Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
By far the most difficult book I've ever read but also one of the most rewarding overall. A reading companion was a HUGE help and made the reading way more enjoyable. At times I wanted to throw it into the ocean but here we are. If you're interested, I would like to point you toward the most accurate review I have ever read: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30388355?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1
In most novels, the protagonist undergoes fundamental changes and every loose end is tied in the final act, all in the span of 300 pages. In real life and in Ulysses, progress is made a day at a time.
I don’t agree with the common complaint that the writing style renders the characters flat. I very much felt for Bloom, Stephen, and Molly.
My primary complaint is that the experimentation with different writing styles felt … gimmicky. Melville did it first and did it better. At least in Moby Dick it is the ostentatious Ishmael that is experimenting with different genres of writing, so the experimental showiness can be understood as a faulty and humorous aspect of the flawed narrator. With Ulysses, there is not (usually) a narrator between the reader and Joyce. So the experimental showiness comes across as an unexplained gimmicky choice made by the author himself, leading me to assume the real Joyce has the same character flaws as the fictional Ishmael.
I don’t agree with the common complaint that the writing style renders the characters flat. I very much felt for Bloom, Stephen, and Molly.
My primary complaint is that the experimentation with different writing styles felt … gimmicky. Melville did it first and did it better. At least in Moby Dick it is the ostentatious Ishmael that is experimenting with different genres of writing, so the experimental showiness can be understood as a faulty and humorous aspect of the flawed narrator. With Ulysses, there is not (usually) a narrator between the reader and Joyce. So the experimental showiness comes across as an unexplained gimmicky choice made by the author himself, leading me to assume the real Joyce has the same character flaws as the fictional Ishmael.
I did it. I finished it. And it was everything everyone said it would be: difficult, infuriating, brilliant, insane, genius, painful, etc. You get the idea, I'm sure. I can't even rate it. How do you rate a book that left you wide-eyed with awe at the author's brilliance, yet simultaneously made you want to bring him back to life just so you could kill him?
slow-paced
If you cut all the horniness out of this book it would be 3/5 shorter and 1000 times better.
For a part of this book, I found myself enjoying it while still being confused a lot with what was going on. As I continued reading, it slowly became a book I didn’t enjoy anymore. It was a mixed bag - often feeling like a roller coaster of enjoying it and not liking it. I had times of marveling at Joyce’s writing and times when I thought "What the heck?".
Still, I think Joyce was skilled at writing. He managed to do all sorts of different styles and structures; and he employed various techniques to tell the story of this one day in the lives of multiple characters.
As for the story itself, for what I could understand (which wasn’t much 😂), I didn’t care for it. To be honest, it’s not a book I have any desire to read again. However, some episodes were better than others and there were moments of beautiful writing along with some quotes I tabbed. I'll leave you with just a few notes from my reading of this book:
📝The first couple of episodes and episode 10 were probably my favorites of the whole book with episode 10 likely being my favorite of all. Episode 1 is right up there with it though.
📝Episode 9 showed me that I seemed to track Stephen's thoughts better than Bloom's and found more beautiful language in those sections vs. Bloom’s.
📝I think I liked the format of episodes 1, 10, 13, and 17 the best.
📝My least favorite episodes were 7, 15, and 18 with episode 15 being my absolute least favorite.
📝Some Favorite Quotes:
Still, I think Joyce was skilled at writing. He managed to do all sorts of different styles and structures; and he employed various techniques to tell the story of this one day in the lives of multiple characters.
As for the story itself, for what I could understand (which wasn’t much 😂), I didn’t care for it. To be honest, it’s not a book I have any desire to read again. However, some episodes were better than others and there were moments of beautiful writing along with some quotes I tabbed. I'll leave you with just a few notes from my reading of this book:
📝The first couple of episodes and episode 10 were probably my favorites of the whole book with episode 10 likely being my favorite of all. Episode 1 is right up there with it though.
📝Episode 9 showed me that I seemed to track Stephen's thoughts better than Bloom's and found more beautiful language in those sections vs. Bloom’s.
📝I think I liked the format of episodes 1, 10, 13, and 17 the best.
📝My least favorite episodes were 7, 15, and 18 with episode 15 being my absolute least favorite.
📝Some Favorite Quotes:
“How can you own water really? It’s always flowing in a stream, never the same, which in the stream of life we trace. Because life is a stream.”
"Art has to reveal to us ideas, formless spiritual essences. The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring..." (p. 165)
Overall, Ulysses by James Joyce is not a favorite of mine as far as the book goes. However, the Audrey audiobook and guide was excellent! I can't imagine trying to read this book without it! The narration really brought the book to life and the guide was invaluable. If you want to tackle this book, I highly recommend doing so with this Audrey audiobook. It is an immersive reading experience and will help you hang in there with the book when you might otherwise want to just give it up. ;) My star rating for this one is only for the Audrey audiobook, not the actual book/story itself. For more of my thoughts on the actual book itself, see my review of the Wordsworth print edition.
loved this book, but i'm definitely too stupid to get all of it. felt like i was reading five books that were overlapping on top of one another all at once.
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes