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A review by richardrbecker
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
James Joyce's modern and somewhat uneven debut sometimes brushes up on genius; other times, it feels formless and rambling. But maybe that is the point. As Stephen Daedalus develops an identity, so does this 100-plus-year-old classic.
At its best, the book conveys the religious and intellectual awakening of his protagonist, someone based in part on Joyce's own life. Specifically, during a period of religious fervor, Joyce conveys what it truly means to be cast into hell and suffer one's sins for all eternity. His accounting of those damned to hell for even the smallest of infractions is enough to keep one up at night. And, almost conversely, his exploration of creativity and how we create and perceive art as an artist.
At its worst, it sometimes feels plotless as Joyce navigates various themes, including developing individual consciousness, religious extremism, and Irish autonomy. Or, perhaps, more concisely, Daedalus tries these things on as someone might try on different ugly sweaters and ultimately shed them all and escape to Europe. And yet, Daedalus is never completely sure he has escaped anything.
It's this confusion that simultaneously delivers on the complexity of growing up and also overwhelms the story. Daedalus faces the constraints of family, religion, and politics before trying to pursue the artist's life, despite knowing that all these broken constraints still shape him. Ultimately, there is little closure in that Daedalus' eureka moment might be in discovering that there isn't one.
Alas, A Portrait is one of those books I didn't necessarily enjoy (although it had its moments), but I was still glad to have read it. Chaulk it up to being an artist reading art.
At its best, the book conveys the religious and intellectual awakening of his protagonist, someone based in part on Joyce's own life. Specifically, during a period of religious fervor, Joyce conveys what it truly means to be cast into hell and suffer one's sins for all eternity. His accounting of those damned to hell for even the smallest of infractions is enough to keep one up at night. And, almost conversely, his exploration of creativity and how we create and perceive art as an artist.
At its worst, it sometimes feels plotless as Joyce navigates various themes, including developing individual consciousness, religious extremism, and Irish autonomy. Or, perhaps, more concisely, Daedalus tries these things on as someone might try on different ugly sweaters and ultimately shed them all and escape to Europe. And yet, Daedalus is never completely sure he has escaped anything.
It's this confusion that simultaneously delivers on the complexity of growing up and also overwhelms the story. Daedalus faces the constraints of family, religion, and politics before trying to pursue the artist's life, despite knowing that all these broken constraints still shape him. Ultimately, there is little closure in that Daedalus' eureka moment might be in discovering that there isn't one.
Alas, A Portrait is one of those books I didn't necessarily enjoy (although it had its moments), but I was still glad to have read it. Chaulk it up to being an artist reading art.