I get why everybody makes a fuss about Ulysses, what with all of its maddening and spectacular qualities, and with James Joyce’s shameless (and, to me, satisfying) arrogance about his own work. But I’ve never really gotten why people find this funny, dirty novel so hard to read.
I’ve picked up — and put down — The Corrections, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell, various books by Paul Auster, Middlesex (even though I loved The Virgin Suicides), The Shipping News, Tipping the Velvet, Memoirs of a Geisha, She’s Come Undone and Cold Mountain. I couldn’t get into them, even by cheating and flipping through to sections later in the book that might be more interesting. They seemed like slogs. They may well be great books. Everyone says so. I just can’t get into them or through them. So it’s not like I’m a reader with epic stamina. It’s not an issue of length, either, although it always seems less horrible to slog through a book you’re not that into when it’s nice and slim. Maybe reading Ulysses is like meditating? (Meaning, if it’s easy, you’re doing it wrong.) I don’t understand every reference in Ulysses, but then, I don’t understand every reference in most novels I’ve enjoyed reading. Certainly Ulysses is a novel the way New York (more than Dublin) is a city — it’s different every time you visit it.
Take a look!
Tags: James Joyce, Ulysses
July 20, 2008 at 7:55 pm |
I prepared carefully before I tackled ULYSSES–read every biography I could find on Joyce, all the critical theory I could decipher, just so I wouldn’t be lost by the various references and in-jokes Joyce tossed in. I was impressed by the sheer bawdiness of the book, the way ordinary bodily functions were discussed with such frankness. The table talk at the Joyce residence must have been fascinating indeed…
July 20, 2008 at 9:29 pm |
Dear Cliff,
Is there any specifc annotated edition of Ulysses that you would recommend?
Guru
July 25, 2008 at 5:43 am |
That’s an interesting take on Ulysses. I’ve tried reading it at least three times and just haven’t been able to get farther than 100 pages. On the other hand, some of the ones she says she has a hard time reading — Shipping News, Cold Mountain, anything by Paul Aster — I’ve breezed right through. Maybe I’m trying too hard when it comes to Ulysses. The parts I did read were surprisingly bawdy and funny. Looks like it’s time to try again.