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The thing about Joyce is that you have to devote your whole self to reading him - he leaves no room for distraction.
I love the modernist approach to literature in general and the 'stream of consciousness' narrative techniques can blow your mind...but...and this is slightly controvertial...I think that Virginia Woolf does it better thank Joyce, more accessible and ulimately more profound ...
Ally
I love the modernist approach to literature in general and the 'stream of consciousness' narrative techniques can blow your mind...but...and this is slightly controvertial...I think that Virginia Woolf does it better thank Joyce, more accessible and ulimately more profound ...
Ally

Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard was the first text on my 20th Century literature module in my degree. - He managed to tap into the feelings of fragmentation and displacement throughout society - a wonderfully influential writer in terms of the early 20th C - I think, if I remember rightly, Katherine Mansfield was influenced by him in a big way.
Ally
Ally

(Sorry I've not been around for a bit, BTW - my life became curious and interesting and different. It's slowly normalising.)
Wonderful to see you back Gillian! - no need to apologise - feel free to dip in and out of this group as life takes you - you'll always be welcome back!

Yes, and yes

I found this link, had to share, hopefully to inspire those who have the book on their shelves and haven't tackled it yet.
Open the book to pages 346-347 and read about Gerty. Joyce's parody of romance magazines. The sentence '…..vying with one another to pay their devoirs to her'. Devoirs, we don't use that word anymore, sad.


Thanks Greg. I am in that category. Part of what puts me off, aside from an impatience with having to have a book explained to me, is my experience with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. My primary emotional response was boredom - though I enjoyed bits of it. I feel that I'd need to take a course to get to grips with Ulysses and, with so many other wonderful books to read, I don't feel very inclined to set aside the time to do it. Probably my loss but I'd rather enjoy all the wonderful books that are readily accessible.
Elsewhere you just reminded me of George Orwell's guidelines....
1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print
2. Never use a long word where a short one will do
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out
4. Never use the passive when you can use the active
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent; and finally
6. Break any of these rules sooner than say something outright barbarous
I suspect Joyce breaks a few of these on every page. What do you think?

It is scary to realise the perception Joyce had into human behaviour, the way we think, act, feel.
I didn't have a 'manual' to understand it. I think that would spoil it. I just read it.
I understand what you say with A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I started it, got a third the way in, and left it. Couldn't get it, too hard. Ulysses is different. One suggestion is do it in sections. I read two-thirds and put it aside for about a year when the style changed and then returned and finished it. The book may be set in one day but hey, life is long! What's the rush.

Thanks Jan C, Ulysses Annotated by Don Gifford looks a must to read. So does Harry Blamires' The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses.
Who would you recommend reading first?

I will say that when I did finish Ulysses I felt a real sense of accomplishment.

Thanks Jan C, much appreciated.


Well said, Charles.
"Everything flows through him."

I agree Jan C, well said Charles.
I've changed the Australian National Anthem to…
Australians all let us read Joyce, For we are young and free;
Books mentioned in this topic
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (other topics)Dubliners (other topics)
Finnegans Wake (other topics)
Ulysses (other topics)
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (other topics)
I love Joyce's prose, though, and his description and depiction of Dublin. I enjoy Finnegans Wake for different reasons. It's so crazy and enigmatic. I hope I get some time soon to really dive into it. I would recommend it for a year-long group reading project. :)