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eric_roling 's review for:
Ulysses
by James Joyce
Since this book is usually listed at the top of "greatest books of the western canon" lists, I had long wanted to evaluate it for myself. The results were mixed - I absolutely recognized the talent and artistry in Joyce's writing - the writing was clearly impressive. Unfortunately, I could not connect with most of what was being said. Much of it was either not of interest, or I did not appreciate the indirect way in which the story was told. I did use the New Bloomsday Book as a reading guide, chapter by chapter. But even knowing what was going to happen in the chapter, much of the writing was either inscrutable or hopelessly buried in logorrhea and excessive verbosity. It didn't help that I've never been to Dublin and could not picture or relate to the locales that he visits on his travels.
Ulysses is famous for each of its 18 chapters written in a different literary style. I really enjoyed the 1st 5 chapters (the 3 Stephen Daedalus chapters and the first two Bloom chapters), the Wandering Rocks chapter (the 19 simultaneous vignettes), part of the Ithaca chapter (the catechism Q&A chapter) and final Penelope chapter (Molly Bloom). That's about 7 chapters out of 18. The rest just did not resonate with me - I could recognize artistry, but it felt like wankery or pointless noodling most of the time.
The Molly Bloom monologue chapter was amazing - just a tour-de-force ending, very compelling - very much enjoyed the voice and being in her thoughts. I didn't care for Stephen Daedalus as a character, even though I liked his first 3 chapters. Just too aimless and lacking direction or motivation. I liked Leopold Bloom - being in his head and wading the stream of conscious thoughts was initially compelling and even hilarious at moments. But after a few chapters, the story's momentum just died and it got old quickly.
Overall, I think that the book just hasn't aged well for non-academic readers. There certainly is plenty here if you want to peel the onion. But for me, the details and making obscure connections just weren't compelling enough to be worth the effort. I realize that a lot of this is because he did it first, and I am used to everyone that has done it since, so it is not novel to me as a modern reader. But it surprised me, given how much I love Infinite Jest, which rewards that type of close-reading and literary dissection. This just didn't reward the time and energy I invested, and I couldn't connect with the characters or locale. My 2 star rating reflects how I connected with it - on a technical level, this is a masterful work.
Ulysses is famous for each of its 18 chapters written in a different literary style. I really enjoyed the 1st 5 chapters (the 3 Stephen Daedalus chapters and the first two Bloom chapters), the Wandering Rocks chapter (the 19 simultaneous vignettes), part of the Ithaca chapter (the catechism Q&A chapter) and final Penelope chapter (Molly Bloom). That's about 7 chapters out of 18. The rest just did not resonate with me - I could recognize artistry, but it felt like wankery or pointless noodling most of the time.
The Molly Bloom monologue chapter was amazing - just a tour-de-force ending, very compelling - very much enjoyed the voice and being in her thoughts. I didn't care for Stephen Daedalus as a character, even though I liked his first 3 chapters. Just too aimless and lacking direction or motivation. I liked Leopold Bloom - being in his head and wading the stream of conscious thoughts was initially compelling and even hilarious at moments. But after a few chapters, the story's momentum just died and it got old quickly.
Overall, I think that the book just hasn't aged well for non-academic readers. There certainly is plenty here if you want to peel the onion. But for me, the details and making obscure connections just weren't compelling enough to be worth the effort. I realize that a lot of this is because he did it first, and I am used to everyone that has done it since, so it is not novel to me as a modern reader. But it surprised me, given how much I love Infinite Jest, which rewards that type of close-reading and literary dissection. This just didn't reward the time and energy I invested, and I couldn't connect with the characters or locale. My 2 star rating reflects how I connected with it - on a technical level, this is a masterful work.