Ulysses
I read Ulysses alongside Ulysses Annotated, and by consulting Spark Notes after each chapter
This is a hard book to review. On one hand, there are lines in here that manage to be entertaining even 100 years later. But there are entire chapters (Oxen of the Sun, for example) that are impenetrable and dry.
There are many timeless classics -- this book, in fact, quotes several. Books -- even old books-- that are still as enjoyable today as they were when they were written (Count of Monte Cristo, Frankenstein, Three Musketeers, Dracula...). Ulysses is not one of these. And it's not trying to be. This book is firmly written in its time, but unfortunately, that time has passed.
I have many strikes against me as a reader of Ulysses. I was not born nor raised:
- Catholic
- Irish
- In Ireland
- In 1904
- By Jesuits.
Yes, it's clear that Joyce was an intelligent man. But there's more to writing than allusions. I recognize that Ulysses is an important book historically. Without it, we very well might not have Cards Against Humanity or Family Guy. Neither of those are cornerstones in my personal life, but they are certainly part of modern American culture.
But I'm not rating Ulysses as a cultural cornerstone, and I'm not rating it in 1904. I am rating Ulysses as a book to be read and experienced in 2020, and there are many, many better books to experience in the time it takes to read this one (almost 3 months, for me).
Some of the chapters were delightful, but they were usually the ones that immediately followed the impenetrable ones. I know Joyce is capable of writing in a manner that can be understood by all, but the book feels deliberately obtuse, especially in 2020. I'm not sure how many of these allusions were intended to be understood in 1922, but today, even with a book of annotations beside me, I'm sure I missed more than I caught.
Would I read a similarly ambitious book with modern allusions?
In a heartbeat. If that makes me pretentious, I'll wear the crown proudly.
The Black Dot
Ulysses is perhaps most famously known for the period, an enormous dot that Joyce wanted measured and corrected, put in place exactly. Various editions of the book have fiddled with this period, or have removed it entirely. Some "translations" claim to introduce more errors than they fix. It's a big source of frustration among scholars.
Or maybe it's known for Bloomsday, the holiday where people in Ireland trace Blooms' route through the city.
Or for recreating the Odyssey in "modern" times.