James Joyce - Ulysses (1 Viewer)

[place holder]

I finally got me a copy, just finished: Celine's - Journey to the End of the Night. A great book, was thinking of trying Ulysses next. I hear conflicting opinions on this book, from unreadable to superb.

Any of you read it through yet? Or tried to?

 

[hobart]

Ulysses is quite readable. As opposed to Finnegan's Wake.
It will still require dedication and a steal will.
Good luck.

 

[place holder]

for $5.00 hard cover, i'll give it a shot.

 

[bright]

Quite unreadable, though i only had a german translation, which might very well be the cause for my difficulties.
(The explanations to the translation took several pages)

I forced myself up to chapter 3, then jumped to the last chapter, which is almost one loooong sentence, then gave up, for now.

 

[place holder]

i more want to see what robert anton wilson saw in him.

 

[jordan]

i would recommend a book (or an internet site) that explains in plain english what's going on in each chapter. not one of the book that presents a 300-page "translation" into plain english, just something that can orient you a little bit. it makes a huge difference.

i really like ulysses, although i like it on a more intellectual level than, say, bukowski. bukowski gets me emotionally, and i'd say journey to the end of the night, which i love, is in between. not that a book like factotum is lowbrow or somehow lesser, just that it hits me in a different way.

 

[steve]

After taking it out of the library a dozen times,i finally bought my own copy & did manage to read the sucker,took a while, but i had been told once too often by clever people that its probably "too heavy for you man" so revenge got me through those Blooming days & nights but have a go, its worth it.

 

[Paul Sempschi]

It's a wonderful, wonderful book. A book of epiphanies, probably the best book ever written. The problem with it is that it rewards rereading. Not just one reading but multiple. It's a book that I myself have been engrossened into for six years now, there's always so much to learn from the simpleist passage.
Dont let that scare you off though. Once you understand what's going on, you'll do find. My recommendation is to peruse Sparknotes.com, just to check out the chapter summaries, get a quick overview and then you'll get more out of it. Me, it's enjoyable on one level with a cold reading but 3 minutes extra work will help you fall in love with this classic.

 

[place holder]

thanks guys, looks like i asked the right crowd.

 

[place holder]

btw, sparknotes is great, i bookmarked http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ulysses/.

 

[Dreed]

I finally got me a copy, just finished: Celine's - Journey to the End of the Night. A great book, was thinking of trying Ulysses next. I hear conflicting opinions on this book, from unreadable to superb.

Any of you read it through yet? Or tried to?

I strongly recommend reading Ulysses and giving yourself enough time to really focus on it. One very important thing to keep in mind is that Joyce had(has) a great sense of humor and at times can be very dirty - which is also hilarious. Some folks think a big, hard to understand book has to be approached with an air of seriousness - but I'm telling you, Ulysses is full of baudy humor and an amazing love and use of the English language. You won't be sorry. By the way, a friend and I recorded all of Finnegans Wake several years ago just for 'fun'. Now THERE is a funny, filthy, brilliant book!

 

[place holder]

so read the sparknotes then read the chapter? it wont ruin the book? knowing all this and that?

 

[Dreed]

nope - it won't ruin it at all. A lot of times you'll find yourself going "what the hell is he saying???" and the notes tend to "translate" the Joyce into a comprehensible nugget. BUT: it's the music of the language and the images, the mythology, the humor, the pornography of the book that will amaze you. The notes only help, they don't take the place of. Ulysses is too vast to be ruined by any synopsis or any translation. One very cool fact that is unimportant but fun to know is that all the places that Joyce references in Dublin actually exist and every Bloomsday groups go from place to place (or pub to pub in many cases) following the "travels" of the Irish "Ulysses". ok - now go read - bon voyage!