sowalsky 's review for:

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

5.0

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This was my introduction to Joyce, and I was quite taken with it. Some aspects of this novel were at first a bit impenetrable, however. For instance, it contains a sizable number of Latin passages, numerous references to Irish current events from the 1910s, and Irish vernacular phrases that the average reader won't understand. Fortunately, these and other similar challenges are easily overcome in the era of Google and ChatGPT. But be forewarned that it will require some extra effort on the part of the reader to decipher these more obscure elements of Joyce's text. On the other hand, the intimacy and immediacy of his text draw the reader into the very skin of Stephen Dedalus; visceral reactions may ensue. For example, the priest's long harangue in Chapter III is riveting and rattling, so perfectly constructed that it leaves the reader with clenched fists and white knuckles. This is some spicy prose! And while the novel—if it can truly be called such—ends inconclusively, it does not end unsatisfyingly. In short, this is one of those numerous classics that has earned its reputation.