Book info

• Title Ulysses
• Author James Joyce
• Year 1922
• Genre Classic

Written between 1914 and 1921, Ulysses has survived bowdlerisation, legal action and bitter controversy. An undisputed modernist classic, its ceaseless verbal inventiveness and astonishing wide-ranging allusions confirm its standing as an imperishable monument to the human condition.

Thoughts

I’ve been trying to read this one for ages, little bits here and there, and I finally knuckled down and gave it a good go. I got nearly halfway through before I had to admit defeat. I just couldn’t follow any of it. I don’t mind the stream-of-consciousness style but it didn’t seem to be going anywhere, and it didn’t seem to make any sense at all.

I couldn’t distinguish the characters from each other, and whilst I enjoyed some of the writing, there was an awful lot of “noises” that didn’t add anything. When I am reading a cat meow for a page, I’m going to find it hard to sustain interest.

I’m disappointed I couldn’t finish this one, I did try, but I can see why it is a completely divisive book. Unfortunately, there’s a balance between “must read‚” and “life’s too short” and this one fell on the wrong side of the line.

Rating: Unrated