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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
I need the option to give half stars. For me, this deserves more than a "meh" but somewhat less than enthusiastic praise.
In short, I feel that Joyce would have benefited greatly from a ruthless editor. This book is overlong and full of detail and, at times, it feels like little more than word salad. I enjoyed the Oxen of the Sun and its journey through the English language, but even that chapter fell apart for me under the weight of several pages too many. The precise Q&A of the Ithaca chapter was amusing but again, it went on too long.
I thought I was up to the challenge presented by Ulysses and now having finished it I'm fairly certain I don't need to try Finnegan's Wake anytime soon, if ever.
In short, I feel that Joyce would have benefited greatly from a ruthless editor. This book is overlong and full of detail and, at times, it feels like little more than word salad. I enjoyed the Oxen of the Sun and its journey through the English language, but even that chapter fell apart for me under the weight of several pages too many. The precise Q&A of the Ithaca chapter was amusing but again, it went on too long.
I thought I was up to the challenge presented by Ulysses and now having finished it I'm fairly certain I don't need to try Finnegan's Wake anytime soon, if ever.
I hate James Joyce. There, I said it. I love to read and I love good literature, and while I respect Joyce's genius, that does NOT mean I need to like his books. I've tried in vain to read Ulysses and I just can't get through it. Sure, I could go out and buy a guide, and simply because I am so stubborn I probably will one day just so I can say I've actually read the damn thing. But isn't it saying something if you need a book to read another book?
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Oh boy. I feel like I may have "understood" about 10% of what was going on in this book. Often, it felt like eating my vegetables. Often, it felt like doing homework. I've wanted to read this book for about 10 years, and I've put it off, thinking that I wasn't "ready" for it (as it has a reputation for being dense, filled with allusion, overly experimental, etc. etc.). I think I was feeling cocky having read some of the other "big" historical novels. I felt like I might be able to handle ULYSSES. Nope.
I took my time with ULYSSES. I read the SparkNotes after every chapter. I often pulled up Gifford's ULYSSES ANNOTATED. Even still, I feel like I only scratched the surface of WHAT HAPPENED, much less what it all means and what is in the text itself.
But I like this book. I like it quite a bit. Would I like it if it didn't have its reputation as the Greatest Novel of the 20th Century? Maybe there's a placebo effect going on here? There has to be. And yet, some of the prose is absolute dynamite. Every chapter, Joyce works in a different literary style, and while some of these "don't work", some absolutely do. It's undeniable that the man is a master after reading some of these chapters -- but not all of them. And maybe that's the point.
What I'm wrestling with here is, how can I say that I really liked a book that I feel like I barely understood? Was it the impression it left on me? The themes that I was able to pick up? Was it the marvel at the literary acrobatics? Maybe it's all of these things.
Sure, this book is frustrating as all hell at times (on purpose, it seems), but it's both over-rated and under-rated as a novel. It is better than its reputation and also not nearly as good. And with that said, I'll definitely be revisiting this in a few years time.
I took my time with ULYSSES. I read the SparkNotes after every chapter. I often pulled up Gifford's ULYSSES ANNOTATED. Even still, I feel like I only scratched the surface of WHAT HAPPENED, much less what it all means and what is in the text itself.
But I like this book. I like it quite a bit. Would I like it if it didn't have its reputation as the Greatest Novel of the 20th Century? Maybe there's a placebo effect going on here? There has to be. And yet, some of the prose is absolute dynamite. Every chapter, Joyce works in a different literary style, and while some of these "don't work", some absolutely do. It's undeniable that the man is a master after reading some of these chapters -- but not all of them. And maybe that's the point.
What I'm wrestling with here is, how can I say that I really liked a book that I feel like I barely understood? Was it the impression it left on me? The themes that I was able to pick up? Was it the marvel at the literary acrobatics? Maybe it's all of these things.
Sure, this book is frustrating as all hell at times (on purpose, it seems), but it's both over-rated and under-rated as a novel. It is better than its reputation and also not nearly as good. And with that said, I'll definitely be revisiting this in a few years time.
challenging
emotional
funny
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
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't believe I finally did it. This afternoon, I finished reading Ulysses.
After sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years, I started reading it some 5 months ago. And what a ride it has been! 828 pages of people changing gender or species in the middle of a conversation, 70-page sentenses with no interpunction whatsoever, chapters in the form of a play or a sappy romantic novel, a Q&A, stream-of-consciousness-type chapters with every coherent and incoherent thought written down and the chapter where Joyce must have taken out his Dublin city map and a stopwatch to make it all fall into place.
I never expected it to be this rewarding, but it was. I won't say I'd recommend it to anyone though, because I don't want to have such a thing on my conscience.
After sitting on my bookshelf for a couple of years, I started reading it some 5 months ago. And what a ride it has been! 828 pages of people changing gender or species in the middle of a conversation, 70-page sentenses with no interpunction whatsoever, chapters in the form of a play or a sappy romantic novel, a Q&A, stream-of-consciousness-type chapters with every coherent and incoherent thought written down and the chapter where Joyce must have taken out his Dublin city map and a stopwatch to make it all fall into place.
I never expected it to be this rewarding, but it was. I won't say I'd recommend it to anyone though, because I don't want to have such a thing on my conscience.