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/lit/ - Literature

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11617130 No.11617130 [Reply] [Original]

Ok /lit/, I'm finally reading Joyce, starting with Dubliners. What am I in for? Is it as hard to read as his infamous other works?

>> No.11617139

Dubliners is very comfy, his best work imo

>> No.11617144

>>11617130
why don't you try and read it

>> No.11617166

>>11617144
It's not arrived yet you spasticated antelope.

"hurr durr just read it" -- is that supposed to mean that questions on a self-proclaimed "discussion" board are invalid?

Go and neck yourself you pretentious cunt.

>> No.11617174

>>11617139
Very indeed but also his worst work... Although The Dead is one of the greatest short stories ever written

>> No.11617183

Ulysses is highly enjoyable even if you don't know what the fuck is going on. Read it aloud in your minds eye.

>> No.11617187

Don't listen to the people who say Araby and the Dead are the best. They are just parroting opinions they heard from other people. All of it is just as great.

>> No.11617188

>>11617174
It was a toss up between Dubliners or Portait of the Artist as a Young Man to start with -- would you say Dubliners is a better introduction to his work? I've heard contention on the topic.

>> No.11617192
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11617192

>you will never be as smort as Joyce

>> No.11617194

>>11617130
I liked Dubliners a lot.
Now Portrait of the artist as a young man, Then Ulysses and Finnegans Wake right ?

>> No.11617195

>>11617183
I just ordered it. Impulse buy.

>> No.11617201

>>11617187
Araby is pretty good, but far from the best
Two Gallants is up to that post, though

>> No.11617203

>>11617195
Everyone should own and read it at least twice in their life.

>> No.11617209

>>11617188
Dubliners is a brilliant collection, don't get me wrong, but I happen to think Joyce is one of the greatest writers in history and that things only get better from there, as well as more challenging with each book. I think it's the perfect place to start - it's written in a regular prose-style and with linear structure but it's full of beautiful and emotional stories. Portrait is a big step up in terms of the accessibility of content and style. I'd read him chronologically, basically

>> No.11617212

>>11617195
Greatest novel ever written - literally everything since pales in comparison

>> No.11617220
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11617220

>>11617195
I bought both Ulysses and the Wake on impulse when I was high. Both are sitting on my shelf and waiting for the day I feel ready.

>> No.11617226

>>11617183
Do I need to read Hamlet first?

>> No.11617229

>>11617209
Thank you for your response. I've heard that sentiment a lot, to read him chronologically, and I think I will follow that.

My main motivation for reading Joyce isn't out of /lit/ cred, but to, in some way, tangentially connect with my Irish roots, and I'm hoping that Dubliners and his other work can help me do that.

>> No.11617231

>>11617226
Hamlet, and the Odyssey

>> No.11617251

>>11617229
His work is basically a collective love letter to Ireland in general and Dublin specifically - it pours out of the pages, so you're in for a good time there. If you know some Irish political history (even lightly) that'll be of benefit too

>> No.11617270

>>11617220
>waiting for the day I feel ready.
ugh...

>> No.11617273

Little Cloud hit me hard.
The last year I have had a lifestyle and personality change, which I am not proud of. I began to cheat on the girl who had been there with me always, even when i was a chubby ugly boy.
I was friends with a guy who normalised it. Seemed so happy and full of life, i perhaps tried to emulate it.
Then I saw the misery seeping through the gaps of his personality, and realised he was just a superficial fraud; this whole lifestyle is superficial and fickle.

I see myself as Little Chandler and my friend as Gallaher

>> No.11617276

>>11617270
Huh?

>> No.11617279

>>11617251
>collective love letter
Not to be confused with his collected love letters.

>> No.11617286

>>11617251
I assume you're talking of the nationalist movement? I'm aware that the nationalist movement was responsible for Irish volunteers joining WW1 and the eventuality of the IRA, do I need to know of much before that?

>> No.11617299

>>11617231
And to read the Odyssey you need to read the Illiad first, right?

>> No.11617301

>>11617299
Nah, but why would you want to skip it

>> No.11617309

>>11617231
You don't actually have to read this but it will definitely improve the experience - I hadn't read the Odyssey when I read Ulysses

>> No.11617313

>>11617231
What if I just watched the Hamlet movie?

>> No.11617327

>>11617313
It's just not particularly good - I think it's bad to treat Hamlet as a supplementary reading for Ulysses, it's one of the greatest dramas ever written and deserves exploration in and of itself. There actually aren't any great film adaptations, the Andrew Scott version recorded at The National is probably your best bet - didn't love his portrayal but that was more subjective than anything. Check that version out and then maybe give the play itself a read

>> No.11617352

>>11617327
>>11617313
Shakespeare should be read, it's impossible to do him justice. Seeing a stage performance in person might be tolerable if it was really good but I'd rather just read him without fumbling non-genius directors and actors distracting me from his genius.

>> No.11617370

>>11617352
As someone who acts I disagree - they were made to be performed, it's a cliche but it's true, his works are brilliant to read but in a good production they are transcendent, it's just that good productions are rare. The best I've seen was Twelfth Night at The Globe with Mark Rylance which was electric and hilarious. The atmosphere in that place is just a whole other level to reading the play at home, but don't take my word for it: https://youtu.be/RDPT2e26SgY

>> No.11617389

>>11617352
>>11617370
And here's Mark Rylance in all his glory: https://youtu.be/-rAYmmIYCGQ

>> No.11617425

>>11617166
Spasticated antelope might be my favorite insult I’ve seen in weeks.

>> No.11617444

>>11617425
You have to get creative at a certain point to really make insults stand out.

>> No.11617473

>>11617444
How about spasticated fagelope?

>> No.11617493

>>11617473
How about an extricated frontal lobe?

>> No.11617497

>>11617493
I’m gonna cum daddy

>> No.11618196

>>11617286
just read the wiki pages about:
>charles parnell
>irish war of independence
optional but wouldn't hurt
>history of dublin
>history of ireland

>> No.11619652

you will be surprised at the utter mediocrity of this supposed "goat author", then you'll read portrait and think that this pretentious piece of thrash was even worse and you'll rly start doubting yourself, the world and literature in general, but nevertheless finally you are gonna read Ulysses and and - tada - it's actually a great book

>> No.11619890 [DELETED] 

>>11617166
It’s literally available for free on Gutenberg. You could have read the first few stories by now and started a discussion about those instead of making this pointless thread. sage.

>> No.11619937

>>11617130
no

>> No.11620236

>>11617130
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was the first time the idea of
>enjoying prose
clicked for me. Good babby's first proaic literary work. I skipped Dubliners, I'll probably get around to it.

>> No.11620246

>>11619890
You are literally capable of lucid thought. You could have initiated discussion about the first few stories instead of whinging about the low quality OP in this "pointless thread".
Bump

>> No.11620344

Do I need to read it in the original language? I just got a copy in Spanish (my native language)

>> No.11620937

Willy Nibbler.

>> No.11621753

>>11617251
>His work is basically a collective love letter to Ireland in general and Dublin specifically
Is that why he constantly depicts them as petty, superstitious, and depraved ignorants? All of Dubliners is Joyce shitting on his fellow Irishmen.

>> No.11621875

Alright lads, OP here.

Just finished reading "The Sisters" - I feel it best to take a respite between each story in order to actually formulate an appreciation of each one.

What I found strongly was, like Dickens in "David Copperfield", Joyce was able to communicate quite an esoteric feeling, in this case about death, that I have shared with my own family members in light of a passing. I think it does a great job in expressing catholic piety in a time of mourning, especially in regards to how the people around the reverend feel about his more pernicious elements, and their expression of that.

Overall I found it an enjoyable and engaging read with emotional weight, and I'm very interested in seeing how the rest of the stories will pan out.

I've resigned myself from hyping up "The Dead" as I've seen the amount of acclaim it's acculumlated, to avoid possible disappointment, but insofar I'm really quite happy with Dubliners.

The edition I've got is fairly odd - hardcover, with gold-lined pages, yet also pocket-sized? Not complaining, it's very pretty, but still odd to me.

>> No.11621908

>>11617212
This why I haven’t read it yet. There’s no point in me reading the best of the best when I have so many other classics left to read. That’s why I still haven’t read The Brothers Karamazov. There’s a part of me that’s worried that I’m going to die before I’m ready to read them.

>> No.11622068

>>11621753
I was referring more to the city itself, it is the main character in his work

>> No.11622089

>>11617130
I read Finnegans Wake. It was pain. It was just so hard to comprehend I’d have to reread sentences multiple times. The dubliners is sort of like Joyce-lite, some weird stuff but Notthing Finnegans Wake tier

>> No.11622858

>>11621875
>>Just finished reading "The Sisters" - I feel it best to take a respite between each story in order to actually formulate an appreciation of each one.
>
>What I found strongly was, like Dickens in "David Copperfield", Joyce was able to communicate quite an esoteric feeling, in this case about death, that I have shared with my own family members in light of a passing. I think it does a great job in expressing catholic piety in a time of mourning, especially in regards to how the people around the reverend feel about his more pernicious elements, and their expression of that.
Why is it called what it is Mr. I-get-it?

>> No.11622874

>>11621875
The ending paragraph of the dead can't dissapoint.