/lit/ - Literature

I think the bare minimum is Dubliners, Portrait, and The Odyssey. Also, you should read Paradise Lost before reading Portrait.

Fuck, I hate fags like you.

Always asking how to do things rather than doing them. You probably won't even read it.

But seeing as though you claim to have an interest in his writings then I will help you.

Read Dubliners, A Portrait and then read Ulysses.

It is simple.

Dubliners is his most understandable and a brilliant short story collection which you can read in no time.


A Portrait will take some work at first but after studying it will became incredibly more clear to you.

Then you will be able to take on Ulysses. This preparation can all be done within a month if you really try.

I've been reading a book a week on average for the last seven years - mostly classics - and I still don't feel ready for Ulysses. Actually, I just can't be bothered. I loved Dubliners and quite liked the first half of Portrait, but Ulysses seems like a waste of energy.

>>6381332
Why Paradise Lost?

>>6381349
There are references and parallels to Paradise Lost in Portrait. You should just read Paradise Lost anyway.

>>6381342
>I've been reading a book a week on average for the last seven years
>I still don't feel ready for Ulysses
sounds like you're underestimating yourself

you fucking faggot

>>6381340
>>6381332
>Dubliners
my interest in his writing came from reading this.

>>6381340
>Fuck, I hate fags like you.
>Always asking how to do things rather than doing them. You probably won't even read it.

there's no need to make assumptions like this, friend. I was merely asking for the best course of action; I hear all the time that people attempt to start this novel only to glaze over the text without having a single fucking clue of what's actually happening, both thematically and plotwise.

That being said, I think I'll go grab Portrait. thanks anons.

>>6381367
> people attempt to start this novel only to glaze over the text without having a single fucking clue of what's actually happening

That's the problem. You can't simply glaze over Ulysses like any other novel - you will miss the parts where the streams of consciousness and the description are distinguished, and therefore it will be a mess for you. If you want to understand the general plot, even without knowing the nuances and the different layers of meaning in character's thoughts, you must read the novel word by word, page by page. This novel rewards most of all attention. If you pay attention, even the most obscure parts will make sense and you'll understand the plot. The more well read you are - versed in the Greeks, theology, mythology, Irish history, classic literature, Shakespeare, Odysseus - the more you'll understand the subtext. Without the deeper knowledge, you'll read about one day from life of two persons whose paths in the end intersect, but with the deeper grasp you'll see that during an absolutely ordinary day in Dublin everything happens, and the adventures of Odysseus are reenacted once again, along with other mythos.