20th Century Ulysses

by James Joyce

Book Overview

Considered the greatest 20th century novel written in English, in this edition Walter Gabler uncovers previously unseen text. It is a disillusioned study of estrangement, paralysis and the disintegration of society.From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140185585
• ISBN13: 9780140185584
• Release Date: April 1992
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 1040 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Not as advertised

The book delivered was a 97 page script. Disappointed and dissatisfied.

Not a review of the novel, but of the publisher

The printing of this book was odd. The book is the length of a textbook, and they've shoved 2 columns of text per page so that the text is only 242 pages . I'll be throwing it away & ordering again. Buyer beware of which publisher you purchase from

Five Star with a Warning: Let the Reader Beware [1][6][9][17]

In this book, Joyce continually reminds his readers that this 265,000-word epic utilizing over 30,000 different words is more about his prowess, and sometimes less about your pleasure. As athletic feat is derived from hours of repetitive drills, so too may this novel's conquest only be enjoyed after years of reading ever improving literature. This is not a book for the amateur. Precisely the opposite, this is a book continually referring to other novels, uses language of greater expanse than most others, and is written in styles which make the complexities vastly increased. More puzzle maker than novelist, Joyce's decision to write in paradox, paradigm, pun, parody, contrarian, contradiction and more makes the reading experience as complete as one could ask in the English language. The array of writing styles is mesmerizing: simple novel; over 30 pages of newspaper column; a 180-page play; over 70 pages of questions followed by answers; and one final chapter made up of seemingly 30-40 pages in ONE sentence of rambling autobiographical sexual revelation by Molly Bloom - the protagonist's cavorting wife. The interplay of the styles is extremely brave and enlightening. As they touch upon the same topic, but in different voices and different styles, the reader can further delve into what transpired hundreds of pages before, when the writer intentionally did not reveal it all, and definitely did not reveal it in easily decipherable verse. The interrelation between the texts would allow one to probably read the chapters in different orders and end in the same frame of mind. Nabokov asserted one could do such to his "Lolita." And, Nabokov, creator of "Pale Fire", reminds me so much of Joyce as each toys with and teases the reader with puns, parodies and sometimes outdated jokes. The main characters, Leopold Bloom and Molly Bloom, are known to even those who have not read the novel. Their mutual philandering is the focus of much of the novel. The exploits of each are relatively revealed. But, not in black and white English. The point is taken, and from this came one great pornography trial which culminated with a 1933 United States District Court decision proclaiming, ". . . the effect of `Ulysses' on the reader undoubtedly is somewhat emetic, nowhere does it tend to be an aphrodisiac." Such words would not be clearer. "An exquisite dulcet epithalame of most mollification suadency for juveniles amatory whom the odoriferous flambeaus of the paranymphs have escorted to the quadrupedal proscenium of connubial communion." University level English is a prerequisite to understand this alleged smut - or to use Joyce's words: concupiscence delivering induration. And, most of the book, believe it or not, is not about sexual issues. Much touches upon other topics: philosophy, anti-Semitism, socialism . . . . But it is not always condescending; and it is much more than a 700-800-pages of dialectic prose. Because some of those topics are ext

Ulysses

On June 16th, 1904, a young James Joyce met his future wife for the first time. Ten years later, in 1914, he began what would become one of the greatest epics of modern language, Ulysses, setting the entirety of the events within that one special day shared by him and his wife, offering it to the world in an alternately joyous and tragic, comical and dense tribute to life and to living.The story cannot be summarised without reciting the book itself, an exercise that goes beyond the scope of this review. Suffice to say that the novel follows Leopold Bloom as he makes his way about Dublin, and Stephen Dedalus as he wanders from place to place. The two eventually meet, and the book finishes. Then again, that description is like saying Moby Dick is about a whale and Gravity's Rainbow is about a rocket. Technically true, but how much detail and texture do you miss with such a soul-less description?Ulysses has since grown beyond itself, garnering a reputation that scares away most readers. Considered an 'ivory tower' book, a 'professor's dream', it should be admitted that there are very difficult sections. Whole chapters - most of which are quite long - can be extremely tedious to read, becoming bogged down in medical or legal terms which serve mostly to confuse and distract the reader. But then there are chapters of amazing insight, clarity, wisdom and skill - thankfully more than there are difficult. The Cyclops chapter is sheer genius, a 120-page play that moves from bizarre to hilarious to sublime and back again. By itself, it is almost worth the price of admission, but there are many more that are just as amazing. The question and answer chapter of Ithaca is sheer genius, and Molly's monologue, right at the end, while texturally dense, flows and runs like a river.The language used ranges from flowery to technical to simplistic to overly complicated to deliberately obscure to beautiful. 'Wavewhite wedded words shimmering on the dim tide' is beautiful, whereas 'What selfinvolved enigma did Bloom risen, going, gathering multicoloured multiform multitudinous garments, voluntarily apprehending, not comprehend?' is difficult. Of course, there is always the famous 'The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit', quite possibly one of the most gorgeous sentences written by man.Another interesting technique Joyce uses is his willingness to deny the luxury of perfect sentence structure or grammar to better convey the mood of the characters, or to greater achieve those wonderful sentences. He merges words, removes words, adds words, mirrors sentences within themselves, juxtaposes letters, words, paragraphs, all in an effort to create passages of absolute delight. Tens of pages will fly by, each one filled with wit, insight, beauty, depth. At times, it is safer to simply let go and trust that Joyce knows what he is doing, that you will be taken where you should go.However. This book can be very difficult, as I said above. Fifty pages of dense, verbo

There is a reason this always tops everyone's list

There is not a book out there that is more frustrating than James Joyce's Ulysses...unless, of course, it is Joyce's Finnegan's Wake. The problem lies in the fact that this novel is such an amazing piece of art that the reader can feel like Joyce forgot all about him. It is almost impossible to read by oneself with it's seemingly garbled maze of words and phrases and madness. However, this is what makes it such a joy to read. Imagine that an author decided to do away with any and all rules concerning fiction and to write a book that was it's own entity, showing you what it wanted to show you, telling you what it wanted to tell you and acting like its own character. This is what Joyce has accomplished with Ulysses. I was fortunate enough to read this book in a class, four months of nothing but Ulysses, and I have to warn would be readers that I don't think I would have made it through without expert guidance. I would advise anyone wishing to tackle this literary giant to gather some book loving friends, and a guidebook or two for Ulysses, and to take it very slowly. Read a chapter a week and then meet up with you group to discuss and puzzle out what you have just read. I am willing to bet that your weekly conversations will be a greater work of art than any book out there, and I think that Joyce would have liked that, would have enjoyed sparking debates and conversation, its probably the main reason why anyone creates anything; for it to be enjoyed and shared. The story line is simple, you have two main characters, Stephen Dedalus, the brilliant but alienated loner. You have Leopold Bloom, a simple man who is as alienated as Stephen, but not for his mind, for his cultural background and meek manner. The entire book takes place over the course of one day in Dublin, and after the first three chapters the entire book simply follows Bloom around during a day when he knows that his wife is having a romantic meeting with her lover. It is hard to sum up such a giant book in a few sentences like this, but basically Bloom is trying to set his life back on track, trying to reconcile himself with his wife's betrayal, and trying to reach out to Stephen who he feels could use a loving family. Of course, you could read this book and not find any of what I am saying in there, but the beauty of Ulysses is that I would love to hear what it is that you found in this novel as much as I would love sharing what I found.