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Reader discussion: Ulysses

Public reader discussion about Ulysses in the WeRead Catalog by James Joyce.

[Discussion] Bonus Book: Ulysses by James Joyce | Chapter 14, Oxen of the Sun

By Superuser

Finished one of the tougher stretches of the book this week. Congrats to me, I guess, because yeah… it was a real doozy. This week has Bloom and Stephen and the same med-student crowd hanging around Holles Street Hospital, then they end up at the pub. Meanwhile Mina Purefoy is stuck dealing with another day of childbirth. I’m not totally sure how it’s all supposed to fit together, but I’m trudging through it. Also, I can’t stop thinking about that Joyce bit about English prose basically growing like a baby in the womb—then he “drew a picture,” which is such a weird choice. And apparently there’s a playlist for every music reference in *Ulysses*, which feels both fun and slightly unhinged.

Yesterday I finished Ulysses by James Joyce. Here are my thoughts on it

By LateVelvetTiger

I took me about three weeks to get through it. I knew it was supposed to be hard, but I didn’t think it would end up taking that long. Still, I really liked it. I’d honestly recommend it to anyone who’s into weird fiction and doesn’t mind a challenge. I loved it, for real. What surprised me (in a good way) is that so much of it happens over just one day, and that made it feel super fresh. And the characters! They keep popping up and moving in and out, and it was genuinely entertaining. There’s this Polish way of saying something like “a lineup of personalities,” and that’s basically what *Ulysses* feels like. As for themes, I kept noticing stuff about Irish identity and nationalism—like the whole idea of “citizen” in one episode, and how Leopold Bloom’s Jewish identity fits into Ireland. There’s also this big “belonging vs not really belonging” vibe, especially with Bloom bouncing around Dublin and meeting all these people, but never really feeling like he fits into any community or like his identity matches whatever situation he’s in. Plus, of course, the Odyssey parallels are everywhere. And yeah, the infamous blasphemy/obscenity doesn’t exactly make things light—it kind of drags a lot of the love/sex stuff into the foreground, especially in the last part with Molly’s thoughts, where her femininity seems to clash with society, and she’s just… shameless and sensual when it comes to describing her experiences. I could go on, but I’ll stop here: I’m really glad I read it, and I don’t think I’ll forget it anytime soon. I’d like to re-read it later too, once I finally get around to reading *Odyssey*. Has anyone else read it? What did you think?

[Discussion] Ulysses by James Joyce- Ithaca Chapter 17

By Superuser

Congrats on getting this far! After one more section, you’ll basically be able to give yourself a pat on the back for finishing the whole novel. Also… I’m not totally sure what to make of that line about the “heaventree of stars” hanging with humid nightblue fruit, like I get the vibe, but it’s still kind of wild. This part (at least for me) feels like it’s around 1:40 AM—maybe—at Bloom’s place on 7 Eccles Street. Bloom gets home and then Stephen kind of wanders off. Next Thursday we’re reading the last section, right? Looking forward to it with u/bluebelle236!

Ulysses in 80 days

By ReadsHarbor

I read this last year and I’m not sure I really got much out of it, although “snotgreen” is still probably the most vivid adjective I’ve come across in any novel. I’ll occasionally put on the RTE Radio 1 version in little bits and it’s always really nice hearing it in an Irish dialect, plus it makes me remember how much Joyce is doing with the wording and the alliteration. I might give it another year before I try rereading, since I feel like it’ll hit a lot better then than it did on my totally blind first go.

Ulysses by James Joyce...the man in the mackintosh

By HardcoverVolume74

Just finished *Ulysses* and wow… what a ride. I’ve got so many thoughts and feelings about it, and I’d honestly love to talk with anyone else who’s been through it. One thing I can’t seem to find anyone talking about is the unnamed guy in the raincoat (the mackintosh). He keeps popping up, so I feel like he has to matter, but I haven’t seen a clear explanation. People online seem to go a couple ways: some say he’s basically death or destiny looming, and others think Joyce is putting himself in as that character. I don’t totally buy either, though. The death/destiny idea feels a little too straightforward, and the “it’s Joyce” idea doesn’t really land for me either since Joyce is already kind of all over the book through Stephen and, to a lesser extent, Leopold. My own guess (and I know it’s not definitive) is that he stands in for us—the readers. Like, when you’re reading art, you’re bringing your own stuff with you: biases, past experiences, all the weird distortions you can’t help having. So in that sense, he’s part of the story with the same kind of weight as the characters. The best part is it kind of lets me decide what he means in my reading, even if it ends up meaning something different to someone else. Anyway, I’m really glad I finally read it. It’s definitely difficult, but it’s also kind of warm and funny, and somehow super bawdy too. It’s gross in a way that actually works, I guess—that’s not an insult for me, more like it’s exactly what I mean.

Jan-13| Ulysses - Episode 2: Nestor

By TinyChapter

No spoiler tags needed for Episodes 1 or 2 anymore. This week Stephen’s at the school, teaching and getting paid, and then he talks with Mr. Deasy, who wants him to write up an article on foot and mouth disease for his paper friends. Final line for this part: On his wise shoulders through the checkerwork of leaves the sun flung spangles, dancing coins. Discussion questions below: - The episode opens with Stephen teaching history, then he has a one-on-one with a student. Does he seem like a decent teacher or not, and what makes you think that? - In Episode 1 Haines told Stephen, “— We feel in England that we have treated you rather unfairly. It seems history is to blame[,]” and now we get Stephen saying “— History . . . is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake[,]” plus Mr. Deasy’s “— All history moves towards one great goal, the manifestation of God.” What do you think about how each of them sees history, and do you agree with one more than the others, or none? - There are three spots in the episode where sunlight falls on Mr. Deasy. What do you think that means? If you know The Odyssey, how does he line up with or differ from Nestor? - So far there have been a bunch of anti-semitic comments from different characters. Why do you think Joyce put that in? What do you think Stephen thinks about it? - Any favorite word this week? Favorite allusion, historical detail, or passage? Drop it below. Links: - Reading Schedule - Gilbert/Linati Schema and Explanation Guide - The Ulysses Guide - The Joyce Project (annotated online Ulysses) - Chris Reich’s Ulysses Chapter-by-Chapter Youtube Series - RTE Dramatisation Previous Discussion: - Episode 1: Telemachus For next week: Read Episode 3 up through “Remembering thee, O Sion.” Hang in there, the next couple of weeks will be rough, but it gets easier again after that.

I finished Ulysses for the first time, and I have thoughts!

By CrescentTeacup

I thought this book was kind of a mess to get through—confusing, way too long, and it felt like not much actually happened for something that’s basically 800 pages. Still, I can’t deny I had a good time? So yeah, 5/5. Also, I’m probably gonna read it again. Random tangent, but it reminded me of this “hold your breath while a dot goes around a square” challenge I saw last year. At first the dot is moving so fast it seems like you’d only need like ten or fifteen seconds. Then it starts slowing down… and keeps slowing down, until it’s almost stopped right at the end. Like, it’s totally a trap to mess with you. That’s how the book felt. Early on, the chapters were tough but at least manageable. Like chapter 3 (“Proteus”) gets talked about like it’s impossible, but it didn’t really feel that bad to me—mostly because it’s short. But once the chapters start getting longer, everything feels off. You look at the chapter count and think, “okay, I’ve got this, I’m halfway there…” and then nope, you’re not even close. I made it through Oxen and even Circe without losing my mind, but then Ithaca hit and I got restless. It wasn’t even that the writing was impossible in a line-by-line way—it was just dragged out so long. I was honestly hoping for some kind of payoff with Stephen/Bloom/Molly all together for the first time, but instead it was the narrator wandering off into stuff that didn’t feel like it mattered. At that point I remember thinking, “come onnn, just move it along.” A couple things I’d say to anyone considering it: - I’d really recommend reading The Odyssey first if you can. Knowing the chapter titles helped me not feel completely lost, especially with Eumaeus. Joyce felt like he was flipping a bunch of stuff from the original around. - The real question is whether you like stream-of-consciousness stuff. If you’re into that, you’ll probably enjoy yourself. - I didn’t go in with guides, but I did listen to a podcast as I went. Conversational podcasts helped more than the “companion guide” vibe, because they don’t feel like studying and you don’t have to concentrate every second. - Also, accept you’re not going to get everything. If you’re stopping every five minutes to look things up, you’ll hate it. - If you’re into David Lynch stuff, cool. If you bounced off Twin Peaks because it was confusing, this might not work for you. If you’re the kind of person who wants the literal answer to everything in shows like Sopranos, you might struggle too. A lot of this book is basically “no straight answers,” and that’s not automatically bad. - I kept thinking about Twin Peaks while reading it. The Circe chapter made me think of the Red Room—like Bloom and Stephen are kinda stuck between worlds. I wouldn’t call it a direct match, but it felt connected. - Favorite chapters for me were Nestor, Proteus, Hades, Nausicaa, Wandering Rocks, Cyclops, Sirens, and Penelope. Hades is still probably my number one. Even with all the difficulty, it was usually fun, and there were moments that were genuinely gorgeous and thought-provoking. Also, Joyce being extremely horny for no reason is real, and honestly it’s kind of impressive. The fireworks description in Nausicaa still pops into my head sometimes. Next time I read it, I’m definitely trying audiobook mode. Ithaca especially felt like it would land better when you’re listening, not reading, and Penelope felt like it was built to be one long spoken run-on sentence. If anyone has an audio performance they swear by, I’d love recommendations. TL;DR: it’s a good book. I’d recommend it.

Just finished reading Ulysses with this website, and it made the book actually understandable!

By redFrog50

So I guess everyone already knows how painful it can be to get through Joyce’s *Ulysses*, but I definitely didn’t realize that going in. I started with no clue what I was signing up for, and wow… I was not ready. Luckily I found the Joyce Project pretty fast. It made reading the whole thing way more doable than I think I could’ve managed on my own. It seems really well done, and it’s a shame more people here don’t seem to talk about it, because it’s clearly got a lot of effort behind it. The site has the entire book laid out chapter by chapter. There are also highlighted parts that link to notes with extra context for stuff like references, streets, characters, etc. It also helps a lot when you’re not super familiar with things Joyce is pulling from—like *Hamlet* or the *Odyssey*. Plus it translates most of the foreign bits, so you’re not constantly stopping to look stuff up. Honestly, if you’re reading *Ulysses* (or planning to), I’d really recommend checking it out.

My review of Ulysses as a relatively new reader.

By beanBrush1980

I’ve only read like 5 books total in my whole life, and I figured I should try fiction just for fun. I had no clue where to even begin, so I looked at some top-books list and Ulysses was at the top. I didn’t know anything about how hard it was or how huge it is, so I just went for it. This is my take on it, and maybe someone will get something out of it. Ulysses has 18 chapters, and every one of them connects somehow to The Odyssey. If you’re trying to make sense of the story, I’d honestly say read The Odyssey first, or at least know the basics. But like I said, I just jumped in and read it straight. I expected some old-timey English, kind of like my wrong idea of Shakespeare, but instead each chapter is written in a totally different style. Some of the styles are cool, some are weird, most are basically impossible for me to understand, and almost all of them were hard to get used to. It’s not that I didn’t notice the writing changing, I just didn’t know how to explain it or why it was doing that. I feel like if I understood the point behind the style changes, I’d get the book more and probably like it more too. And that’s where the problem starts for someone like me who is basically a bad reader trying to get through a book like Ulysses. It gets hard to dig into a book when doing that kind of ruins the desire to read it in the first place. Past all the complicated writing, there is a pretty simple story underneath. It follows Leopold Bloom through one pretty normal day in Ireland. He buys groceries, goes to a funeral, drinks, and all the while he knows his wife cheated on him that day. None of that is really a spoiler. Joyce uses stream-of-consciousness writing, and it can be really hard to keep up with. He barely gives any clue when he’s doing it, but the method is also kind of amazing and super detailed, so it gives you a strange look at ordinary stuff that would otherwise be dull, like buying soap or going to a butcher. But a lot of the time, a character’s thoughts drift off into some random fantasy that isn’t even real, and figuring out what was imagined and what actually happened just made it more confusing and less fun for me. If the book had stopped after chapter 16, I would’ve hated it. It was just too difficult to follow. I needed Shmoop basically the whole time to even have an idea what was happening. On top of that, not much really happens, so it felt more like work than something I wanted to do. But the last two chapters really changed how I felt about what’s supposed to be “the greatest book ever,” or at least they made me see some value in it, especially the final chapter. Chapter 17 was surprisingly easy to follow since it was done in a question-and-answer style, and it showed a ton about Leopold Bloom’s inner thoughts. It still wasn’t easy, but compared to the rest of the book it was pretty clear. Chapter 18 ended from a totally different point of view than the first 17 chapters, and that totally changed how I answered the question “did you like Ulysses?” The last two pages took me somewhere I didn’t think a book could take me. I actually felt something. Even though I hated how slow it was and how overcomplicated the writing felt, those last two pages somehow made the rest of it feel a little worth it. They made all the hours I spent reading when I didn’t want to seem at least somewhat justified. In a way, it made the whole “greatest book ever” thing make sense. In a way. But also not really. The book was boring. It was way too long. It was really hard to read. It was packed with themes, references, and other stuff I didn’t get, didn’t care about, and didn’t really appreciate. And the reason is pretty obvious. I’m not really a reader, and I wasn’t going into it looking for all that. I wasn’t trying to understand every word of Ulysses, I mostly just wanted to read it. Maybe that’s too many semicolons, I don’t know. Overall, I found parts of it interesting, but way more often I had no idea what was going on. And the actual story wasn’t that great until the end. Ulysses feels more about how it’s written than what it’s actually about. For that reason alone, it might be the worst possible first book to read after not reading for over eight years. But I read it, and this kind of book just isn’t really for me, at least not right now. Maybe I’d get it more after reading other books and seeing more styles from different writers, but for now it just wasn’t that fun or meaningful, and isn’t that supposed to be the point? Edit: I’m kind of surprised people liked this review so much. I wrote it because I’m starting a blog about going through the “top 100” novels. Thanks a lot for the encouragement!

Typical page in Ulysses

By CreekEnvelope788

This book feels like it takes actual elbow grease to get through. There’s “hard to read” and then there’s something like *Ulysses*—like I genuinely can’t picture how it ever became popular or who it was supposed to be for. Was there really a market for a 1,000-page book packed with tons of languages, references, and made-up stuff? That part is hard for me to wrap my head around. And now I’m just left wondering… who even bought it? Did some big famous review push it into everyone’s hands? Was there ever a time when people were really reading it for real instead of just saying they did? I’ve only known two people who’ve read it, and both of them basically shrug like, “yeah, you read it and you get what you get.” Which is even crazier to me than just not trying at all. But I’ve dug into it too, and I’m still out here shrugging. My copy is basically cheating—I can look up the references online, use a dictionary, and all that, and I still feel like I’m only catching maybe 3%. I’ve never felt dumber than when I was reading *Ulysses* without any of those tools. Like, in Joyce’s time, how many people were actually managing it? That said, there are moments where you can’t deny the poetic genius. They stick with you. Last night I had this dream where Mr. Bloom and I were bumping around Nighttown with Tyrion Lannister too, so… yeah, that part was unforgettable 🤷

Reading Ulysses - Companion Book Question

By cosmicChair98

I’m planning to tackle “Ulysses” sometime soon, but I feel like I’ll need some help getting past just the surface stuff and the visuals. What’s a good companion analysis book to read alongside it so I can actually follow what’s going on?

Can someone help me understand why Ulysses is so revered?

By tender_bison3

I picked this up a few years back and I still only manage to read small bits of it now and then. I just have a hard time staying with it long enough to get very far. A lot of that is probably my ADD, so I’m not really ready to judge it yet. I feel like if I understood why people love it so much and why it gets called one of the great works of literature, that might actually help me finish it. Every time I ask someone who’s read it, they mostly just go “uhh... I don’t know... it just is.” They usually can’t even really say what it was about, so that’s not much help lol. I don’t read a ton of books that are supposed to be literary masterpieces, so I’d really like to get through this one. Figuring out what makes it such a good read is probably what would help me the most. Thanks in advance

How to read Ulysses as an inexperienced Joyce reader?

By StarSteady98

Do you have any annotated edition or a reading guide you’d recommend? Also, would it make more sense to start with something else by Joyce first? And do I really need to reread the Odyssey beforehand to get what’s going on? I’ve got this pretty fuzzy memory of Homer from middle school, so I’m not sure how much that counts. Sorry if these are basic questions—I keep hearing this book is really hard, and I’d love a little direction so I can actually get through it. Thanks!

After 40 years and 2 months I finally finished Ulysses

By black_bee1987

I started Ulysses in my early 20s, back when I was in college, and I just couldn’t get through it. I’d keep telling myself I’d try again, and I probably restarted the first 50 pages a dozen times. Then at 62 I finally decided I was going to finish it no matter what. It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, and I even had to take a break for a good month in the middle. But just a few minutes ago I closed the book on the last page and… yeah, I can say I read Ulysses. That said, I didn’t really enjoy it. The beginning was actually pretty decent, but once it starts messing with all kinds of literary rules and switching up styles from different eras, it turns into this really long stretch that feels like one big, unending trip. There isn’t much let-up until the final bit—Molly’s part, which is basically one long run-on sentence with almost no punctuation and it goes on forever. I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. To me it feels way overrated, kind of rough in a lot of places, and pretty pretentious overall. It definitely needed a better editor. Anyway—yes, I read it. Yes, I slogged through it. And yes, I finally made it to the goddamn end. YES!

[OPINION] Alfred Tennyson's 'Ulysses'

By paperbackreed7

I’ve gone back to this poem a few times, and the part that always gets me is the fourth section when Ulysses talks to his “mariners.” He basically credits them for all the work and thinking they did with him, and then goes on like maybe on this trip they’ll “touch the happy isles” and “see the great Achilles,” who they “knew.” It’s really beautiful, but it also feels a bit off to me. The mariners are supposed to be the other Ithacans who went to Troy with him. But in the *Odyssey*, Ulysses/Odysseus is the only one who comes back alive. So by the time this poem is happening—after everything—those guys would all be gone. That makes the whole “we might do this together” vibe feel strange. I can’t tell if Tennyson just didn’t care about that detail, or if he actually meant something else. If you keep that in mind, the poem stops feeling like this confident, triumphant “let’s go live while we can” speech from an old man. Instead, it reads more like a last desperate grab at something that’s already vanished. Like the mariners might be ghosts, or maybe things his head is conjuring up from trauma and age. I know the text doesn’t exactly scream that reading. Ulysses sounds pretty in control, pretty aware of his surroundings. But I still think it’s possible he’s deluding himself, and honestly that version hits harder. It adds this extra layer of sadness underneath the big, final lines.

People who've read Ulysses, was it really worth it?

By ColdDog1990

I read it just for the hell of it and honestly loved it. Totally worth it. That said, I did read Dubliners and Portrait first, and then I spent like 5 months on Ulysses super slowly, maybe 5-10 pages a day at most, with annotations, after also going through 3 books of criticism/explanation (Gilbert's James Joyce's Ulysses and Burgess' Re-Joyce and Joysprick), reading the webcomic, and listening to Frank Delaney’s podcast on it. I still don’t really think I caught everything, but I’m pretty sure I got a lot of it, and it felt worth all the effort because Joyce’s prose is insanely beautiful and the different structures and styles in each chapter are really interesting. I’d seriously recommend reading that chapter-by-chapter review first, just so you have a sense of what it’s doing before you decide to start. It’s not really a book you can “spoil,” so don’t worry about finding out the plot ahead of time.

Should I read "Ulysses" translated?

By mist_deviant74745

Just for context, I’m not a native English speaker, though I’d say I’m pretty fluent. But with books like this, I usually don’t risk it and just stick to reading in my native language. That said, one of the big praises I keep hearing about *Ulysses* is how gorgeous the language is and how it helps tell the story. So I’m honestly worried a translation won’t have the same charm. So… should I go ahead and read the original (and probably get really frustrated in the beginning), or should I just get the translated version?

How the hell do I approach Ulysses?

By BalanceCandle14

I’m about 150 pages in, so I guess I’m still before the really hard parts, and I’m liking it, but I feel like I’m only getting maybe half of what I’m reading. I didn’t have that problem with Dubliners or A Portrait of the Artist. Is this just how this one is, or am I missing something? I’m tempted to grab a companion guide, but I also don’t know if I should just push through. Even when I can’t really follow whole sections, it still pulls me in somehow. I do think if I’d prepped more, I’d probably be getting more out of it. Also, I haven’t read the Odyssey since grade school.

Are people who say JJ's "Ulysses" is a "fun read" delusional, or am I?

By inburntBookmark

I’ve seen a bunch of people on Reddit call Ulysses interesting and fun. I get that it’s an impressive, very deep novel and it definitely shows what a novel can do, but it is absolutely not fun or easy to get through. Honestly it feels like the exact opposite. It’s the most exhausting, least smooth, least readable thing I’ve ever finished, even knowing what kind of writer JJ is. There are actual guides for reading it, and a lot of people spend MONTHS on it with annotations just to keep up with what’s happening. I just wrapped it up and it honestly feels like I dropped $300 on some tiny fancy molecular food thing hoping it would change my life (it didn’t) instead of going to a buffet with all my favorite stuff for $30. Like I spent ten hours staring at a modern art piece instead of going to see my favorite movie. Like I listened to an abstract post-noise jazz album for an hour instead of just singing my favorite song in the shower for 3 minutes. I could keep going, because I’m really disappointed, but I think you know what I mean. Please don’t tell someone to read it unless they already want to.

What is the definitive audio of Ulysses?

By letterfallen1982

I’ve gone through Ulysses a few times already, but I’m thinking of doing an audiobook next. Part of me wishes there was a version where actual Irish folks voice the different characters, if that exists. What recordings would you say are the best? And are there multiple audiobook versions, or is it basically just the one?