Ulysses - Background and Resources

[Elizabeth]

Poll results are in!

August BOTM is....


Ulysses by James Joyce

This thread is for discussing background and any other interesting information on the book/author.

[Sylvia]

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/1...

On the list of long, difficult books, Ulysses by James Joyce is easily in the top five. It’s one of those books everyone generally feels should be read, but may also be too intimidating to actually read. But it’s not as hard to read as its reputation might imply—deeply compelling, even amusing, from chapter to chapter. It’s also a source of some incredible trivia and surprising facts that might make it a little easier to contemplate. Without further ado, here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about Ulysses.

#8 You can’t read it “cold”
Many folks have made the mistake of trying to read Ulysses like it’s any old ordinary novel. It isn’t. Joyce said, “I’ve put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant.” In other words, the allusions and references are the point. No matter who you are, you’re going to have to do a little research.

(Click on the link to read the other 9 interesting pieces of information about our August BOTM.)

[Jazzy]

I love the cover on this one! Mine isn't so intriguing.

[Kathi]

Gee, Sylvia... that *almost* makes me want to read it. LOL

[Jon]

I was completely defeated by it on my very first attempt. But I warmed up to it gradually, and I suggest you try to hang in there. It is as profound as you choose to make it, so you have that option.

For now, just consider why Joyce chose that particular day in Dublin. Hint: it was the day he first met his wife-to-be. So that means Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom are the only characters you need to follow.

And you may find this difficult, but it is chock full of Irish humor. It hits me on every page.

[Tom]

Jon Thank you for the encouragement! I’m glad it’s not finnegans wake!

[Jon]

Tom wrote: "Jon Thank you for the encouragement! I’m glad it’s not finnegans wake!"

I hear you. I am not brave enough for Finnegan's Wake. Yet.

[Tom]

There seems to be more on the net these days on the annotation of the work. As you stated, it may not be necessary to look up everything, but it is tempting! Tom

[Jon]

Tom wrote: "There seems to be more on the net these days on the annotation of the work. As you stated, it may not be necessary to look up everything, but it is tempting! Tom"
Reminds me of the use for annotations with Shakespeare. You really need them for obscure or archaic references. For Ulysses, it seemed to help me most if I used an online study guide, concentrating on just the Ulysses-Penelope-Telemachus connections from the Odyssey.

[Tom]

Thank you!

[Dana]

Awhile back I had listened to a great podcast about the controversy around bringing Ulysses to the United States. Maybe listening to it will be pique your interest in reading it?

https://bookriot.com/listen/united-st...

[Allison]

I'm nervous about being able to understand this one and already feel like it might just be an experiment 🥴

[Sylvia]

I'm an English teacher and I'm nervous/intimidated by this book too. But, I'm thankful it was selected because I would never attempt this on my own. We can help each other through this....

[Connie]

Can't figure out how to put link here but check out joyce project.com Looks really interesting. Love the fact that I can look up as little or as much as I want without endless flipping back and forth

[Tom]

There are many cross-references on the net. The literary crowd at the opening of the 20th century seemed to have been more scholarly than today’s. Tom

[Sylvia]

Here is the link Connie was talking about. Wow - this is so helpful.

http://www.joyceproject.com/index.php...#

[Dana]

Wow this resource will definitely be useful! I am debating how I want to go about reading it. I might read the chapter first (I don't like reading on the computer for long periods of time) and then review the annotations on the Joyce Project after.

[Tom]

Thanks for the link!!👍

[Sylvia]

Listen to the Annotated podcast! (See prior comment above.) You will be so invested in this book!

[Beth]

I admit that I am intimidated by the thought of reading this book. I bought an annotated copy and read the list of characters and the while plot summary today. I will also try listening to the pod cast referenced above.
I would never ever try to read this one on my own, but having the rest of you accompany me is giving me courage!

[Aya]

I read online that you should have already read some of Joyce’s other works before attempting Ulysses, like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Dubliners, in addition to Homer’s The Odyssey. I haven’t read those unfortunately, but I’m trying to read at least A Portrait and The Odyssey before this.. all this month.. mission impossible?

[Jon]

ilya wrote: "I read online that you should have already read some of Joyce’s other works before attempting Ulysses, like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Dubliners, in addition to Homer’s The Odysse..."

I suggest that you read only Dubliners, because it is a collection of his short stories and you can select the most interesting ones. By the way, Dubliners includes The Dead, which may give you the best idea of his themes.

[Allison]

Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! The Joyce Project will probably prove to be a much-needed resource! I've found the book on unabridged audio so I'm going to start there while also reading a physical copy.

[Danny]

Does Dubliners have a similar prose to Ulysses?

[Tom]

Daniel my two cents: the plot line of “Portrait of the Artist” is picked up, immediately, in the first book of “Ulysses.”

[Ian]

I read the first few pages of Ulysses and had no idea what was going on, so I picked up the Ulysses annotations by Don Gifford. Now I know what a "gunrest" is, so I am that much farther along. I wish I had read the Odyssey previously.

I will give reading this an honest try, but I really doubt I will get through this in two months.

[Jon]

Daniel wrote: "Does Dubliners have a similar prose to Ulysses?"

No. Dubliners has very little of the interior monologue form that you see in Ulysses.

[Sadie]

I checked out Ulysses from my local library last week and started it over the weekend. Thanks so much for the above-mentioned references. I found myself looking up a lot of words but didn't become frustrated, only intrigued. Looking forward to digging back in with these new resources!

[Aya]

For me personally, there are two websites that make essential companions to me when reading any ‘dense’ book, they help me get the most out of what I’m reading and make sure I don’t miss anything, and I’ll be using them while reading Ulysses, alongside the website mentioned by Connie, so I thought I might link them here, even though most of you might already be familiar with them:
https://www.shmoop.com/ulysses-joyce/...
And
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/ulysses/

[Dana]

I wonder if reading Ulysses was difficult for people when it came out. Obviously they did not have the resources that we do now to understand it, so for the average person, were they able to comprehend it? Or was there just so much scandal surrounding the book it was just enough to own it?

[Connie]

Dana I think there would be much that was not understood which I believe was the point. James Joyce was possibly poking fun at the academia in this one. But many other references such as the ones referring to catholic church would be more easily understood. Ireland especially then was a very catholic country and the mass was still in Latin. A lot of local places and references to English would have been common knowledge. So it may have been easier to understand on one level. Jon you are right the Irish humour is delightful.

[Tom]

Group I resurrected my college guide on the work: A Study of Ulysses by Stuart Gilbert. It may be useful to you. Tom