Have YOU read Ulysses?

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Scribble

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Thanks to the constant jibing of a certain GRRM-hating member, I decided to pick up Ulysses (Going through the 'classics' and I've just finished 1984, anyway).

But yeah, obligatory 'it's effing confusing!' (And I have trouble reading 'straightforward' books), but I'm enjoying the way it's written. I think I'll pick up another book to read at the same time (Clash of Kings, maybe?) and digest Ulysses in chunks. The reviews on Amazon made me pretty optimistic in tackling it.

I haven't got that much to say yet, but you might. Have you read Ulysses? Did you enjoy it? Think it's Overrated? or Not That Complex?
 
I read it in High School. Which was a *cough* few *cough* years ago. I'll have to download it on my iPhone and give it another go.
 
Yes, as Joyce is my own personal god. It's not too confusing if you take it in small, digestible chunks. I believe I used a companion guide when reading it for extra clarity. I had also read (and loved, which got me on the Joyce path) Dubliners.

Ulysses is a toughie, but it's Finnegans Wake that is confusing. I think I read the first and last page of Finnegans Wake and gave up.
 
My English teacher said that Ulysses is one of the hardest books to read. Not because it's so confusing but because it's written in a weird style. I only got around 70 pages in before I gave up. It was pretty dull.
 
Takeda Kenshi said:
No, but I read Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man.

1st time I hated it, 2nd time I loved it.
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Oh, I also read that one senior year in high school. I enjoyed it, but I dunno. Araby was the first thing that really made me notice Joyce, and then, of course, The Dead.
 
Yup...as a past English major, it was required reading. Also read Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man as well. Joyce is awesome.

As for Finnegan's Wake, I read the first three sentences and put it down.
 
I recommend reading The Odyssey instead. It's the other Ulysses. :D

Awesome how half the book takes place after the sea voyage that is the most famous section, when it's time to kick ass back in the homeland.
 
And for reference, the first four sentences of Finnegans Wake:

riverrun, past Even and Adam's, from sweve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of rcirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Sir Tristam, violer 'damores, fr'over the short sea, had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyer's rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to LaurensCounty's gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, through venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with tone nathandjoe. Rot a peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface.

The fall(bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstraight oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.


Wow.
 
Reading this book is like an uphill battle. I had to read it in high school. I think I was one of the few people in class who actually got through the entire book. :lol
 
Scribble said:
And for reference, the first four sentences of Finnegans Wake:

riverrun, past Even and Adam's, from sweve of shore to bend of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of rcirculation back to Howth Castle and Environs.

Sir Tristam, violer 'damores, fr'over the short sea, had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor had topsawyer's rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse to LaurensCounty's gorgios while they went doublin their mumper all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, through venissoon after, had a kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all fair in vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with tone nathandjoe. Rot a peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface.

The fall(bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstraight oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.


Wow.
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Seriously, if that's the writing style of the book, then anyone who regards it as a "good read" is a F*CKING MORON in my eyes.
 
I knew that people would come in and say that Finnegans Wake is more difficult (And it is, apparently), but it doesn't change the fact that Ulysses is still confusing for someone not used to reading books like that.
 
Scribble said:
I knew that people would come in and say that Finnegans Wake is more difficult (And it is, apparently), but it doesn't change the fact that Ulysses is still confusing for someone not used to reading books like that.
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The only way you can get used to them is to read them. :)
 
I think you need a good technical grasp on language to appreciate Finnegans, because as I understand it, he's experimenting with words.
 
Read it, didn't particularly cared for it, felt like a chore for long stretches.
And yeah, I think the book's "difficulty" is greatly overstated, I've found Finnegan's Wake and Tristram Shandy much harder to go through.

It's a bit of a shame, since it turned so many people away from stream of consciousness writings like the marvelous In Search of Lost Time and Becket's Trilogy.
Read those instead of fighting with Ulysses.

And as Joyce goes, I think A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners are much better.
 
Scribble said:
Thanks to the constant jibing of a certain GRRM-hating member, I decided to pick up Ulysses (Going through the 'classics' and I've just finished 1984, anyway).

But yeah, obligatory 'it's effing confusing!' (And I have trouble reading 'straightforward' books), but I'm enjoying the way it's written. I think I'll pick up another book to read at the same time (Clash of Kings, maybe?) and digest Ulysses in chunks. The reviews on Amazon made me pretty optimistic in tackling it.

I haven't got that much to say yet, but you might. Have you read Ulysses? Did you enjoy it? Think it's Overrated? or Not That Complex?
Click to expand...

Read it during summer two years ago. Used a very heavily annotated version, so most of the difficulties were solved for me and handed me on a platter. I didn't struggle too much with the overall meaning of things - the individual sentences and words were much harder. One thing that makes Ulysses manageable is that every chapter is written in a different style, so it never feels "samey" or repetitive. Fascinating read, if only to ponder over how on earth James Joyce could actually manage to write such a complex and detailed work. His imagination and intelligence must have been endless.

It made me buy Finnegans Wake, by the way. I haven't read it yet, and don't plan to in the near future. The only thing I use it for is to show it to visitors and "test their English". It was extra fun one time an actual Englishman was here, and he couldn't even explain the first paragraph.
 
backflip10019 said:
:lol

If you think Ulysses is difficult and confusing, try reading Finnegan's Wake by Joyce. It's almost maddening.
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To be expected of a book designed by committee with the sole purpose of referencing every other work of literature ever written to that point.

You could experience a similar bout of mental stimulation by asking your friend to hit you in the face with any volume of the OED. :lol
 
Chichikov said:
Read it, didn't particularly cared for it, felt like a chore for long stretches.
And yeah, I think the book's "difficulty" is greatly overstated, I've found Finnegan's Wake and Tristram Shandy much harder to go through.

It's a bit of a shame, since it turned so many people away from stream of consciousness writings like the marvelous In Search of Lost Time and Becket's Trilogy.
Read those instead of fighting with Ulysses.

And as Joyce goes, I think A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners are much better.
Click to expand...

<3 Tristram Shandy
 
Nope. Last "hard" book I tried to read was Gravity's Rainbow. Thing is, I read most books on the train, and I just couldn't concentrate on it. Gave up and got Age of Propaganda instead.
 
I read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I enjoyed it, but I also don't have any desire to read more Joyce. One was enough for me.
 
i read The Sound & the Fury in high school and loved it. Ulysses i picked up not too long ago...but now my free time to enjoyment ratio is exponentially more expensive than when i was a student and thus after beginning it, i decided i just didn't have the kind of free time to devote to something of this nature, free time that could be spent elsewhere where my entertainment factor would be much higher.

perhaps some day.
 
I read it, but didn't find it to be very interesting. Except for the last chapter - I expected the whole book to be written like that.

Chichikov said:
It's a bit of a shame, since it turned so many people away from stream of consciousness writings like the marvelous In Search of Lost Time and Becket's Trilogy.
Read those instead of fighting with Ulysses.
Click to expand...
True, I definitely recommend trying Proust's In Search of Lost Time first.
 
Sleepytime Gorilla Museum actually has a song using the following text from Finnagans Wake:

The oaks evolved, now they lie in peace. Yet elms sleep where ashes lay.
Phall if you but will, rise you must

A hand from the cloud emerges, holding a chart expanded.

The eversower of the seeds of light to the cowld owld sowls that are in the domnatory of Defmut after the night of the carrying of the word of Nuahs and the night of making Mehs to cuddle up in a coddlepot, Pu Nuseht, lord of risings in the yonderworld of Ntamplin, tohp triumphant, speaketh.

Of all the stranger things that ever not even in the hundrund and badst pageans of unthowsent and wonst nice orin eddas and oddes bokes of tomb, dyke and hollow to be have happened! The untireties of livesliving being the one substrance of a streamsbecoming.
Totalled in toldteld and teldtold

Ascend out of your bed, cavern of a trunk, and shrine!

Vah! Suvarn Sur! Scatter brand to the reneweller of the sky, thou who agnitest! Dah! Arcthuris comeing! Be! Verb umprincipiant through the trancitive spaces!

Kilt by kelt shell kithagain with kinagain. We elect for thee, Tirtangel. Svadesia salve! We Durbalanars, theeadjure. A way, the Margan, from our astamite,
Kilt by kelt shell kithagain
Through dimdom done till light kindling light
Through dimdom done till light kindling light has led we hopas
But hunt me the journeyon,
Iteritinerant,
The kal his course,
Amid the semitary of Somnionia.

The oaks evolved, now they lie in peace. Yet elms sleep where ashes lay.
Phall if you but will, rise you must
Click to expand...


Here's the song. Pretty incredible.
 
Yes, I took a Joyce class at college with a brilliant professor. I would recommend taking a course, you really do get a lot more out if than you otherwise would.

Not to mention it is a great book to discuss with enthusiastic peers. People taking a Joyce class tend to be interesting and very smart.

Portrait I didn't really care for, although it's definitely worth reading.

Most of Dubliners is quite amazing, especially The Dead, obviously.

We didn't tackled Finnegan's Wake. I doubt I ever will.
 
Chichikov said:
You're a better person than I am.

A Cock and Bull Story is ace though.
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I used to be pretty hardcore about 17th and 18th century lit. I loved Tristram Shandy back in college, but I'd wager I'd get a headache if I tried to go at it again.
 
i've read ulysses numerous times, but can never get past that part where the narrative turns into play format or whatever (around pg 430 in most editions).

if you're an aspiring writer, it's kind of mandatory that you read it. it taught me a lot, even though i'm not exactly crazy about it.

as for finnegans wake, i don't think i'll ever get through that. i think i understand some of it though
 
White Man said:
I used to be pretty hardcore about 17th and 18th century lit. I loved Tristram Shandy back in college, but I'd wager I'd get a headache if I tried to go at it again.
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I'm sure not being a native English speaker didn't help me (it was never translated to my native tongue).
 
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