If anyone has tried the great novels and found them a bit too strange or complex (as I have), I would just like to recommend the collection of short stories, "Dubliners". They are not at all like Ulysses or Finegans Wake, they are simply short glimpses into the everyday life of quite normal people.

Unlike many short stories there's no moral, no tying up all the loose ends - just brief sketches of what life could be like at the time. The overall theme (if there is one) is the process of growing up, divided into four phases: childhood, adolescence, young adulthood and maturity.

At least some of the stories are available in full-text here.

lordvader

edit: I think the url should be working now.

[This message was edited by lordvader on October 15, 2002 at 05:27 AM.]

I lose patience with the novels (too far above my head, I guess), but love the Dubliners stories. Especially "The Dead," which has to have one of the most beautiful ending lines anywhere.

Also, although it's a novel, I think Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a not-too-unfriendly read (at least compared to, say, Finnegans Wake... )

That's exactly how I feel! Finnegans Wake may be one of the greatest novels ever written, but I'm just not able to enjoy it. I haven't found Anthony Burgess' A Shorter Finnegans Wake yet, though, and if I ever do I am prepared to give that a try.

And you're right about Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. It's is more like Dubliners than any of the great novels, so I shold have mentioned it too.
(I just bought a hardcover collection that includes Dubliners, Portrait... and Chamber Music (poems) so I'm all set.)

lordvader

I bought a paperback version of Dubliners the other day.

quote:

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Originally posted by Grandlethal:
I bought a paperback version of _Dubliners_ the other day.

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Will it be read in the near future or is it one of those 'trapped under a pile of other more urgent unread books' situations? I'd like to hear what you think of it if you get around to it, or if you've read it already.

lordvader

I do not know when I will get around to reading Dubliners. I finished The Hunchback of Notre-Dame today, and I have not decided what I will read next. But I plan to read Dubliners sometime soon.

if you can manage to get through Ulysses, it's really a delight. it's extremely funny, for one thing. i didn't get through it on my first try, but eventually i was sad when it was finished.

reading it aloud can help.

quote:

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Originally posted by Cobalt:
if you can manage to get through Ulysses, it's really a delight. it's extremely funny, for one thing. i didn't get through it on my first try, but eventually i was sad when it was finished.

reading it aloud can help.

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I suspect I will give it another shot eventually, although I doubt I'll do it any time soon. For future reference: did you use one of the guides, or an annotated version? Any recommendations?

lordvader

quote:

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Originally posted by Grandlethal:
I do not know when I will get around to reading Dubliners. I finished The Hunchback of Notre-Dame today, and I have not decided what I will read next. But I plan to read Dubliners sometime soon.

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"The Dead" is the only story in the collection that I enjoyed enough to reread, and it's considered the gem of the book. Once you've read the story, it's worthwhile to see John Huston's stunning movie adaptation.

"The Dead" is just an incredible story, one of the best ever written.

A good guide for "Ulysses" is Stuart Gilbert's "James Joyce's 'Ulysses'". Not that I've tackled the big book, but if I ever do, I'll be using Mr. Gilbert's book, extensively. (He was a personal friend of Joyce's and ran a lot of the book past him, so it's not just an academic circle jerk...there's real substance to it.)

Portrait is a much easier read than Finnegan's Wake. As for Dubliners, that was an option for our 'reading group' a while back. On a side note, every single reading group that this board has attempted has disbanded after a few short chapters. I think the last book we tried was Cryptonomicon. Ah, well. I admit that I never finished it....

I'm currently banging my head off Dubliners for English Lit. I quite like the book, its just analysing and more to the point, having to compare the stories thats wrecking my head. Mind you, they were threatening us with Ulysses... Joyce is one of those writers you should only read for enjoyment. Forcing poor innocent students to study him is evil...

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'I'm insane. What's his excuse?'

I just started reading Ulysses two days ago, and I rather like it. I don't always get it, but I like it. I think Joyce stuck a fork into the electrical socket of the universe with this one. I really hope I make it to the end.

Jeff
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it's dreamy weather we're on

Good description. And good luck!

Manxom: I can relate to not getting it the first time, but that's the best part of rereading anything. It's amazing what you find the second or third time around.

John Paul Allen

<I>"The best time for me was just before the screaming stopped and their voices hit that pitch." - Jeffrey Michael Roberts, Gifted Trust</I>

I am doing a week by week course on Ulysses

It's actually quite nice...

though i still can't really understand the strange obsession of some of the students (and the teacher!)

It's quite clever, funny... 'dirty'...

I have read a portrait too (but it's been ages) and dubliners but i didn't like all stories (as it happens).

"a voiceless song sang from within singing"

I'm 500 pages into Ulysses now - the home stretch! I'm not embarrassed to say that I'm using the Cliffs Notes. There's no way I could have gotten this far without some help, and they really are a major league help. I still like it, and I'm more convinced than ever that Joyce was laughing his arse off as he wrote this.

Jeff
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ye gods and little fishes!

I started Dubliners today. It is terrific! For the first two or three stories I was kind of bored: it is a hard book to get into initially. But I just finished "A Little Cloud" and now I cannot stop reading at all. I reccomend it for anyone.

quote:

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Originally posted by Manxom Vroom:
I'm 500 pages into Ulysses now -

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so that would be in "circe"?

I am halfway in "oxen of the sun"... which i don't really like

I quite liked "sirens" and "hades"...

We have presentations every week too, so i get to know a lot about Joyce and-... in every possible field (mythicism, parallells with homer, sexuality, eisenstein, wagner, narrative techniques..etc.)

"a voiceless song sang from within singing"

Yep, "Circe" is where I'm at. This chapter is a bit easier than some of the others, if for no other reason than it's obvious who's speaking (he's formatted this one like a play).

This book is just wild. I think it would be so great to have a class on it, like what you're doing. Half to three-quarters of this book is just going *whoosh!* RIGHT over my head. But it's ok. I like it. My current signature is a line from early on in the book.

Page 783, here I come...

Jeff
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ye gods and little fishes!

[This message was edited by Manxom Vroom on November 05, 2002 at 04:18 PM.]