Ulysses

Rating:
Summary: This is the greatest book ever written. Yes.
Review: "Ulysses" is the greatest book ever written. After several attempts, I have read it in its entirety only once, but I hope read it again and again. I'm not one who tries to appear pedantic, but I feel very strongly about my amature opinion. When you grasp the accomplishment that Joyce produced, you are in awe.

"Ulysses" is just the events of one day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin. The three "main" characters are Leopold Bloom, an Irish Jew, (the only reason I mention his ethnicity is because it's important to the story); Stephen Dedalus, a school teacher, who can be seen as a continuation of the protagonist from "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man", and as Joyce's own persona in the story; and Molly Bloom, Leopold's adulterous wife, whose non-punctuated "monolog" in the final chapter is probably the most quoted section of the book. Nothing fantastic action-wise happens in the story, beginning in the morning with Stephen's roommate--they live in an old military post built during the Napoleonic Wars--Buck Mulligan shaving, and ending very late in the evening with Molly Bloom's recollections of the day and her feelings for her husband, among many others; but it's the methods of production and presentation that you admire. Joyce uses "stream-of-consciousness" or some would say more accurately, "internal monolog". Characters thoughts are presented in prose to give the effect of being inside the characters mind, kind of like having a front row seat. One of the many difficulties is that the role of narrator often switches, and sometimes switches to characters that aren't even identified. This often confuses first-time readers and scares off scores of others. "Ulysses" isn't an easy read. Reading it takes work. But it's not impossible. Some may feel that no book is worth the effort, but I assure you "Ulysses" is, and it won't take that much out of you to understand it. One book I highly recommend is "Introducing Joyce". It's an easy read and covers Joyce's life and his major works, especially "Ulysses".

Which editon of "Ulysses" should you purchase? Either the corrected 1961 version, the Gabler edition (which has even more corrections and actually lists the chapters, numbered and titled, and has them clearly identified), both of which are published by Vintage Books. There is also the Oxford World Classics edition, based on the original 1922 publication that also has corrections, footnotes, and a map of Dublin. I proudly have all three. =D

Rating:
Summary: A Master's Masterpiece
Review: This book is a mystery and a masterpiece. The first time I read it, it was almost a quest of sorts. I had to find something to pass the time during a particularly tedious job that required me to wait against my will every evening for at least one hour. Bit by bit, I proceeded through the text, and found myself entranced and lost in the language. I was a writer at the time, and the attention to detail fascinated me. It also showed me how much I had to learn about language and lyricism. I have reread the book again and again, some sections more than others, and still love it. Every bit. Profane? Hardly. But it has its moments, even by modern standards. Still, the idea of creating such a thing is a thing to be admired.

Rating:
Summary: Vengeance is Joyce¿s
Review: I think there is one sentence in Ulysses that sums up Joyce's intention perfectly: "Any object, intensely regarded, may be a gate of access to the incorruptible eon of the gods."

This really is a great book, full of humor and insight and what I can only describe as those little sparks of recognition you get when you see your own life in great literature. And I think it even has something akin to a real spiritual revelation we desperately need in the West (see the quote above). But there's no denying that Joyce was a sadist, linguistically speaking. Like all Irish writers I've ever read about, Joyce had mixed feelings about English. It was not his true native language and, while he loved it, he was always knew that it was a kind of shackle on his country. The issue comes up in A Portrait (when young Stephen bristles that he knows the language better than the English priest who's teaching it) and it reappears very early in Ulysses.

At breakfast, Haines confounds the old milk woman with his speech in Irish (it's French, for all she knows). In his mind, Stephen associates the old woman with all of Ireland, and Haines' command of the Irish language is emblematic of his status as conqueror (he's conquered the land and assimilated the language, and now he's come to plunder the culture! Haines is in Ireland to collect folk tales). Joyce may not have embraced the Irish cause like many of his contemporaries, but he had his own more subtle form of revolt. He wanted to bind the English speaking world with one of it's own shackles. In Richard Ellman's biography, someone tells Joyce he demands too much of his readers. He flatly replies that his only demand was that his readers spend their whole lives reading him. He wanted to make us all slaves! Just read those two mind-bending sentences near the beginning of the Oxen of the Sun chapter and imagine what sadistic pleasure Joyce must have felt writing them. You can almost hear him shout, "take that!" And any time you come to a particularly difficult section of the book, just imagine Joyce there beside you saying, "Hey, don't look at me. It's YOUR language."

I'm sure what throws most people is the third chapter that begins "Ineluctable modality of the visible..." Up to then, things have been pretty clear, except for the occasional shifts from dialogue to thought, which Joyce does without giving us those helpful little 'he said's and 'he thought's. He doesn't even give us quotation marks (he didn't use them because he thought they were ugly, by the way). We've seen-and "seen" is the key word...we have not been told by a narrator...it's as if we are there watching it all-we've seen Stephen have breakfast in the tower, walk with Mulligan and Haines to the bathing area, teach his class, and talk with Deasy. But suddenly we find ourselves inside his head along with Kant, Schopenhaur, Shakespeare, Milton, the Bible, the Catholic Mass, early Christian heresies, Irish mythology, on and on. It gets confusing to say the least.

Do you have to know as much about all this stuff as Stephen to understand the book? It probably wouldn't hurt, but I certainly don't. The main thing is to understand that STEPHEN understands it all, and yet he is still struggling. His mother has died and he's asking a simple question, "what does it all mean?" This is the question of the book. What does life mean? How should one live? The answer the book gives is: life begins when you understand that we are all one. Stephen and Bloom, two completely different people, are one. Religion, myth, and all the great symbols that spring up across the globe are so similar because human life is essentially the same everywhere. Joyce told a friend that he chose The Odyssey as a model for his own book because Homer created the most complete character in all of literature: Odysseus is a father, a husband, a lover, a warrior, a politician. In short, he is Bloom: a completely ordinary man. Joyce showed us that ordinary life, "intensely regarded", is the stuff of myth.

It's not always easy (although much of it is, if you read carefully...and compared to Finnegans Wake it's practically Dr. Seuss). But it's well worth the effort.

Rating:
Summary: una de esas novelas que hay que leer
Review: este extenso libro que algunos odian y otros adoran esta lleno de cosas que fastidian que agotan, que atrasan la lectura y sin embargo hay una anhelo de llegar al final, de ver, de sentir. Que fuerza creadora inspiro a joyce a escribir esto? Que broma malvada le jugo al mundo? al escribir una odisea de dialogo interior, plagada de voces que se encuentran, que chocan , que se superponen en un eterno dia. este libro es muy bueno,pero debe leerse con mente abierta hasta el final, sin animo de criticas. puedes odiarlo o amarlo, pero es como uno de esos grandes monumentos de la historia arquitectonica resistira los siglos y siempre estara ahi.

LUIS MENDEZ

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Rating:
Summary: Stick to the original.
Review: A couple things: First off, everyone's heard of Ulysses, and everyone has their own notions of what they expect from a book, what they expect from Ulysses in particular, and how they feel about experimental literature in general (though by today's standards Ulysses appears vastly less experimental than, say, Finnegan's Wake). So basically, if you don't think you'll like Ulysses, you probably won't. And no, it's not a casual read. If you're willing to do some homework, though, which in my case included some Homer, Shakespeare, Freud, and Irish history (though I could go on), it just might be worth your time (lots of time) to slog through all 900+ pages of the thing. But that's just my two cents.

The real reason I'm writing this review is to steer people away from the 'reader's edition' of Ulysses--that's the reason for the two stars. This is not the novel as Joyce intended--it is an adaptation by Danis Rose, and reflects what he (Rose) thought was 'accurate.' Though the changes he makes are minor--and, in all fairness, may correct oversights made by Joyce--I am offended by the idea that an editor has the ability to take an important and influential work and make changes as he sees fit. The fact that this edition was ever put to print debases the role of the artist (any artist), and reflects the increasing trend toward commercialization and dumbing-down of art in favor of turning a profit.

So--is Ulysses the greatest artistic achievement in any medium, ever? I don't know, and whether I think so is irrelevant anyway. But if you want to find out for yourself, please, PLEASE, at least read Joyce's words, not Rose's.

Rating:
Summary: Not so much a review as a vow . . .
Review: I know I'm itching for a whole ton of "unhelpful" votes here, but here goes anyway . . .

I have given "Ulysses" five stars because, quite simply, its reputation as one of the most, if not THE most difficult works in literature, precedes itself. There has to be a reason the Modern Library or whatever organization it was voted this the Number One novel of the twentieth century.

I shall read this book someday, I swear to God and all the folks at amazon.com

"Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed . . ."

So the book begins, Joyce's version of an epic voyage, the epic voyage of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus. And an epic voyage for the reader, who is left pondering the opening sentence: "This is gonna take a while." That or, "This is English? What the hell?"

I'm going to read "Ulysses," however, by God. I want to be a well-read individual. I want to be able to display this book on my shelf with other reading trophies ("War and Peace" and "Mason and Dixon" among them- some people hunt deer; I hunt literature). Most of all, I want to know what you blokes are talking about.

Good reading, all.

Rating:
Summary: Don't Waste Your Money
Review: Due to the recent explosion of fame of this novel, many literature lovers have gone out to buy the book (or get it from a library,) to at least see what the hype is all about, if not to actually enjoy it. Unfortunately, many of these literature lovers enjoy not just reading, but the atmosphere of reading--curling up in bed or in a plush recliner after work and shutting off the outside world to live with the characters for a few hours. These readers generally throw Ulysses away before getting past the third chapter because they realize that no such reading atmosphere is possible with such a complex novel. To those interested in reading the novel, I offer two suggestions: first study a little Irish history, particularly about Charles Stewart Parnell, Daniel O'Connell, Arthur Griffin and Sinn Fein, the Fenian movement, etc. even if you just peruse encyclopedia articles. Second, read the Don Gifford notes for the novel along with Ulysses itself. This will constantly interrupt your reading of the novel, but it will help your understanding. If you are completely unwilling to put in this effort, buying this book will be a waste of money. But even if you don't think you would be willing to read a novel that requires so much initial research for basic comprehension, consider this: If Ulysses is really as good as its fans claim, you will want to go back and read it a second time, and then you will be able to enjoy it without constantly referring to notes, history texts or foreign language dictionaries.

Rating:
Summary: Ulysses
Review: What a read! Stephen Dedalus's pretentious aestheticism reminded me a lot of Thomas Mann's Death of Venice's character Gustav Aschenbach, without of course the cynical hatred of the rotten Europe, more the wide-eyed lover of the growing Dublin. Leopold Bloom on the other hand seems to be a man to my own naive (or ignorant) tastes. The poetic consumer of words versus the materialist producer of words, a unity of humanity seen through two (or maybe including Molly three) eyes. The allusions to Aristotle and Blake needed a regular flicking through literary notes and for the Proteus chapter even a German dictionary! This was no bad thing though for if anything Ulysses is an education. Like all good things it required work, but with some good notes of history and literature its a must read, as beautiful as the Lithy.

Rating:
Summary: Perhaps the Most Challenging Novel Ever Written
Review: Some people like to go for a stroll on the beach. Others like to climb Mount Everest. Reading Ulysses is much more like the latter than the former.

I have now read this book four times. I must really be a glutton for punishment.

Actually, the rereading is quite rewarding. When I first read the book in my youth, the only edition available was the one with all the printer's errors in it. Those errors made a difficult novel, much more so. So I found that my understanding and appreciation rose substantially when I could read the original version.

As I grew older, I realized that I had had more experiences, read more books, and thought more thoughts. That meant that I found new layers of meaning in Ulysses.

I plan to keep rereading this book on a regular basis for the rest of my life. I hope you find it this engrossing as well.

What initially attracted me to the book was Joyce's ability to capture the inner dialogue that we all have. We alternate between thinking like angels and the basest animals. Joyce not only unveiled and portrayed that quality, he also imbued it with an elegance of expression that certainly exceeds my wit. It is almost as though an intellectual, well-educated literary comedian is invited along to make witnessing the internal dialogue more interesting.

Of even greater significance is the reaction that many have to the novel. They simply do not want to plumb into someone else's mind, unless perhaps it is the mind of a saint. But who knows what a saint really thinks?

The title, of course, is a dead giveaway (that few will need) that there are a literary analogy and symbolism involved. Those implications are enough to keep several Ph.D.'s busy for a career.

Mr. Joyce was a most learned and observant man. What remarkable things must have gone on inside of his mind!

If you are interested in extending your own ability to understand what is going on around you, I recommend Ulysses as a way to fill in the backdrop of what is not said when you are with others.

If you are more than satisfied with surface reality, then by all means skip this book. You'll wonder what all the fuss is about.

Perhaps the only exception to the latter is someone who loves a musical turn of phrasing, something Joyce excels in.

Enjoy your journey!

If you are like me, you'll find that it makes sense to keep your copy on the night table. You never know when you'll be ready for another trip to 1904.

Rating:
Summary: A Blasphemous, Vulgar and Sexual Book
Review: A blasphemous, vulgar and sexual book about the lives of sots in Ireland written by a Shakespeare-variety wordsmith. At first glance, it sounds too good to be true. The catch...

An extremely comprehensive plot summary for each chapter will only take about 25 words. That's right-it takes place over the course of a day and a night, and the action can be completely and all-inclusively summarized in only 450 words. However, there are only two ways to get this summary: 1) five or six years of study, or 2) by reading a Cliffs Notes-type book.

This book has been fairly assessed as incomprehensible, numbing, nightmarish, and mind-numbing. The average reader will have a excruciatingly grim time completing this book.

Still, I am convinced that anyone who reads every word of this book will love and embrace it. Be warned, the love and embrace do not happen immediately. After reading the first 90 pages, I had the worst headache in my life. I could not read for five more days. I hated the next four hundred pages of the book. Around page 500, I began to embrace this beloved work. It took the last 250 pages to achieve a unity and oneness with the book.

I'm one of those people who reads the dictionary for fun. Because of this, I know a lot of words that I've never heard or have never read. Ulysses changed that. I think that he used every word that I have ever learned by reading the dictionary, but have not heard in life. Finding those words in print is worth reading the 700+ pages.

As a smattering of the jewels of perspicacity of James Joyce, I have included my four favorite parts of the book. If you like this small morsel of the volume, you will love the rest. Enjoy!

1. Moses, Moses, king of the jews, wiped his arse in the Daily News.

2. Love loves to love love.

3. Q. Did Bloom accept the invitation to dinner...? A. Very gratefully, with grateful appreciation, with sincere appreciative gratitude, in appreciatively grateful sincerity of regret, he declined.

4. Q. What in water did Bloom ... admire? A. Its universality: its democratic equality and constancy to its nature in seeking its own level ... [Insert 30 more things about water] ... the noxiousness of its effluvia in lacustrine marshes, pestilential fens, faded flowerwater, stagnant pools in the waning moon.