5 ms·
Honestly, it’s not as strange a read as people make out. Read it twice. After the first time which was ok but not an amazing experience I then read an analysis/
by jahnu 1y ago
Honestly, it’s not as strange a read as people make out. Read it twice. After the first time which was ok but not an amazing experience I then read an analysis/explaination and then I read it a second time which was obviously much easier and it was really great.
Finnegan’s Wake on the other hand… bailed after three pages.
- rjpower9000 1y agoI had a similar experience. I finally got around to reading Ulysses when I had some downtime between jobs and pushed my way through it. I ended up referring to https://www.ulyssesguide.com/ https://www.ulyssesguide.com/ as I went along which helped substantially: the extra context and discussion made me appreciate the novel more. I came to the conclusion that while I didn't necessarily _like it_ per se, I had to acknowledge how absurdly talented Joyce was, and that there was some justification for being in the top books list. My feeling was that the lack of enjoyment was a fault of the book but more that I didn't have the background to appreciate it. Though there were also some chapters where most people agree Joyce was just trying too hard and it shows.
- atombender 1y agoI've never read Finnegans Wake, but it made a lot more sense when I heard it spoken out loud, which I think was the intent. Here's Joyce reading it: https://youtu.be/M8kFqiv8Vww?si=YO69BX_KVEINr5mo https://youtu.be/M8kFqiv8Vww?si=YO69BX_KVEINr5mo. I had the same sensation when I listened to Fiona Shaw performing The Waste Land by T. S. Eliot, who breathes completely new life into it: https://youtu.be/lPB_17rbNXk?si=IBKeyTnu0KCZ2r_U https://youtu.be/lPB_17rbNXk?si=IBKeyTnu0KCZ2r_U. (She's an amazing actress, truly one of the greats.) The poem is supposed to many types of voices talking, so you lose a lot of meaning if you just read it like a poem (even T. S. Eliot himself reads it quite poorly!).
- eszed 1y agoFiona Shaw is one of the greats. I've been lucky enough to see her on stage a couple of times. For those of you who don't recognize her name, she's Maarva in Andor, and some minor character (I don't remember) in the Harry Potter films - neither of which roles get even close to challenging her range and power.
- atombender 1y agoI would love to see her on stage. She did wonders with the Maarva character even though it was a very small role.
- segfault99 1y agoAnyone seen Jorn Barger lately?
- jknoepfler 1y agoI (too) had a similar experience! On the first read I felt like I was barely scratching the surface but could enjoy just enough of the lyricism and imagery to slog through, but definitely didn't "get it". Then I read it with a bunch of fellow book nerds and put some effort into unpacking it and had a blast. It definitely repays sustained attention, if literary fiction is your jam.
- 2b3a51 1y agoRTE produced a dramatised reading of Ulysses by actors. Still available for download. I found this helped me access the written text. https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/0527/1146705-listen-ulysses-james-joyce-podcast/ https://www.rte.ie/culture/2025/0527/1146705-listen-ulysses-...
- gnulinux 1y agoIt's definitely not the hardest "arthouse" novel (or whatever you call it), I found Gravity's Rainbow by Pynchon so much more harder, and Beckett's Three Novels (i.e. Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable) was likely the most difficult text I attempted to read in my life. Even then, I think it's still pretty difficult for an average Western reader in 2020s, our literacy attention span and interest is very low. People should definitely attempt it though!
- squidsoup 1y agoPynchon's "California" novels (crying of lot 49, vineland, inherent vice) are much more readable, and arguably enjoyable. I found Gravity's Rainbow pretty inscrutable.
- rxtexit 1y agoCrying of Lot 49 is wonderful and I am not really a big fiction fan. I will have to give Vineland and Inherent Vice a shot. Gravity's Rainbow is just a lost cause for me with the size let alone the content.
- i_hated_finegan 1y agoYou made it three pages? I doubt I made it two.