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A review by elainemaryschmidt
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
5.0
A challenging, brilliant novel. The story of a young Irishman throwing off the yoke of nation, religion, and family to embrace a life of independence and solitude as an artist.
I feel like I only scratched the surface with this first read; Joyce’s dense prose and postmodern writing style takes some getting used to, especially as it actively evolves alongside Stephen.
A few points for further reflection after a second reading: I was intrigued by Joyce’s use of bird imagery throughout the novel and, in particular, during the beach scene. Why does Joyce compare several characters to bats? I am also curious how Eileen could be the object of Stephen / Joyce’s courtly love, and if so, how the depiction may be ironic or at least different from Dante’s relationship with Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.
I feel like I only scratched the surface with this first read; Joyce’s dense prose and postmodern writing style takes some getting used to, especially as it actively evolves alongside Stephen.
A few points for further reflection after a second reading: I was intrigued by Joyce’s use of bird imagery throughout the novel and, in particular, during the beach scene. Why does Joyce compare several characters to bats? I am also curious how Eileen could be the object of Stephen / Joyce’s courtly love, and if so, how the depiction may be ironic or at least different from Dante’s relationship with Beatrice in the Divine Comedy.