That was pretty good
>>25236396Good on you for actually reading Joyce, the most lied about author in the western canon.
>>25236396It is pretty good. What did you think of Stephen?Onto Ulysses then?>>25236405Oh? How do you mean?
>>25236417Biggest lie in the western canon is "I've read Joyce"
>>25236417he was nice remind me a lot of Hal of infinite jestIs Ulysses a direct sequel?
>>25236426Oh, right, yeah. I like to hope people here have read him at least…>>25236434I suppose he is a little like Hal, though I never made that comparison myself; he’s very… up his own ass but still likeable nonetheless. Ulysses continues his story, but he is not the central character, that would be Leopold Bloom, an older, more idiosyncratic and less intellectual (but still far from vacuous) man. Stephen however is the secondary character, he still has many chapters of his own (including the first three) You’ll see a lot more of Stephen’s stream of consciousness, his intellectual/artistic endeavours, family matters and religious guilt further explored in Ulysses. But though it’s notorious for its difficulty, it’s actually one of the most beautiful, human books I’ve ever read. I hope you enjoy it! Providing you do plan to read it that is.
Based. Portrait was the first Joyce I ever read and I thought it ruled. Ulysses brutally mogs it, thoughbeit.
>>25236396As far as Künstlerromans go, I liked Melville’s Pierre way more. But then again that was Melville in his prime, while Joyce was still in the process of finding his voice. Ulysses is fucking incredible.
>>25236480Both of them in their prime though, they’re incomparable at least when it comes to novelists.
>>25236472well right now is kinda expensive novel so i will wait a litte, is it better to read it alone or with some auxiliar material? i will admit i didnt understand shit of finnegan's wake
>>25236529>>25236529>i will admit i didnt understand shit of [Finnegans] wakeyou’re not alone there anon. And honestly, no, you don’t really need anything since you’ve read him already. If you did want more context behind the book, good for a second read if you enjoy it enough, I’d recommend getting a little bit clued up on the structure of the odyssey if you haven’t already read the odyssey. The schema of Ulysses is largely based on that book, as well as some of the themes in the book having a sort of parodic, modern, realistic twist on Homer (for example, there’s an antagonistic fellow with one eye which is in reference to the Cyclops of the odyssey) though it’s not necessary to actually read the whole thing. Some background on Shakespeare and Hamlet in particular will prove useful for one chapter. There’s another chapter that parodies the styles of many English language authors throughout the past 1500 years (but you don’t really need to do extensive research on that, especially on your first read). You should already have an idea of what to expect with Ulysses in the beginning at least. Just be warned that when the third chapter begins it’s like a gut punch even if you are used to Joyce’s stream of consciousness style that he developed in Portrait, and (almost) each subsequent chapter experiments with language in some way.All that is for if you want to understand exactly what he’s referencing or alluding to, but as I said, you don’t really need it. Here’s something that might help down the line. Whenever you do end up buying it.https://www.ulyssesguide.com/schemaIt’s just the schema that lays out the themes and times (it takes place in a single day)
>>25236529if you want a good edition that comes with great notes, get the penguin classics student annotated edition. a great 100 page introduction (optional but still very insightful and has no major spoilers) plus 300+ pages at the back with great notes: odyssey parallels, citations, references, plot summaries for each chapter. that's a great version for first timers. it is a little pricey though, that's the catch.
>>25236573>>25236668Thanks will check it out
>>25236668Is that better than pic?
>>25236396I absolutely adored Portrait until it gets to the christian crisis portion. I'm not an atheist and generally enjoy "rambling" but I was constantly wishing he would just get on with it. Still very worthwhile.
>>25236696cant say, never read it
>>25236715Part 3 was my favourite. But I enjoy rambling, chaos, digressions and emotionally intense passages.
>>25236727Part 1 hit a place in my heart that few pieces of writing ever have. His tragic innocence combined with the ravenous need to understand reminded me of my own youth in a way I've never seen put to words. Although I'm not a fan of Part 3 I'm able to recognize Portrait as a work of genius that can touch anyone who has taken the time to feel deeply
It was a'ight
>>25236396This was the first book I picked up when I was getting into literature at the age of 19/20 simply because the title sounded cool. I couldn't make sense of it at all: it completely filtered me lol. Since then, I've read quite a bit - 23 now - including Dubliners by him, which I quite enjoyed. Thanks for this thread OP, it has made me want to pick this up again.
>>25236748you're really gonna diss my boi part 3 like that
>>25236396Parts 3 and 5 are the best ones
