Has anyone read Ulysses and found it hard to read?

Question

I got a copy and was wondering if I should start it now or just wait until after school is out and I have lots of time. Was it a hard read or can I read it while I have a million things going on?

I got a copy and was wondering if I should start it now or just wait until after school is out and I have lots of time. Was it a hard read or can I read it while I have a million things going on?

edit: By the way, I'm no dummy, I read difficult things all the time. And yes, I'm talking about the Joyce version. My question is basically if I should read it with nothing else going on because I've heard it takes some work to get through.

Answer 1

The first question I have for you is: are you referring to "Ulysses" by James Joyce. If this is the case, then it is NOT an easy read, don't listen to the people who say it is. I am just about to start my English doctoral program; I read difficult books everyday, and I think it is difficult. Ulysses is widely recognized by English scholars and critics as a difficult book to get through because Joyce wrote it in stream of consciousness. Don't allow this to dissuade you from reading it though. I had a difficult time actually starting the book until I followed the advice of one of my English prof's. He told me to get "Finnigan's Wake", start reading that, stop, throw it against the wall, and then start "Ulysses". Believe it or not, that actually worked for me. You need to take your time with the book b/c it is easy to miss important things and get confused. But it's a good read and worth the time and effort.

Answer 2

I have read Ulysses twice and, quite frankly, never have understood what all the fuss was about. To be perfectly honest, I always felt that "Dubliners" was Joyce's finest work.

Now before all the Joyce scholars start standing up on chairs and screaming, I would really submit to you that Joyce was a great writer but a terrible novelist. So while many in academia celebrate the man ad nauseum, many others just keep their skepticism to themselves.

It boils down to this: If communication is the objective of writing, is stream of consciousness nothing more than obscurantism in fancy garb? Quite frankly, I don't even believe the technique was original to Joyce. After all, Laurence Sterne wrote "Tristram Shandy" a good 150 years earlier and did a better job.

So, here's what I would offer to you. Don't consider a book to be great just because your professors do. Read the book yourself and make your own decisions. However, give yourself two hours in a quiet room before you make a decision.

Answer 3

I guess you could say Ulysses is a hard read. I don't think of that as meaning it's a lot of work, but rather that there is so much there that it is worth reading slowly and carefully. This is also a novel that is well worth re-reading, as you will notice new things and more connections every time you read it.

I'd recommend reading it by itself first, to get the general gist of the story and to savor the language and literary games. Then get one of the reader's guides and read it again. A guide is very useful for explaining the political and cultural background of 1916 Dublin.

Answer 4

I'd wait until I had plenty of time, were I you. It's NOT an "easy read" and requires a lot of focus and rumination, due, in large measure to the stream-of-consciousness" method employed, the vast vocabulary used and the word play indulged in.
Ah, by the way, are you talking about the novel by James Joyce or the epic poem by Homer?

Answer 5

Ulysses is widely known as the hardest book written in the English language. When you do decide to undertake the task I would suggest doing it slowly and with an annotated copy of the book. This will help you with all the Irish terms that no one outside of Dublin understands.

Answer 6

Are you referring to Ulysses by James Joyce? I read it at university, it's quite tedious.

Answer 7

Presuming that it is " ULYSSES" BY ALFRED LORD TENNYSON - go ahead and start - remember starting to read the book is half the job done. So what are you worried about? You are not less than anyone in the world and since you are talking about reading great books - thought so world wide - you have to start without thinking :- Here is an exerpt from Ulysses - learn it by heart as a start - 'twill stand you in good stead all your life :
QUOTE
Come My Friends
Its not too late to seek a newer world
Push off, and sitting well in order
Smite the sounding furrows
For my purpose holds
To sail beyond the sunset
And the baths of all the western stars
Until I die
It may be that the gulfs shall wash us down
It may be that we shall reach the happy isles
And meet the great Achilles
Whom we knew
Though much is taken
Much abides
And though we are now not that strength
That in days of old
Moved Earth and Heaven
That what we are - we are
One equal temper of heroic hearts
Made weak by time and fate
But strong in will
. To strive
. To seek
. To find
. And not to yield
UNQUOTE

Answer 8

Ulysses is kind of a long book. if you are in school it will take awhile to read.

Answer 9

It's definitely one you need to read without distractions, especially if you're reading it in verse. Check out the SparkNotes on it if you get stuck.

Answer 10

yes