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A review by bethanymyers
Ulysses by James Joyce
3.0
Fleshpots of Egypt! This was a tough one. It was actually my second attempt. My first attempt went all right until I got to the Proteus chapter, at which point I decided the book was BS and deleted it off my Kindle. But on Bloomsday 2012 I was inspired to try to read the whole novel in one marathon session. Of course that didn't happen, but I did finish a week later after a few smaller marathon sessions (punctuated by more than one Joyce-induced nap).
It helped me to read out loud through Proteus (which is almost the most difficult part of the book). Reading out loud turns this huge massive text into manageable sentences that you tackle one word at a time, and you get to hear the flow of Joyce's language, which is what (so they tell me) this thing is all about.
Even though I frequently turned to an online study guide for help with synopsis and analysis, I admit I was lost for most of the book. 75% of the sentences contain a tough vocabulary word not defined in my Kindle dictionary. 90% of the sentences contain references to other literature, myths, Irish or English politics, an event much earlier in the book that may or may not have been a hallucination, or phrases in assorted languages, and God knows what else I missed.
The first half is pretty boring. The second half does pick up the action, even if some of it is just inside people's heads. The last few chapters were easiest for me, in spite of all the structural experimentation (a chapter that progresses through the history of English. A chapter written in questions and answers. A run on chapter with 8 sentences.). I understand why this book is important, and I might read it again someday with a thick, serious study guide to help me. But I'm giving it an "eh" rating, 2.5 stars, smack in the middle.
It helped me to read out loud through Proteus (which is almost the most difficult part of the book). Reading out loud turns this huge massive text into manageable sentences that you tackle one word at a time, and you get to hear the flow of Joyce's language, which is what (so they tell me) this thing is all about.
Even though I frequently turned to an online study guide for help with synopsis and analysis, I admit I was lost for most of the book. 75% of the sentences contain a tough vocabulary word not defined in my Kindle dictionary. 90% of the sentences contain references to other literature, myths, Irish or English politics, an event much earlier in the book that may or may not have been a hallucination, or phrases in assorted languages, and God knows what else I missed.
The first half is pretty boring. The second half does pick up the action, even if some of it is just inside people's heads. The last few chapters were easiest for me, in spite of all the structural experimentation (a chapter that progresses through the history of English. A chapter written in questions and answers. A run on chapter with 8 sentences.). I understand why this book is important, and I might read it again someday with a thick, serious study guide to help me. But I'm giving it an "eh" rating, 2.5 stars, smack in the middle.