drlove2018 's review for:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

1.0

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I first attempted to read this book in college, and couldn't bring myself to finish it - I think the sermon was what defeated me. I re-read it over the holiday break as part of a reading exchange with a friend. I would read one book that I didn't like that she loved (this one), and she would read one book that I loved that she was sure she wouldn't like (Austen's Persuasion). Neither of us changed our minds about the other's book, but I do feel that I appreciated Portrait more this time as an artistic achievement, even though I still didn't enjoy it aesthetically or connect with it in any emotional way. It all felt very remote and abstract to me, particularly towards the end. This is one book among many that I feel can best be appreciated by those who have had a deeper engagement with religion (particularly Catholicism) than I personally have ever experienced.