What is this book about and is it too complex for a newbie?
Google it retard
>>8254456
A single day in Dublin
it follows Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus
it is notorious for its difficulty, only inspires anger and accusations of Joyce being pretentious in newbies
If you want to read something by Joyce that's more accessible to litn00bs, try Dubliners, a collection of short stories written in relatively simple and clear language
>>8254482
This. If you read Dubliners, and then Portrait, you will be totally prepared for Ulysses. But be aware that the leap in difficulty between the end of Portrait and the beginning of Ulysses is an order of magnitude greater than that between Dubliners and Portrait.
>>8254456
Any advice about reading Joyce in chronological order so as to gradually expose yourself to the difficult prose, is pretty retarded advice.
If you can't read Ulysses straight away, you are a turbopleb iq person.
Dubliners are shit. Portait is a great standalone experience if you're interested in the beta cuck while he's growing up.
But if Ulysses is what you want to read, just fucking read Ulysses.
>>8254565
>Dubliners are shit. Portait is a great standalone experience if you're interested in the beta cuck while he's growing up.
wow I thought I was the only one with this opinion
I mean I like Eveline, Araby, An Encounter and maybe a few others but so many are just boring.
>>8254652
I know exactly what you mean. Stories like Eveline and and Araby have such sublimely-written endings that pretty much perfectly encapsulate an entire emotion, but others lack that little punch and just end up being boring recounts of some random Dubliner's life.
Also have you realised that Araby is basically a sublimely written >tfw no gf post? lmao
My read order right now is Dubliners->Iliad& Odyssey->Ulysses
Is this good?
>>8257212
only if you finished the Greeks, already
>>8254456
It's a piece of shit and James Joyce can't write for shit. Memes have been around a lot longer than the internet, you fucking faggots.
>>8257463
epic
>>8257468
t. someone that got trolled into thinking james joyce is a good author
>>8257477
define "good author"
>>8254565
This. Jesus Christ the idea of 'you can't read x unless you already read y' is so stupid.
Just read the damn thing OP
>>8257477
What are your favorite books then? Oh patrician master teach us your ways!
>>8257212
Not good at all, you need to read "The Portrait of the artist as a young man" so that you can understand Stephen's character in Ulysses, and he's one of the major characters in the book.
Also there's a lot of nods to Shakespeare, read Hamlet, and some other dramas of his wouldn't hurt.
>>8259243
is there any viable proof that Stephen's character isn't completely self-contained in Ulysses?
(arguably, I shouldn't need to prove my standpoint that it is, because self-containedness is a general starting point for characters in literary works)
>>8259462
He is, but reading Portrait helps to understand him a bit more as well as being a good guide into the stream-of-consciousness stylings of Ulysses. It serves as a good entry point in my opinion, but isn't necessarily required.
>>8259462
>is there any viable proof that Stephen's character isn't completely self-contained in Ulysses?
Come the fuck on now, you're seriously asking this? You think people are trying to lie to you or something?
There are various scenes in the book where he recounts things that happened to him in "The Portrait", plus you understand him and his actions a lot better if you read a book about him growing up, it's only logical.
>tfw going to spend an entire semester of graduate school reading Ulysses
I'm so excited, lads.
>>8260682
>You think people are trying to lie to you or something?
Come the fuck on now, you're seriously asking this?
>people
>lie
unironically spooked lmao
also, I'm not OP if that's what you're implying.
Read the Iliad, Odyssey, and Hamlet, then read Dubliners and Portrait before you start Ulysses.
>>8260769
Start reading it now so you'll be rereading it when the semester starts.
>>8254565
>beta cuck
Opinion discarded.
intellectual masturbation with no real life practical value. prove me wrong.
>>8254456
how essential is reading odessy?
also which edition has the best annotations?
>>8262441
ussualy people don't say yes to read it but you can, Hommer is the best editon
>>8262149
>intellectual masturbation
>real life value
>two different things
