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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Two of the books I read last year that I enjoyed the most were Gilead and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. I loved Gilead because it was about the beauty to be found in the simple observations of mundane, everyday life by an unexceptional person. I loved Billy Lynn because it was about the practical wisdom to be found in the interior monologue of a cultural outsider. Ulysses does both of these things very well.
I don't think that I'm equipped to talk about the more scholarly elements of the book (the discussion of Shakespeare and Aristotle in Scylla & Charybdis, the evolution of language in the Oxen of the Sun, etc.) bc I'm not that cultured, but there are a number of things that struck me as brilliant, beautiful, or otherwise affecting as a non-scholar/layman:
1. It seemed like a very potent observation about living with grief to show how often Rudy came up in Leopold and Molly's thoughts in what was a typical day 10 years after his death
2. Choosing to dramatize the elements of the subconscious mind in a stage play format in the Circe chapter was incredibly creative and effective. It gave voice and context to every fleeting emotion in Bloom's (and occasionally Stephen's) mind in a way that tied back to the other chapters of the day.
3. It made me more conscious of my own interior monologue and made me realize that Joyce knows more about the mechanics of my thought process than I do
4. Of course the prose is pretty
5. Even the hardest chapter for me to get through (Eumaeus) was interesting because it was Joyce doing an impression of Bloom putting on his best impression of a scholarly voice to impress Stephen
That's pretty much all I have off the top of my head immediately after finishing it. Basically I think that it has earned it's reputation as a difficult read but not as a boring or pretentious read -- read it! It's worth it!
I don't think that I'm equipped to talk about the more scholarly elements of the book (the discussion of Shakespeare and Aristotle in Scylla & Charybdis, the evolution of language in the Oxen of the Sun, etc.) bc I'm not that cultured, but there are a number of things that struck me as brilliant, beautiful, or otherwise affecting as a non-scholar/layman:
1. It seemed like a very potent observation about living with grief to show how often Rudy came up in Leopold and Molly's thoughts in what was a typical day 10 years after his death
2. Choosing to dramatize the elements of the subconscious mind in a stage play format in the Circe chapter was incredibly creative and effective. It gave voice and context to every fleeting emotion in Bloom's (and occasionally Stephen's) mind in a way that tied back to the other chapters of the day.
3. It made me more conscious of my own interior monologue and made me realize that Joyce knows more about the mechanics of my thought process than I do
4. Of course the prose is pretty
5. Even the hardest chapter for me to get through (Eumaeus) was interesting because it was Joyce doing an impression of Bloom putting on his best impression of a scholarly voice to impress Stephen
That's pretty much all I have off the top of my head immediately after finishing it. Basically I think that it has earned it's reputation as a difficult read but not as a boring or pretentious read -- read it! It's worth it!
Took about five months, but I am ✨ done ✨. Can't wait to reread all of it with the reading group :)
I know that this book can be daunting, due to its length and reputation of difficulty, but it is truly amazing. Joyce's mastery of language and use of the stream of consciousness is awe-inspiring!
“Yes I said yes I will yes.”
After two years of attempts, I have finally surmounted this dastardly book. From the first attempt (where I threw my book across the room in frustration) to my other attempts to read it. Heck, I had Mitchell Keith try and read with me, but that failed.
I told myself this year would be the year. I’ve finally done it.
Why is this impressive or challenging?
It’s because James Joyce is what happens when you make a linguist a novelist. Although Ulysses is 3 Parts (18 chapters), each chapter is written in a different style. One chapter is written like newspaper headlines, another has musical numbers, the next one has the evolution of the English language, and one has eight paragraphs of no punctuation!
Not to mention, this book takes place over the course of a day. A single day.
This is by no means Joyce’s most difficult work. Finnegans Wake takes that title. (The Book club I’m in will be reading that next year, so we’ll see how I fare there).
What did I think of this book?
It’s a masterpiece plan and simple. It plays with language in a way I rarely see. Is it my favorite book? No. It would rank in my top 15. This book has companion guides that point out all the references and details Joyce left for the reader.
I may tackle a reread someday, but for now I will revel in my victory.
I finally finished my Odyssey of reading Ulysses.
After two years of attempts, I have finally surmounted this dastardly book. From the first attempt (where I threw my book across the room in frustration) to my other attempts to read it. Heck, I had Mitchell Keith try and read with me, but that failed.
I told myself this year would be the year. I’ve finally done it.
Why is this impressive or challenging?
It’s because James Joyce is what happens when you make a linguist a novelist. Although Ulysses is 3 Parts (18 chapters), each chapter is written in a different style. One chapter is written like newspaper headlines, another has musical numbers, the next one has the evolution of the English language, and one has eight paragraphs of no punctuation!
Not to mention, this book takes place over the course of a day. A single day.
This is by no means Joyce’s most difficult work. Finnegans Wake takes that title. (The Book club I’m in will be reading that next year, so we’ll see how I fare there).
What did I think of this book?
It’s a masterpiece plan and simple. It plays with language in a way I rarely see. Is it my favorite book? No. It would rank in my top 15. This book has companion guides that point out all the references and details Joyce left for the reader.
I may tackle a reread someday, but for now I will revel in my victory.
I finally finished my Odyssey of reading Ulysses.
I feel like I need to read this again. During the first reading I was so anxious about picking up meaning and finding all of the references (a truly sisyphean task) that I failed to relax and enjoy the writing. It's brilliantly constructed and definitely worth investing a bit more time in.
I know this is considered one of the best and most influential books of all time, which just makes me feel all the more ignorant because I don’t get it. I am glad I took the time to read it, but also glad I read it quickly and didn’t let myself get bogged down in everything I didn’t understand, which was substantial.
This was book 1 of my 40 books I always wanted to read challenge, and I’m thrilled to have it out of the way because it was one of the most daunting.
This was book 1 of my 40 books I always wanted to read challenge, and I’m thrilled to have it out of the way because it was one of the most daunting.
2 stars because I know it has cultural relevance and can at least appreciate that, but so much of this can simply be classed as a terminal case of "men writing women badly."
There aren't enough superlatives to describe Ulysses. I didn't want it to end. Wonderful and I appreciate it more every time I read it.
Feb. 2017: I simply cannot continue. Even listening to this, which I had hoped would help make it go down easier, is unbearable. I stopped before Bloom's trip to the outhouse (I was also using Cliff Notes in hopes of figuring out what I was listening to) which I just couldn't bear the thought of hearing. With my luck, that would be one of few things I would hear and be able to comprehend what the deuce was going on. (That pun was wholly unintended but I'll leave it.)
June 2017: In April, I put this back on my bedside table and made myself read little bits and pieces just to try to finish this thing eventually. Now I am fully resolved to do this with the aid of some fantastic lectures found on Audible in Great Courses. After listening to the introductory lecture and the one on Telemachus, I think I'm ready, dare I say, to start all over. I may be mad.
July 2017: I have now skimmed the entire book. I really don't know what else to say about that. The lectures helped immensely, but it is still unintelligible to read. To me, anyway.
June 2017: In April, I put this back on my bedside table and made myself read little bits and pieces just to try to finish this thing eventually. Now I am fully resolved to do this with the aid of some fantastic lectures found on Audible in Great Courses. After listening to the introductory lecture and the one on Telemachus, I think I'm ready, dare I say, to start all over. I may be mad.
July 2017: I have now skimmed the entire book. I really don't know what else to say about that. The lectures helped immensely, but it is still unintelligible to read. To me, anyway.