Just Literature discussion

Where to begin? I'm a huge fan of Joyce. I currently reread Ulysses this year. While I definitely gained a better understanding...I will probably be slogging away at it for the rest of my life which is one of the things I love about it. Still only about 1/6 through Finnegans Wake...all I can say about that book...CRAZY haha

I read one page of 'The Wake' many years ago after reading Ulysees. Lectures about HCE meant nothing to me, though I did rather like the BBC radio serial of the book that being sound only made it slightly more accessible.

Oh how I love James Joyce's Ulysses. It's a humdinger of an experience, I daresay.The man has a firm grasp of the English Language. Who shares my point of view?

Meanwhile, am seriously giving a thought to Stream of Consciousness.

Have read Portrait and the Dubliners. Am of irish American stock. Shouldn't i read this BEFORE i go to Dublin??

Giuseppina wrote: "Anyone dares discuss James Joyce's masterpiece?"

It's my understanding that it's one of the greatest works of modern literature. I just started reading it and didn't get very far yet.

Some books get my attention right away and I simply cannot put them down. With others it is sort of an acquired interest that develops as I move on in the book. So far, Ulysses just hasn't worked for me.

Should I go on with it or put it down? There is no shortage of books on my "too read" list.

It's an awfully long book to plod through. Would a literary review of it help?

Jane wrote: "Have read Portrait and the Dubliners. Am of irish American stock. Shouldn't i read this BEFORE i go to Dublin??"
You must!

I first started Ulysses on Bloomsday as soon as I finished my A Levels. In reference to comments about reading it with a guide, that's my experience of my first reading of the novel: I read a chapter a day with a guide, let me find which .... James Joyce: A Student's Guide. It did work for me, and started me on a journey in a novel that has no precedents nor peers. I just thought, as it is undoubtedly not an 'easy read', nor a novel that can be easily approached without guidance, that sharing how it worked for me might be of help.