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Two resources I always recommend for anyone daunted by Ulysses: - The RTÉ dramatization[1]. It's essentially unabridged: The entire novel as a well-produced, w

Two resources I always recommend for anyone daunted by Ulysses: - The RTÉ dramatization[1]. It's essentially unabridged: The entire novel as a well-produced, well-acted radio play. Just amazing. - Frank Delaney's Re: Joyce podcast[2]. Sadly interrupted halfway through "Wandering Rocks" by Frank's death 4 years ago, it's a delightful unpacking of the novel in paragraph-to-page-sized chunks, depending on the density. Regardless of any background material you bring along, the best advice for reading Ulysses is just to read it: Plow through the verbiage and don't take too much heed of the references or exactly who's saying what or what in the world they're talking about. Before too long you'll get to some much more straightforward but painstakingly crafted prose, and in the meantime, the flow and rhythm of Joyce's words can be appreciated on their own. [1] https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/0610/1146705-listen-ulysses-james-joyce-podcast/ https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/0610/1146705-listen-ulysses-... [2] https://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/ https://blog.frankdelaney.com/re-joyce/

leephillips 6y ago
Good advice. It’s a novel, after all. It’s great fun, and some of the best English prose I have ever encountered. The linked site is a fantastic resource. This is the kind of thing the WWW was invented for (OK, not literally). Click on the notes to satisfy your curiosity, but not because you think you need to know all these details to enjoy the book. From the site: “Must one walk the streets of Dublin to find order in the protagonists’ meanderings?” The last time I read the whole thing I did just this, but on a contemporaneous map, marking the paths of the two main characters in different colors, following a suggestion of Nabokov’s in his lecture on Ulysses (probably one of the few pieces of criticism of this book worth reading). I recommend it!
- leephillips 6y ago
  I’ll add that the first time I read it, I was confused for a while. I felt like I didn’t know what was going on, but the music of the language pulled me along. Then, about 100 pages in, it suddenly clicked. This is artistic genius: Joyce invented a new way to use language, to tell a story, his own brand of English—and through the beauty of his technique, compelled people to figure it out.
lucideer 6y ago
Great recommendations! One small bit of extra advice, albeit poorly timed (with covid) and also quite an extreme luxury when compared to radio/podcast listening is: visit & walk Dublin. The novel is firmly rooted in geography, so as you "read it, plowing through verbiage without taking too much heed of references", you may at least get some better hints at the sense of place permeating some of said references. As another commenter suggests, digital maps may help here (seriously). One can also try and solve Bloom's famous puzzle[0]... [0] https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/activities/the-cross-dublin-without-passing-a-pub-challenge/a/pa-act/v-108437P3/359581 https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/activities/the-cross-du...

leephillips 6y ago

Good advice. It’s a novel, after all. It’s great fun, and some of the best English prose I have ever encountered. The linked site is a fantastic resource. This is the kind of thing the WWW was invented for (OK, not literally). Click on the notes to satisfy your curiosity, but not because you think you need to know all these details to enjoy the book. From the site: “Must one walk the streets of Dublin to find order in the protagonists’ meanderings?” The last time I read the whole thing I did just this, but on a contemporaneous map, marking the paths of the two main characters in different colors, following a suggestion of Nabokov’s in his lecture on Ulysses (probably one of the few pieces of criticism of this book worth reading). I recommend it!

leephillips 6y ago
I’ll add that the first time I read it, I was confused for a while. I felt like I didn’t know what was going on, but the music of the language pulled me along. Then, about 100 pages in, it suddenly clicked. This is artistic genius: Joyce invented a new way to use language, to tell a story, his own brand of English—and through the beauty of his technique, compelled people to figure it out.

lucideer 6y ago

Great recommendations! One small bit of extra advice, albeit poorly timed (with covid) and also quite an extreme luxury when compared to radio/podcast listening is: visit & walk Dublin. The novel is firmly rooted in geography, so as you "read it, plowing through verbiage without taking too much heed of references", you may at least get some better hints at the sense of place permeating some of said references. As another commenter suggests, digital maps may help here (seriously). One can also try and solve Bloom's famous puzzle[0]... [0] https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/activities/the-cross-dublin-without-passing-a-pub-challenge/a/pa-act/v-108437P3/359581 https://www.lonelyplanet.com/ireland/activities/the-cross-du...