50 books to read before you die discussion

Hope you all enjoy the book.... hopefully i can participate this month :)

Happy Reading!

I tried so hard...but I hated it. It might be because I just didn't "get" it, though. I'm hoping to get some motivation/advice from the group and finish it by the end of the year!

I think thats why this book is voted as the greatest in the 20th century, or the greatest in recent history, hell its up there with the greats of all times. Nobody gets it so they just call it genius!!!!!

Here is my review of Ulysses, if anyone gives a hoot:


I can't
believe
I read
the whole
thing.

I did not like this Sam Iam. Rambling random shambling babbling. Trashy smashy rubble, debris, detritus. A cogency hiatus. Like a bad dream, but soaring to lucidity? No, rarely a lucid dream. Stream of unconsciousness. Never breaking the surface of self awareness, not to myself, at least. Epitome of verbosity. Audacity. Atrocity. Ulysses' story thread runs through the eye of the needle in the proverbial haystack. Joyce's smug raucous hilarity, cleverness? – ludicrous. Poetic? Ha! "-Bosh! Stephen said rudely. A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery." So James Joyce tells us he made this travesty on purpose, with malice aforethought. Discovery? Yes, of a verbal quagmire. Joyce's voice is hoarse. A horse is a horse of course of course. Nonsensical non sequitur. insane diversion, inane digression. Lists: endless mindless lists, elastic lists, lists that would make the Titanic list. Literary iterary. "As for Mr. Bloom he could neither make head nor tail of the whole business..." A prank, tongue in cheek, cheeky, a hoax? A Hoax! One can take a joke too far, James, to infinity and beyond! ad nauseum.

A dear friend says, “Art is whatever you can get away with.” Joyce gets away with quite a lot. The emperor has no clothes.

AudioFile had this to say about the Naxos AudioBooks version that I (having been warned, haven't we all?) listened to while also reading the text: “Marcella Riordan satisfyingly performs the dialogue of Molly Bloom, including the 24,000-word unpunctuated stream-of-consciousness passage that concludes the novel.” This reading redeemed Ulysses. Molly Bloom's insomniacal musings (and Riordan's excellent oral punctuation) truly saved the preceding ninety percent of Joyces hodgepodge gobbledygook. It is the only cogent writing Joyce gives us, and that without punctuation.

Initially I gave this three Goodreads stars, which means I liked it, which I didn't, so I demoted it to two stars. But then, what does that say about me? Not very bright to stay with such a long book if I don't like it. I agree with the Goodreads blurb by James Marcus that comes up when you click on the Ulysses icon. It is emetic and cloacal.

Stream of unconsciousness. Never breaking the surface of self awareness, not to myself, at least.

haha amen to that!

Buck wrote: "Here is my review of Ulysses, if anyone gives a hoot:


I can't
believe
I read
the whole
thing.

I did not like this Sam Iam. Rambling random shambling babbling. Trashy smashy rubble..."

Love the review!
I've yet to hear of someone who liked it

I'm struggling through it. There are times when the reading is, well, normal and you can follow the dialogue, then there's when the reading is one word thought after one word thought, and the one word makes no sense whatsoever. I'm a bit more than halfway through and am determined to finish it, if for nothing more than to just be able to say I read it.

Lisa wrote: "I've yet to hear of someone who liked it "

And yet, it's on nearly every list of great books.

John wrote: "I'm struggling through it. There are times when the reading is, well, normal and you can follow the dialogue, then there's when the reading is one word thought after one word thought, and the one ..."

That is exactly why I finished it, and early on I liked some of the Stephen Dedalus/Leopold tromping through Dublin, but I got lost quick.

But I read it:)

I've just finished reading this and it took me the best part of a year because I just had to take breaks from it. I think several brain cells died in the process. I can't say I liked it but I was determined to get through it.

I gave it 5 stars because I think James Joyce must have been a genius to write this. How he could keep up with his own written word is beyond me. His intellect, breath of knowledge, plus the depth of his command of the english language is phenomenal.

It reminded me of a drunken pub crawl where everyone talks/thinks/observes sh*te. I understood about 10% but the rest of it went over my head.

If anyone wants a really good review see Paul Bryant's. I only wish I had read this before I started the book.

Kevin. wrote: "I think that it is probably better to read other works by Joyce before tackling this one It is difficult but he does get into his characters head It is worth it but it takes time and rereading etc"

Most definitely Kevin, it needs re-reading time and time again as there is so much in it. I'm glad I read it.

In writing Ulysses, James Joyce became the Jackson Pollock of literature.

Buck wrote: "In writing Ulysses, James Joyce became the Jackson Pollock of literature."

Ha Ha! I think that's about right Buck.