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

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i hate that i enjoyed this. dear god, do i hate that i enjoyed this. as an english minor i knew ahead of time i going to come across some terribly pretentious pieces of literature, and so far i think this may be the cream of the crop. stephen is the absolute *worst.* like, at no point throughout reading did i gain or feel any sympathy for him. like, claiming that aristotle didn't feel pity, you did—come on! you're not special! you're just a self-cenetered mansplaining man! but, for some reason, i enjoyed reading this book each time i picked it up, even if it was torturous. even if stephen's religious awakening took 60 pages. even if his treatment of everyone around him was as if he was superior. even as we never actually find out if he becomes an artist or not. i thoroughly enjoyed this. and i hate that. screw off james joyce. why'd you have to write such a wonderful piece of shit book.