Unabridged Ructions: Ulysses by James Joyce

-
I read this book as part of a Buddy Read, which turned into a tandem read with The Odyssey. It was indeed "an odyssey"...

Book Vibe: Feral raccoon in a trash can

Characters: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, Marion "Molly" Bloom, Malachi "Buck" Mulligan, Mr. Garret Deasy

Reading Ulysses felt like being dropped in the middle of someone else’s brain and told, “good luck, kid.” It’s messy, brilliant, frustrating, funny, and gross. Sometimes all in the same paragraph.

Stephen Dedalus broods. Leopold Bloom buys kidneys, carries soap forever, and quietly aches his way through Dublin. Molly Bloom gets the last word, and it’s glorious. In between, there are pints, puns, death, lust, racism, nationalism, boogers, birth, absurdity, and about a million narrative experiments that either left me in awe or completely lost.

Joyce can make you laugh at the bleakest things, cringe at how human his characters are, and then, in one unexpected line, punch you straight in the soul. He’s unapologetic in how much he demands of you as a reader. I hated it. I loved it. I’m not sure I’ll ever recover.

The final pages... Molly’s voice, her contradictions, her yes.... made all the slogging, the stylistic whiplash, the endless tall tales and detours worth it.

To answer the only questions that matter at the end... Did I make it? Did I like it? Will I read it again (one day)?

"yes I said yes I will Yes”

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆
Enjoyment Rating: ★★★★★
Ease of Reading: ★★★☆☆

Lines That Lingered

"Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home."

"History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Marginalia: Death, Rebirth, and the End of Lowood

-
Image
And so we move from life at Lowood, to death at Lowood, and finally to the end of Lowood. These chapters are a lot and a little all at once: disease, loss, moral lessons, and a surprising amount of quiet resilience. ✦ Resurgam — Latin for “I shall rise again.” An interesting (and deliberate) choice to carve onto Helen’s grave. It’s simple but layered. It's both a Christian sentiment and a metaphor for Jane herself. Every time she’s crushed, she rises again. Still… poor Helen. Her calm acceptance of death hits harder than I remembered. Word of the Day:    Dissipated (of a person or way of life) overindulging in sensual pleasures. (Looking at you, later chapters’ “gentlemen.”) Bessie named her daughter after Jane! I did not remember that detail. What a lovely full-circle moment. Bessie was one of the only people in Jane’s early life who showed her any real affection, so this feels like a quiet little redemption for both of them. And now, we’re finally stepping out of Lowood and ...
Read more

Bite-Sized Bedlam: Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

-
Image
So. This started out promising. I enjoyed the imagery and the overall concept. It's an interesting way to retell a classic fairy tale. But, if I'm honest, I can't really tell you what happened. I was constantly confused, and I could rarely tell who was talking, even with the narrator giving us different voices. It's beautifully written, but the only thought I consistently had throughout was, "Should I finish this?" Lines That Lingered "A robber who steals a knife and cuts himself cannot cry out against the woman who kept it sharp." Overall Rating:  ★★☆☆☆ Enjoyment:  ★★☆☆☆ Ease of Reading:  ★★☆☆☆
Read more