now regret the amount of time and energy I wasted in trying to woo said boy, I do not regret the Joyce, which pretty much opened me up to a way of writing and reading I had not encountered before.
What kills me is that this is the Joyce that gets taught to more general population than its follow-up. I guess because it's an easier read. It's certainly easier to to teach and unlikely to offend anyone. Still, I think this book is better read with "Ulysses" (in which Stephen finally gets a sense of humor).
This was first Joyce I ever read, and (full disclosure) I read it to impress a boy I was much impressed with whilst at soph0more in high school. Though I now regret the amount of time and energy I wasted in trying to woo said boy, I do not regret the Joyce, which pretty much opened me up to a way of writing and reading I had not encountered before.
What kills me is that this is the Joyce that gets taught to more general population than its follow-up. I guess because it's an easier read. It's certainly easier to to teach and unlikely to offend anyone. Still, I think this book is better read with "Ulysses" (in which Stephen finally gets a sense of humor).
challenging
Al James Joyce Centre di Dublino organizzano visite guidate, tra cui il "Joyce Circular tour". La guida ci ha parlato più dell'Ulisse che di altro, ma si è profuso in consigli sulla lettura delle opere di Joyce, consigliandoci caldamente di leggere Portrait in quanto "prequel" di sorta dell'Ulisse.
Dei cosiddetti romanzi di formazione che ho letto - pochi, perchè non amo il genere - questo è sicuramente quello che, autobiografico o meno, mi è piaciuto di più. Il suo flusso di coscienza, per quanto estraniante e in grado di creare confusione nel lettore, è molto vicino al modo che ho di pensare, e mi ha aiutato a calarmi nei panni di Stephen Dedalus senza per forza esserne costretta da artifici quali l'eccessiva simpatia del protagonista o la forma in prima persona che tanti altri usano.
Ammetto di essere rimasta spiazzata dal finale, o meglio dalla forma in cui è stato scritto, e probabilmente di essermi persa metà della narrazione da qualche parte, ma non posso che arrendermi di fronte a questo Maestro della letteratura contemporanea, difficile da comprendere ma affascinante al punto di cimentarsi con essa in ogni caso.
Dei cosiddetti romanzi di formazione che ho letto - pochi, perchè non amo il genere - questo è sicuramente quello che, autobiografico o meno, mi è piaciuto di più. Il suo flusso di coscienza, per quanto estraniante e in grado di creare confusione nel lettore, è molto vicino al modo che ho di pensare, e mi ha aiutato a calarmi nei panni di Stephen Dedalus senza per forza esserne costretta da artifici quali l'eccessiva simpatia del protagonista o la forma in prima persona che tanti altri usano.
Ammetto di essere rimasta spiazzata dal finale, o meglio dalla forma in cui è stato scritto, e probabilmente di essermi persa metà della narrazione da qualche parte, ma non posso che arrendermi di fronte a questo Maestro della letteratura contemporanea, difficile da comprendere ma affascinante al punto di cimentarsi con essa in ogni caso.
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Te voy a decir lo que haré y lo que no haré. No serviré por más tiempo a aquello en lo que no creo, llámese mi hogar, mi patria o mi religión. Trataré de expresarme de algún modo en vida y arte, tan libremente como me sea posible, tan plenamente como me sea posible, usando para mi defensa las únicas armas que me permito usar: silencio, destierro y astucia" ❤
Retrato de los vaivenes de la infancia, formación y emancipación religiosa, de Stephen Dedalus, alter-ego de Joyce. Lo recomiendo sólo para alguien en proceso de conocer o adentrarse en el mundo de Joyce, porque es bien autobiográfico y, pese a ser un libro corto, a ratos se hace súper pesado.
Destaco las discusiones y reflexiones en torno al arte, a la belleza y la religión, sobre todo al final.
Retrato de los vaivenes de la infancia, formación y emancipación religiosa, de Stephen Dedalus, alter-ego de Joyce. Lo recomiendo sólo para alguien en proceso de conocer o adentrarse en el mundo de Joyce, porque es bien autobiográfico y, pese a ser un libro corto, a ratos se hace súper pesado.
Destaco las discusiones y reflexiones en torno al arte, a la belleza y la religión, sobre todo al final.
I was vibing with the free indirect speech early on, but as Stephen’s sense of self importance grew, my interest waned. The uncritical portrayal of this adolescent self-aggrandisement is no doubt realistic, but I’m not sure I could take another page of his lectures on esthetics. I also felt that the same effect with regards to religion could have been achieved without dedicating half the novel to sermons.
It’s hard to rate a book you feel is important but that you did not enjoy reading.
From “Once upon a time there was a moo-cow” to “Whence comes this thusness?” Joyce melted my brain, and this is only his practice run for Ulysses! I don’t think I have ever read anything with less understanding. Perhaps it was Colin Farrell’s fast-paced Irish-accented reading of the audiobook. Or perhaps it was all the elevated Latin and the Irish colloquialisms. But I just couldn’t get through what he was saying to understand WHAT he was saying.
I watched several YouTubers (Better Than Food and also Thug Notes) break down the book, and I feel I can wrap my brain around it now. I can appreciate the evolution of the writing style as the main character matured. I can appreciate the struggle of discovering yourself when there are so many external influences that don’t mesh with your internal values.
And I can appreciate that he left the church after experiencing God in the drudgerous, hypocritical examples of his school masters and that horrifically vivid sermon on hell. If that was the extent of my experience, I likely would have left the church too!
From “Once upon a time there was a moo-cow” to “Whence comes this thusness?” Joyce melted my brain, and this is only his practice run for Ulysses! I don’t think I have ever read anything with less understanding. Perhaps it was Colin Farrell’s fast-paced Irish-accented reading of the audiobook. Or perhaps it was all the elevated Latin and the Irish colloquialisms. But I just couldn’t get through what he was saying to understand WHAT he was saying.
I watched several YouTubers (Better Than Food and also Thug Notes) break down the book, and I feel I can wrap my brain around it now. I can appreciate the evolution of the writing style as the main character matured. I can appreciate the struggle of discovering yourself when there are so many external influences that don’t mesh with your internal values.
And I can appreciate that he left the church after experiencing God in the drudgerous, hypocritical examples of his school masters and that horrifically vivid sermon on hell. If that was the extent of my experience, I likely would have left the church too!
Really slow paced, plus it's the kind of book you need to read slowly to really appreciate. James Joyce's writing style and use of the language is just magnificent. The novel focuses a lot on education, religion, philosophy and how they lived in Ireland at that time. I couldn't quite understand or appreciate most cultural or local symbols, which is why I didn't even enjoy reading it so much. Regardless of that, it made me realize at all times how good of a writer Joyce was.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
The book is a must for literature students who wish to understand contemporary fiction. James Joyce as an author is one of the most innovative writer, more so in linguistic terms. Hence this book required a focused reading along with a background history of England and Ireland.