Liam Mulvaney > Recent Status Updates

This is your fault, James Joyce!

I'm reading the First Canto and am laughing uncontrollably!

Good boy, Stephen!

Thank you Father Arnall for making me feel the flames of hell.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas and how it remains my favourite novel of all time; I still often revisit my paperback copy and read an occasional chapter. I was quite surprised that it is mentioned in James Joyce's novel. But I have to be honest with myself once and for all, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man might well become my favourite novel.

I finished the first chapter.

Youth, Irish politics and religion feature heavily, but what captivated me most was Dedalus' innocent curiosity about life. It's also what his father told young Stephen before he went to boarding school: "Never peach on them," emphasising the importance of loyalty and discretion amongst his clique of friends. He listens to this, even though, it cost him the pandybat.

Damn...