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

4.0

"The vast cycle of starry life bore his weary mind outward to its verge and inward to its centre, a distant music accompanying him outward and inward."

I've been wanting to read Joyce ever since I first visited Dublin over five years ago now, and I'm so grateful this modernist lit course has finally forced me to do so. Once I got past processing the moocow nonsense on the first page, I found beyond it a beautifully written novel that did not disappoint.

Joyce's writing is so rich and so beautiful; every fragment and turn of phrase left me in awe, and his ability to reach into the human psyche and explore notions of childhood and memory awed me even further.

Some of the religion parts hit a little too close to home, and I do wish I could have related to Stephen more as a character, but other than that, this was a rich and absorptive read, one I'm so glad I have been compelled to pick up.