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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
A hearty "Meh."
Clearly a triumph of cultural accumulation and linguistic mastery, but offers so much less in the way of story than I prefer in a novel.
Clearly a triumph of cultural accumulation and linguistic mastery, but offers so much less in the way of story than I prefer in a novel.
I didn't actually read this. I listened (in podcast form) to the 1982 RTE Radio production interspersed with the accompanying 2004 conversation between Gerry O'Flaherty and Fritz Senn. It was a good move on my part, I think. I doubt I'll ever have the fortitude to get through this thing in text.
Having said that, in a way, I loved this book. Joyce knew how to use language in ways that I could only ever dream. Every chapter was exciting and playful and fun, even when it was... Well, I'll get to that. Some of them were even, so far as I could understand them, very funny. I enjoyed the grandiosity of the recounting of the men's unimportant conversation, and I genuinely laughed aloud at the deliberate badness of the prose employed to describe Bloom and Daedalus' late night walk. The characters were truly fantastic, too. Bloom leapt off the page from moment one, abhorrent as he could be. Molly was great well before we even met her, and she was even better afterwards. Daedalus was insufferable, though I have no doubt he was meant to be so.
Also, I hated this book. Joyce was clever, and he knew it, and so much of this book was dedicated to him showing it off to no real purpose. I guess there probably wasn't *meant* to be a purpose except for the exercise itself, and I'm sure I just don't have the education or experience or disposition to comprehend why this is a good thing, but oh boy, did I find it annoying at times. I also suspect (though I definitely don't have the education to know for sure) that this book is to blame for many of the things I find annoying in certain modern fiction. What do you call it? Modernist? Postmodernist? When stylistic decisions appear to be made in the interest of establishing artistic cred rather than contributing to the story in any way? I hate it every time and I'd place a small bet that lines can be drawn from the worst offenders I've read to this very book.
The thing is, though, that all my opinions here are really nothing more than suspicions. I suspect that the things I enjoyed were meant to be enjoyable in that way. I suspect that Ulysses is not really a novel and is more a masterclass showcase of talent not unlike a season of Australian Idol in which the contestant nails the prompt week after week, except Joyce came up with his own challenges and they were all a bit crazy. But I don't know that for sure. I don't know anything for sure. And that's why I can't give this any kind of rating. At any rate, I suspect it's a bit beyond ratings. But I'm not sure.
Having said that, in a way, I loved this book. Joyce knew how to use language in ways that I could only ever dream. Every chapter was exciting and playful and fun, even when it was... Well, I'll get to that. Some of them were even, so far as I could understand them, very funny. I enjoyed the grandiosity of the recounting of the men's unimportant conversation, and I genuinely laughed aloud at the deliberate badness of the prose employed to describe Bloom and Daedalus' late night walk. The characters were truly fantastic, too. Bloom leapt off the page from moment one, abhorrent as he could be. Molly was great well before we even met her, and she was even better afterwards. Daedalus was insufferable, though I have no doubt he was meant to be so.
Also, I hated this book. Joyce was clever, and he knew it, and so much of this book was dedicated to him showing it off to no real purpose. I guess there probably wasn't *meant* to be a purpose except for the exercise itself, and I'm sure I just don't have the education or experience or disposition to comprehend why this is a good thing, but oh boy, did I find it annoying at times. I also suspect (though I definitely don't have the education to know for sure) that this book is to blame for many of the things I find annoying in certain modern fiction. What do you call it? Modernist? Postmodernist? When stylistic decisions appear to be made in the interest of establishing artistic cred rather than contributing to the story in any way? I hate it every time and I'd place a small bet that lines can be drawn from the worst offenders I've read to this very book.
The thing is, though, that all my opinions here are really nothing more than suspicions. I suspect that the things I enjoyed were meant to be enjoyable in that way. I suspect that Ulysses is not really a novel and is more a masterclass showcase of talent not unlike a season of Australian Idol in which the contestant nails the prompt week after week, except Joyce came up with his own challenges and they were all a bit crazy. But I don't know that for sure. I don't know anything for sure. And that's why I can't give this any kind of rating. At any rate, I suspect it's a bit beyond ratings. But I'm not sure.
Finally finished this motherf***r. Not sure what to rate it or say about it. Didn’t understand half of it, enjoyed some of it. Not sure it was worth the effort to decipher the parts I *did* understand. I got a few books *about* Ulysses. Maybe they will help. Also: I *hated* the Stephen Dedalus chapters.
I can’t say I fully understood what in the world was going on with this book. It was interesting. The author used lots of different styles and also seemed to use no style at all. I feel like it had something to do with how people perceive themselves in the world, and their hopes for how others see them.
I first read this book because I was told it couldn't be done. Only years later did I appreciate the music that James Joyce weaves with words. An all time favourite. The Molly Bloom soliloquy....
I get its significance. I can see what was new and exciting about it. But when it comes down to it, I just don't like this book.
Finished. I know there are already a million reviews so why bother… but I’ll bother anyway. Did I love every minute of reading this? No. Do I appreciate its greatness? Yes.
I equate this book to going into an overwhelmingly large museum, a place like the Louvre, each room is filled with glorious art, some that speaks to me some that doesn’t. The sheer variation of human ability to create on display, beauty, skill, creativity… but in Ulysses the simple fact that all that variation and art has come from one mind is the magic.
For me the rooms I relished most: Proteus, Sirens, Nausicaa, Ithaca
I equate this book to going into an overwhelmingly large museum, a place like the Louvre, each room is filled with glorious art, some that speaks to me some that doesn’t. The sheer variation of human ability to create on display, beauty, skill, creativity… but in Ulysses the simple fact that all that variation and art has come from one mind is the magic.
For me the rooms I relished most: Proteus, Sirens, Nausicaa, Ithaca
challenging
reflective
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
“There’s no one as blind as the fellow who won’t see”
Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ is an epic narrative of the journey of Leopold Bloom across his day in Dublin. It parallels the events of Odysseus’ homecoming in ‘The Odyssey’, each episode representing a segment of his journey. On the one hand this was really clever, full of subtle allusions which I appreciated once I clocked onto them, though on the other hand a fair few of these allusions I had to chase up analysis’ of and given how obscure and loosely ties they were in some cases that perhaps takes away from them being particularly impressive as generally they were difficult to pick up and understand.
A lack of understanding was a common trend in ‘Ulysses’. I would describe most of this novel as simply ‘words’. So much of it was just stream of consciousness lists and playing with the narrative format, imitating other authors or switching to script in parts, but ultimately most of it was just incomprehensible lists and extremely specific descriptions that confused the narrative and made it feel less of a story and more just - words. That being said Joyce was clearly extremely well read and educated, his work is full of philosophy and literary allusions which in the cases that I picked up on and understood made parts of the book very rewarding. I read that ‘Ulysses’ is a testament to how well read you are as a reader dependent on how much you pick up, and in each reread you will learn more and more about yourself and see how far your own personal reading journey has come, and I would be inclined to agree; though it will be a very long time until I can see myself ever having the enthusiasm to try and pick this up again.
I liked the relationship between Bloom and Stephen Daedalus, as morally questionable as they are presented to be it was sweet in places, especially in the Homeric homecoming during the ‘Nostos’ third of the narrative. I didn’t as much enjoy the extremely sexualised relationships between couples and flings throughout though, Joyce is very specific in his depictions of these scenes and the ‘Roman Candle’ episode which I had read an excerpt from for uni a few years ago was not an enjoyable experience to revisit. After all, Bloomsday is an anniversary of Joyce’s first sexual encounter with his wife-to-be so what more can be expected.
As it stands, for the better or the worse, ‘Ulysses’ was an extremely tricky read and I can’t say I enjoyed it very much, but know I will be glad of myself for reading it when I am scurrying around Dublin and able to recognise the locations in a few months.
If you find yourself with as much time as James Joyce had to write this book, use it for somthing more productive than reading it because you will loose the will to read.
The things you do for completing a 100 Book scatch map
The things you do for completing a 100 Book scatch map
I read it as a challenge, and it was certainly challenging. There’s a lot of fascinating poetry in the various uses of language, but the exhaustive examination of every minor avenue of investigation got wearying. Maybe I’ll try it again in a few years.