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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I've read it before, but listening to it is a different experience. So fitting that the narrator was John Lee, who also read the version of The Odyssey that I listened to earlier this year. Still not going to remark further on the book because I still don't want to please Joyce in his grave.
Joyce is a little freak who put all of his kinks into this book, but I think his biggest kink is bending and breaking our Good English language. Ulysses is an INSULT to grammar and syntax, just a perverted disgusting disregard for traditional prose. Avoid at ALL COSTS if you can’t bear to see our Proper Lady English treated like a hussy.
(But really a comically rich text that reveals more and more of itself every time you re-visit it. A cosmic framing of ordinary life, fierce in its politics, vast in its influences, but always warm in its humanity. There is no better man to lead us through this epic day than the unconquered hero, Leopold Bloom (Henry Flowers, esq.))
(But really a comically rich text that reveals more and more of itself every time you re-visit it. A cosmic framing of ordinary life, fierce in its politics, vast in its influences, but always warm in its humanity. There is no better man to lead us through this epic day than the unconquered hero, Leopold Bloom (Henry Flowers, esq.))
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Extremely difficult to know how to rate or review this but let the record show that I finished it! Understanding it all a slightly different matter!
On the whole I did genuinely enjoy this story and its characters, even if the vast majority of the wordplay, allusions, and references were lost on me. It was just about possible to parse out a narrative (with the help of Wikipedia!) and knowing in advance some basic Irish history and the general structure of the book did help me have a vague idea of what was going on. I would say that anyone with a decent grasp of English *can* read Ulysses - there are only very small sections in other languages or nonsense-speak - but there were certainly times where I was mechanically reading one word after the other just to get through it, and not properly digesting the meaning of what I was reading.
I've tried to organise my thoughts by section, as this is possibly the longest book I've ever read?
Telemachus: entirely understandable, gave me a false sense of security. Not dissimilar to the opening of any other well-written literary fiction.
Nestor: also fairly understandable, some weird sentiments about Jewish people that were uncomfortable to read.
Proteus: the point at which things first started to get difficult. I don't remember much about what happened but I remember being confused a lot. Think I got Wikipedia out at this point.
Calypso: a bit of a vibe shift but I enjoyed this section, other than the lengthy description of going to the toilet. There are women characters! And a coherent narrative again!
Lotus Eaters, Hades: both intriguing and really got into the descriptions of Dublin as a place. Despite not being entirely flattering, it made me want to go and see it for myself. Also mostly straightforward written English and interesting character backstories.
Aeolus: probably one of my favourite sections - different enough to be interesting without feeling like total nonsense.
Lestrygonians: more descriptions of Dublin as a living city! I liked this part! Also lots of food.
Scylla and Charybdis: not going to lie, I really struggled to follow this. I don't know enough about Shakespeare or his wife to understand it.
Wandering Rocks: not especially interesting to me, but understandable enough.
Sirens, Cyclops: struggled again with both of these, they were just extremely dense and yet somehow devoid of much happening that you could latch onto.
Nausicaa: *weird* in subject matter but I strangely enjoyed the way it was written? Perhaps I was just relieved to actually have characters and events I recognised again
Oxen of the Sun, Circe: the worst parts of the whole book to wade through in my opinion, I was just reading words to get closer to the end. I'm sure some very clever things were going on but they flew directly over my head
Eumaeus: back to prose I could actually read properly! Again, I enjoyed this section, but more from relief at understanding it than anything else.
Ithaca: I liked the question-and-answer layout of this section, less keen on more toilet talk and mathematics.
Penelope: 1000 pages in, we finally get to hear from Molly herself! Although written as extremely (think 20 pages each) long run-on sentences I found this not too bad to read and process, and the ending was satisfying. I don't think I could have dealt with a total non-ending after three months of reading.
Am I glad I read this book? I think I am! The parts that I was able to enjoy really were engaging, interesting, even funny in places. Would I recommend it? Only if you want to say you've read it - read Dubliners instead if you want stories set in Joyce's Ireland, and Didn't Nobody Give A Shit What Happened To Carlotta if you want chaotic travels across a city and that iconic ending line. Will I read it again? Honestly, probably yes, I think I could work a lot harder on understanding it - but not for several years, I'm back to strictly no-thoughts-head-empty reading for now.
On the whole I did genuinely enjoy this story and its characters, even if the vast majority of the wordplay, allusions, and references were lost on me. It was just about possible to parse out a narrative (with the help of Wikipedia!) and knowing in advance some basic Irish history and the general structure of the book did help me have a vague idea of what was going on. I would say that anyone with a decent grasp of English *can* read Ulysses - there are only very small sections in other languages or nonsense-speak - but there were certainly times where I was mechanically reading one word after the other just to get through it, and not properly digesting the meaning of what I was reading.
I've tried to organise my thoughts by section, as this is possibly the longest book I've ever read?
Telemachus: entirely understandable, gave me a false sense of security. Not dissimilar to the opening of any other well-written literary fiction.
Nestor: also fairly understandable, some weird sentiments about Jewish people that were uncomfortable to read.
Proteus: the point at which things first started to get difficult. I don't remember much about what happened but I remember being confused a lot. Think I got Wikipedia out at this point.
Calypso: a bit of a vibe shift but I enjoyed this section, other than the lengthy description of going to the toilet. There are women characters! And a coherent narrative again!
Lotus Eaters, Hades: both intriguing and really got into the descriptions of Dublin as a place. Despite not being entirely flattering, it made me want to go and see it for myself. Also mostly straightforward written English and interesting character backstories.
Aeolus: probably one of my favourite sections - different enough to be interesting without feeling like total nonsense.
Lestrygonians: more descriptions of Dublin as a living city! I liked this part! Also lots of food.
Scylla and Charybdis: not going to lie, I really struggled to follow this. I don't know enough about Shakespeare or his wife to understand it.
Wandering Rocks: not especially interesting to me, but understandable enough.
Sirens, Cyclops: struggled again with both of these, they were just extremely dense and yet somehow devoid of much happening that you could latch onto.
Nausicaa: *weird* in subject matter but I strangely enjoyed the way it was written? Perhaps I was just relieved to actually have characters and events I recognised again
Oxen of the Sun, Circe: the worst parts of the whole book to wade through in my opinion, I was just reading words to get closer to the end. I'm sure some very clever things were going on but they flew directly over my head
Eumaeus: back to prose I could actually read properly! Again, I enjoyed this section, but more from relief at understanding it than anything else.
Ithaca: I liked the question-and-answer layout of this section, less keen on more toilet talk and mathematics.
Penelope: 1000 pages in, we finally get to hear from Molly herself! Although written as extremely (think 20 pages each) long run-on sentences I found this not too bad to read and process, and the ending was satisfying. I don't think I could have dealt with a total non-ending after three months of reading.
Am I glad I read this book? I think I am! The parts that I was able to enjoy really were engaging, interesting, even funny in places. Would I recommend it? Only if you want to say you've read it - read Dubliners instead if you want stories set in Joyce's Ireland, and Didn't Nobody Give A Shit What Happened To Carlotta if you want chaotic travels across a city and that iconic ending line. Will I read it again? Honestly, probably yes, I think I could work a lot harder on understanding it - but not for several years, I'm back to strictly no-thoughts-head-empty reading for now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexual content, Excrement, Antisemitism, Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Reading Ulysses has been exciting and intriguing in equal measure. It’s about everything: politics, history, religion, gender, literature, language, how to live.
I let my copy of this book sit on the shelf for a few years, and I'm glad I did. I would have missed a lot of specific mentions of 1920s Ireland. Loads of references to Irish towns, mythology, sport, and history. A lot of absolute nonsense, some funny bits, and brief moments of beautiful prose.
“Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.”
“Every life is in many days, day after day. We walk through ourselves, meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows, brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.”