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kathrynb03 's review for:
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
Many, many absolutely beautiful pieces of language in here. The story of growing up and religious awakening is resonant.
However it is very place-based and history-based, and since I've never been to Ireland and don't know that much about Irish history/Irish nationalism, it was a tough read for me. Also, the stream-of-consciousness and VERY nonlinear structure takes some getting used to. It took me a very long time even though it is very short. To understand this book totally I would probably have to read a LOT of secondary material and reread it like 8 times. It's not really something I am committed enough to do. I've never read Ulysses, which I hear is even more confusing. Maybe I will get to it one day.
Anyway, I would not recommend this book to anyone except nerds (in the nicest way possible).
However it is very place-based and history-based, and since I've never been to Ireland and don't know that much about Irish history/Irish nationalism, it was a tough read for me. Also, the stream-of-consciousness and VERY nonlinear structure takes some getting used to. It took me a very long time even though it is very short. To understand this book totally I would probably have to read a LOT of secondary material and reread it like 8 times. It's not really something I am committed enough to do. I've never read Ulysses, which I hear is even more confusing. Maybe I will get to it one day.
Anyway, I would not recommend this book to anyone except nerds (in the nicest way possible).