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A review by lyssquee
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Impossible to actually give a star rating to James Joyce, because any shortcomings may just be my own.
I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. Some truly incredible bits of prose. I often felt like the writing was washing over me like a gentle wave, and it was up to me to catch that wave or let it crash beyond me.
Stephen is a generic moody teenage boy... with serious Catholic guilt and access to too many heady historical philosophical ideals. He made me laugh many times with his melodrama and overthought theories on art, religion, and the soul - theories which he himself contradicts via his mere existence. He is not very likeable, but that itself makes him strangely lovable.
I have never read a book as slowly as I read this one. A lot of work to understand, but worth it.
I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. Some truly incredible bits of prose. I often felt like the writing was washing over me like a gentle wave, and it was up to me to catch that wave or let it crash beyond me.
Stephen is a generic moody teenage boy... with serious Catholic guilt and access to too many heady historical philosophical ideals. He made me laugh many times with his melodrama and overthought theories on art, religion, and the soul - theories which he himself contradicts via his mere existence. He is not very likeable, but that itself makes him strangely lovable.
I have never read a book as slowly as I read this one. A lot of work to understand, but worth it.