Ulysses by James Joyce

I first read this book when I was about 15. At the time I was enthralled and amazed by it and Joyce's ability to create characters that were readable if not likeable and to summarily use almost every form of prose imaginable successfully. A second read of the copy I bought second-hand was no disappointment, expect that I perhaps found it more of a marathon to get through. I began this book in 2009 and finished it in 2010 which seems fitting for what has been called one of the most difficult books to read in the English language.

The book centres around a man called Leopold Bloom. It almost becomes a necessity to like Mr. Bloom from the start or at least be interested in him. His life on this day is intertwined with Stephen Dedalus' who he comes into contact with and corresponds with throughout the book. The book follows him over a day walking around Dublin encountering life, death and many things in between. Joyce manages to symbolically fit in aspects of Ireland at the time the book is set as well as an intricate character. Joyce has a gift of translating thoughts, sounds and visions into words so intricate that they are capable of creating a vivid imagination in the reader's mind.

If you are looking for a book with a plot and suspense; don't read this book. Despite being to me and to many others such a dazzling display of literature; it is also about an unexciting day in the life of a fairly ordinary man and readers have to be able to grasp the ideas and to read between the lines to fully appreciate what is being put across. Almost the entire book is written in a stream-of-conciousness style making it often difficult to follow and towards the end of the book it becomes a play, a set of questions and answers and finally a continual stream of thought of Mr Bloom's wife, Molly.

It's impossible to fit my thoughts about this book into a short review. It is readable, far less so than his other books but definitely possible. It is intricate and often difficult to follow and I would not advise reading it while you are tired. The time it took me to read the book this time was by no means a waste, however. Joyce is amazing, this book is amazing and I would love to study it in more depth when I have a spare year or two.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Maybe it's all the Dickens I've read, maybe I just read complicated things all the time or maybe this book is an exception but I had heard that Joyce's works were notoriously difficult to read. I found this book intriguing and easy to follow for the most part.

It follows the central character Stephen Dedulas through his life in Ireland, from humble beginnings at a Catholic school, to confusion as a teenager to the climactic end to this confusion as he sets off to unknown places in search of some sort of self identity. It seems like many novels follow this sort of line - guy gets confused then finds himself but this is done in the midst of the truly unique Irish culture. Born into a Catholic-oriented world Stephen follows the path less travelled: he sins, he repents and then he walks away entirely. The whole section of the book in which Stephen is terrified into Catholicism sent shivers up my spine. The usual sort of burning in hell speech but very aptly put in a speech by a priest.

Joyce's style of writing is also pleasant, sort of stream of counciousness but not in the same way as other authors. The relationships between him and his mother, his father and a girl are all written between the lines of prose. As well as this, his connection with stringent Catholicism leads to some spectacular philosophising spelled out in conversations between him and his friends, much in the same way as Plato's Republic.

I don't know if I only enjoyed this book immensely and read it quickly because I should be studying for my law exam but I would highly recommend it any way!