Finally, the James Joyce spell is broken 
and I am back (hopefully) with a bang.
and I am back (hopefully) with a bang.
I wanted to end my year (2018) on a very high note by reading three classics back to back and have no idea on what whim I decided or shall I say I calculated that I will pick up Ulysses on the first week followed by Gone with the Wind and A Suitable Boy as my 75th book of the year. Ulysses by James Joyce derailed my whole plan which was almost going cut to cut on dates . Started reading it on the first week of December and end it around the first week of March 2019 
. I usually do no research or say read no reviews on the book(s) that I plan to read and this time I paid a very heavy price. I initially assumed Ulysses to be some princess for whom two tough warriors will have a few duels before they get the award .
. Started reading it on the first week of December and end it around the first week of March 2019 . I usually do no research or say read no reviews on the book(s) that I plan to read and this time I paid a very heavy price. I initially assumed Ulysses to be some princess for whom two tough warriors will have a few duels before they get the award .
What exactly Ulysses is all about, I am not sure, even after reading it and finishing it too. Let that totally alone, I am not even sure if it was narrated by a male or a female as initially it is written from the point of view of an army officer who after half the way mark turns the whole thing into a female's perspective. On top of that it is no story and sort of a blabber by the legend which stops nowhere till it reaches the last page. On top of that the entire book is in only two chapters, first chapter last as long as some 200+ pages and the balance 700+ are in the second chapter. What does the book (I won't call it a story) talks about? It talks about anything, everything and at times nothing too. Right from the inception of the world to human evolution to futile wars and to a man who suffers from piles, it talks about everything. One thing that I loved about the book is - Joyce's love, knowledge and awe of Shakespeare and his characters, especially Hamlet's brother. Now, I had no idea till December first week of 2018 that Hamlet actually had a brother. Unfortunately I haven't read nothing from Shakespeare yet and reading Ulysses made me regret that one thing big time.
as initially it is written from the point of view of an army officer who after half the way mark turns the whole thing into a female's perspective. On top of that it is no story and sort of a blabber by the legend which stops nowhere till it reaches the last page. On top of that the entire book is in only two chapters, first chapter last as long as some 200+ pages and the balance 700+ are in the second chapter. What does the book (I won't call it a story) talks about? It talks about anything, everything and at times nothing too. Right from the inception of the world to human evolution to futile wars and to a man who suffers from piles, it talks about everything. One thing that I loved about the book is - Joyce's love, knowledge and awe of Shakespeare and his characters, especially Hamlet's brother. Now, I had no idea till December first week of 2018 that Hamlet actually had a brother. Unfortunately I haven't read nothing from Shakespeare yet and reading Ulysses made me regret that one thing big time.
A few of my friends / mentors from literal world warned me about Joyce. They actually told me that Joyce is capable of turning anyone's brain into pulp (Curd they said) and that soared my curiosity. Yes, thoughts of abandoning the book started coming to my mind after I was 40% done as that's when his love for Shakespeare ends and the book starts drifting nowhere. Imagine a situation where one of the not so important character from the book dies and the list of people attending his funeral goes on for about four to five pages. I was shocked to read name after name, comma after comma, initially I kept reading thinking it may lead to some clue but later gave in and kept turning the pages to see that he had actually written four to five pages of names only of the people attending the funeral. This was still digestible in comparison to how he decides to end the book. You have no idea. Suddenly in the second chapter Mr. Joyce decided that there is no point taking a sentence break or say a para break or even a page break. Trust me when I say this, the last 200 odd pages have no sentence break, no commas, no full stops, no para breaks. This must be one huge longest sentence in the history of literature I believe, which starts (I dunno where) and ends with the end of the book I guess. How about that?
Still, I must say that I am a brave man (or foolish you may say) who spent almost two and a half month in finishing this classic but am still as clueless as what I have gained by reading this. Have you read Ulysses? What's your take on the book? What is it all about? I want to try another of Joyce's book but obviously after a six month's break. Any recommendations you may have for me?
PS: Oh! and before I forget to mention, the word Ulysses only gets three mentions in the entire course of the book, how about that?
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