Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
I think the reason Ulysses is so hard for people to explain and the reason why people get so frustrated trying to read it is because there is no plot, no climax or scene I, II and III. But at the same time, it's not static. The book is a circle, there is no beginning or end; from S to Y, Y to S.
It is an analysis of Irish political views; a map of Dublin; and it's about love and death. It's like Seinfeld, "a show about nothing."
One day is explained in 768 pages. Ulysses is mind-altering, and extremely challenging. "Shut your eyes and see."
It is an analysis of Irish political views; a map of Dublin; and it's about love and death. It's like Seinfeld, "a show about nothing."
One day is explained in 768 pages. Ulysses is mind-altering, and extremely challenging. "Shut your eyes and see."
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Truth to tell, I didn't make it through the second time. Probably 42 years of hardening of the arteries in the brain made this tough sledding. However, I decided to give it the rating I would have in 1967, when I was in graduate school and my mind was more lubricated on both literature and criticism.
Yes, I did find it "amazing." I read it minus commentaries, concordances, or criticism. I raced through it in a great rush, finishing in only a few days. Maybe that's how it's meant to be read, because this time I felt very weighted down with the external "aids" that were supposed to facilitate the reading. Instead, the book became an Irish word bog.
Much better just to run with it:
"Between the Saxon smile and yankee yawp. The devil and the deep sea.
List! List! O List!
My flesh hears him: creeping, hears."
Yeah, James, I hear(d) you.
Yes, I did find it "amazing." I read it minus commentaries, concordances, or criticism. I raced through it in a great rush, finishing in only a few days. Maybe that's how it's meant to be read, because this time I felt very weighted down with the external "aids" that were supposed to facilitate the reading. Instead, the book became an Irish word bog.
Much better just to run with it:
"Between the Saxon smile and yankee yawp. The devil and the deep sea.
List! List! O List!
My flesh hears him: creeping, hears."
Yeah, James, I hear(d) you.
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
Crazy book. At times the substance absolutely got overwhelmed by the extreme wackiness of the style but the high points style managed to push this into 5-star territory. Molly’s soliloquy especially stuck the landing. Definitely difficult, but not as much as I had feared (just loooong) and way funnier than I expected.
Reading the Odyssey is so much easier. Just do that.
It took me a while to get used to it, but in the end I think it was worth it. I loved the music, the theology, the epic feeling, and best of all the poetry. How can one not love a book with lines like this: What in water did Bloom, waterlover, drawer of water, watercarrier returning to the range, admire?
read it in 9th grade for the sole purpose of being able to say ive read it. 10/10 to the part where he pets his cat. everything else is a drag, obviously.
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced