The Next Best Book Club discussion
Other Novels To Discuss
>
Ulysses by Joyce - Jan 2010 Read-A-Long
Thanks, Carol. Please keep me informed. I'll see if I can squeeze it in when the time comes. It all depends on how I do with Ulysses and Wuthering Heights.
Petra wrote: "Thanks, Carol. Please keep me informed. I'll see if I can squeeze it in when the time comes. It all depends on how I do with Ulysses and Wuthering Heights. "You got it.
I would like to give Joyce another try. I attempted to read Portrait of the Artist a few years ago, got about halfway through and got sidetracked so I never finished it.It would be good to know others are reading it at the same time as me. I'm in. :)
I think I may give this a try as well. I really want to read Ulysses, but it's intimidating. This may be just the boost I need to get through it.
ok I'm in too. I tried it when I was around 15 and gave up so let's see what age does now..lol
Mod
Let's hope that the second time around is better, Paul!
I am excited to give it a go!
Sounds good...I'm in. Well, after I finish "Never Let Me Go" and "Wuthering Heights"! I wish I was like my mother sometimes: she can read 3-4 books at the same time with no problems! I am a one-book-at-a-time girl.
Lori wrote: "What a book to try to tackle at 15!! Let's hope that the second time around is better, Paul!
I am excited to give it a go!"
Yeah, I know I went through a phase around that age that I would read all this really long, complex books or in some cases like Ulysses, give up.
Anyone peeked at this book yet? I started reading it last night and it's very different.....somewhat confusing, in fact. I'm sure that will sort itself out but it's a very different style of writing.
I have not started it yet. It has been years since I read it. I am reading the Prince right now. Maybe I will check it out later today.
I glanced at a copy at the library. Hoo-boy! This is going to be a challenging read. And the fact that the only previous time I've tried to read Joyce was when I abandoned Portrait of the Artist 100 pages in, may be a bad sign...
That is why we thought maybe a group read would help to encourage flagging interest. Try skipping a little ahead and see if that helps any.
Yeah, this is the kind of book that group reads were practically invented for!I'm going to wait a week or two to really dive into it... :)
Ok I will hear back from you in Jan. Have a nice holiday.
I got out my copy of Ulysses. It might help if you keep a dictionary handy. Some terminology is strictly Irish or Greek.
Mod
Yea, Got Wuthering Heights to read next month also. If you read Ulysses as vignettes and prose, it might be easier to read.
Carol, that's why I started this week, too. I'll be reading Wuthering Heights and Ulysses might be easier in smaller sections. So far, I'm finding the second section easier than the first. I must be getting used to the writing style.
Petra wrote: "Carol, that's why I started this week, too. I'll be reading Wuthering Heights and Ulysses might be easier in smaller sections. So far, I'm finding the second section easier than the first. I must..."
If you read it as poetry and prose it is far easier.
Thanks, Carol! I'm going to give that a try. It sounds like an interesting way of reading "non-poetry". Did Joyce intend for Ulysses to be read like prose? If so, did he have a reason for this?
This is just a little background on Joyce that might help, before everyone starts reading Ulysses.James Joyce was an Irish writer and poet, widely considered to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century.
Thanks to Ezra Pound, serial publication of the novel in the magazine The Little Review began in 1918. This magazine was edited by Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, with the backing of John Quinn, a New York attorney with an interest in contemporary experimental art and literature. Unfortunately, this publication encountered censorship problems in the United States; serialization was halted in 1920 when the editors were convicted of publishing obscenity.[25:] The novel was not published in the United States until 1933.[26:]
With the appearance of both Ulysses and T. S. Eliot's poem, The Waste Land, 1922 was a key year in the history of English-language literary modernism. In Ulysses, Joyce employs stream of consciousness, parody, jokes, and virtually every other literary technique to present his characters.[27:] The action of the novel, which takes place in a single day, 16 June 1904, sets the characters and incidents of the Odyssey of Homer in modern Dublin and represents Odysseus (Ulysses), Penelope and Telemachus in the characters of Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly Bloom and Stephen Dedalus, parodically contrasted with their lofty models. The book explores various areas of Dublin life, dwelling on its squalor and monotony. Nevertheless, the book is also an affectionately detailed study of the city, and Joyce claimed that if Dublin were to be destroyed in some catastrophe it could be rebuilt, brick by brick, using his work as a model.[28:] In order to achieve this level of accuracy, Joyce used the 1904 edition of Thom's Directory—a work that listed the owners and/or tenants of every residential and commercial property in the city. He also bombarded friends still living there with requests for information and clarification.
The book consists of 18 chapters, each covering roughly one hour of the day, beginning around about 8 a.m. and ending sometime after 2 a.m. the following morning. Each of the 18 chapters of the novel employs its own literary style. Each chapter also refers to a specific episode in Homer's Odyssey and has a specific colour, art or science and bodily organ associated with it. This combination of kaleidoscopic writing with an extreme formal, schematic structure represents one of the book's major contributions to the development of 20th century modernist literature.[29:] The use of classical mythology as a framework for his book and the near-obsessive focus on external detail in a book in which much of the significant action is happening inside the minds of the characters are others. Nevertheless, Joyce complained that, "I may have oversystematised Ulysses," and played down the mythic correspondences by eliminating the chapter titles that had been taken from Homer.[30:]
Hope this little background helps and people don't get frustrated. I am looking forward to posting with you all in Jan.
carol (akittykat) wrote: "...Joyce claimed that if Dublin were to be destroyed in some catastrophe it could be rebuilt, brick by brick, using his work as a model..."I had to laugh at this. Not knowing anything about Dublin or Joyce, it seemed like a rather vain statement, although the statement may be true.
carol (akittykat) wrote: "...Each of the 18 chapters of the novel employs its own literary style..."
This may explain why the second chapter seems much easier to read than the first.
Carol, thank you. This article is interesting and makes me look forward to reading this novel even more. I've read Homer's Odyssey so that will help....although a re-read may help even more.
I have never really read all of Homer's Odyssey. But I do love the Parody film O Brother Where Art Thou, of the Odyssey.
Wow Carol!!! I am transfixed and totally terrified at the same time...YikesI may not be intelligent enough for this read :(
Its called wikipedia. Don't be in awe of me. Just enjoy the book . I have a feeling it will take me a long time this time around. I am not going to speed through it. Everyone will probably out read me in this one.
Suzanne, I agree with Carol. Just enjoy the book. I'm slowly reading through the second chapter and the references to Homer have so far alluded me but I'm rather enjoying it anyways. I do kind of wonder where the story is going but think that will fall into place at some time.
Has anyone else started it yet? I haven't even had the time or nerve to even pick it up yet (though it taunts me from the bookshelf). I just didn't want to get behind in the reading.But watch out, Joyce. January 1st, I'm coming for ya!
Jessica, I started reading early because I'm worried about being left behind in the discussions. What I like about the book is that it's seperated into definite chapters or segments. I can read a segment and put the book down for awhile.
Don't be daunted by it. Taking it one segment at a time makes it not so intimidating (so far, anyways).
Jessica wrote: "Has anyone else started it yet?"I'm waiting until I fininsh my last two "2009 Goal" books so I may get started sometime around the middle of next week.
Mod
Ooh, I'm definitely going to try to jump in on this- no matter how long it may take! I'll have to get my copy this week!
You all have mystified and terrified and killed me with curiosity, so count me in. Santa brought me a Kindle for Christmas, so will try to download Ulysses on it, or into my Audible.com library. Now, let me get this straight, we don't start reading until January 1,correct? Do we make connections here everyday, or after every chapter, or after every 10 pages? How does this read-along-with-me discussion work?
I don't think it will be that structured. Lori any suggestions?
carol (akittykat) wrote: "I don't think it will be that structured. Lori any suggestions?"Sounds good to me. The fewer the rules, the less likely I am to stress out and eventually drop out.
Vonney wrote: "carol (akittykat) wrote: "I don't think it will be that structured. Lori any suggestions?"Sounds good to me. The fewer the rules, the less likely I am to stress out and eventually drop out."
Same here. :) These book discussions do seem to work best when we're able to operate on our own individual schedules.
I'm going to check out a copy of Ulysses from the library tonight. I get it for three weeks. My goal is to not have to renew it, but if I do have to renew before I'm done with the book, so be it...
Here they seem to set up a thread for spoilers and non-spoilers. Both ways are good. If you want to read the spoilers , it can help formulate ideas you have not thought about. I think with this book we need all the help we can get. I remember as a young woman I thought the book hilarious, now I am thinking differently. This is the first time after 35 years ,so I have a different perspective.
Mod
Do you think we will need a spoiler thread? I do not know if this book is something that can "spoiled".... anyone? What do you think?
I agree with Carol... we will all need as much help as we can get :)
I think it would be good as an open forum to have a 'stream of consciousness'. It would probably encourage others , and that is the purpose. There is no connectivity to this book just inner thoughts. so why not our inner thoughts as to likes ,dislikes etc. I know there will be parts that others can chime in and give their take. I think that is the magic of this book.
I'm looking forward to the discussions beginning. I don't think we need a "spoiler" and "no spoiler" thread. From what I've read so far, this novel will bring about many discussions about writing form and style. likes/dislikes....much more than story content. I've got a few questions and thoughts already so I'm excited about the start of this ReadAlong.
I don't think we'll need a spoiler thread. Far from having parts spoiled that I haven't read yet, I may not even pick up on what's going on when I actually do read it!
Me too, rytr. I think just an open discussion will work fine. I'm just going to read through slowly and see what I can get out of it.
Anybody reading this yet? I've been working through it slowly. It's a very odd book. It's interesting, slow in action, convoluted, puzzling and more.
Each episode/chapter is written in a different style and some styles are hard to read (ie: "stream of consciousness".....I've discovered I'm not a fan). For a Writer, this sort of writing must be an exercise of perfecting one's art.
After reading each episode, I do check on-line for a synopsis to see if I'm "getting it" and, for the most part, I'm following along. There are some references that I go back and reread because I missed something. Sometimes I see the thing I missed; sometimes I don't. For example, the last paragraph of the third episode apparantly states that Stephen is urinating. I wouldn't have gotten that from just reading the paragraph and even after rereading it, I don't see it. However, it also doesn't matter so I move on.
Above, Carol posted an article that stated "Joyce claimed that if Dublin were to be destroyed in some catastrophe it could be rebuilt, brick by brick, using his work as a model...". At the time of posting, I thought that a curious, humerous and perhaps vain statement to make but I'm getting the feel of it as I continue to read. The characters really move through Dublin and the sights are described in minute detail. I've never been to Dublin and don't get a sense of how these locations fit together in real life but I imagine that those who know Dublin would.
All in all, so far I'm finding it interesting reading but for different reasons than other books. This one is style-driven; while usually I read for the story being told. This one doesn't seem to have much of a story going on. It's a day in the life of a couple of ordinary people going through an ordinary day. And yet....it's still interesting.
Petra I have a friend who visits Dublin quite often. Every April there is a James Joyce walk all around Dublin and it is as he seen it in 1904. In Ulysses you are on a voyage minute by minute in the lives of two characters and the thoughts and sounds surrounding them. As I said you won't connect the novel as a chapter to chapter conclusion. Each section is an episode into these mens lives. I love the literature , poetry and prose throughout the book. It does help to know other languages. Unfortunately I do not. , so I am at a disadvantage.
So I am just enjoying the Odyssey around Dublin with Mr. Bloom as Ulysses
Carol, that would be awesome! After reading the book, it would be very interesting to take a James Joyce walk. I'm sure the walk and those who lead the walk would add lots of information to the story. If I ever get to Dublin, I'll have to see that I go on one of these. What you say about each episode being an intimate moment into each men's life is true. That's precisely what comes across to the reader.
Petra, do you have a link for the online synopsis?
Jessica, I'm using this one from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_...
There's a lot of history and background if you follow all the links. I've had a look at some but not all of them; there's just too many. It really brings into perspective that Ulysses is a very personal book for Joyce.
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Beowulf on the Beach: What to Love and What to Skip in Literature's 50 Greatest Hits (other topics)Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses (other topics)
Ulysses and Us (other topics)
The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses (other topics)
The Sound and the Fury (other topics)
More...
I think another person and I will have this for our summer of classic read for this year. I thought we mentioned it, don't remember for sure. You may join if you want to. Probably the last of May or First of June 2010.