Julie answers “I have tried reading this book twice but...”

Deepak Pitaliya asked this question about Ulysses:

I have tried reading this book twice but could not get past 30-40 pages. I even read Iliad and Odyssey before starting this book as the book is supposed to draw some parallel with Odyssey. Is it readable?

Julie Just start reading and let yourself get caught u p in it. Helps to be very familiar with Greek mythology, the Latin Mass and Breviary, the Latin langu…moreJust start reading and let yourself get caught u p in it. Helps to be very familiar with Greek mythology, the Latin Mass and Breviary, the Latin language, Irish mores, and at least some of 19th century history (European). Do not hunt down every allusion, but let them wash past you, catching the ones you can.
Unless you have more than a passing acquaintance with Catholic Tradition and knowledge of the influence of Jansenism on the Church there, you will miss a lot.
Being raised in an Irish Catholic family under the shadow of unresolved parental grief helps greatly, but not everyone is so unlucky.
I have read it twice; but whether everyone should or even can read it I am uncertain. Some parts defy sense.(less)

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Frank D Some parts are deliberately obscure, but you can just skim over them. Dig into the parts that are understandable.
Jul 12, 2020 06:35PM · flag

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