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.

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.