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/lit/ - Literature

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6084925 No.6084925 [Reply] [Original]

So I'm about to start reading Ulysses.

Anything I should know about HOW to read it or stuff I should know before going into it?

>> No.6084934

the western and eastern canons under your belt, at least

>> No.6084951

Just figure out the pace of each of the narrator's thoughts and don't rush it. The stream of consciousness Joyce writes has a rythmn to it and once you get the hang out it, it's not too hard.

Also, keep track of the character names. It's easy to get them mixed up or forget people.

>> No.6084956

>>6084951
Is the stream comparable to anything in other books?

>> No.6085031
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6085031

>>6084956
Not the guy you replied to, but if you've ever read Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, it's a little similar but doesn't change point of view as often. Basically the book is in 3rd person, but the first few chapters are from Stephen's POV, the last chapter is Molly's POV and the rest of the book is Leopold Bloom's.

Take time out to enjoy this book in large doses. Don't try to read a page or two a day and expect to understand it. Stream of consciousness works best if you read large chunks of it as a clip without stopping. You will find you feel like you are thinking as the character if you do it right, and the book becomes extremely rewarding. If you stop in the middle of a chapter and try to pick it back up like a paragraph at a time on the toilet or something, you'll just find yourself thinking "what the hell am I reading"? Not that I am saying you shouldn't read on the toilet, just take the book with you and continue reading when you're done pooping. Bloom even reads on the toilet in part of the book so if you time it right you can get the full toilet reading experience. Anyway....

Ulysses is a book best reread at different stages of life experience, because you'll interpret parts slightly differently and catch different allusions at different points in your life. If you obsess over picking up on every literary, cultural, religious and political reference the book makes you will not enjoy it, so just go with the flow and occasionally look things up when your interest is piqued like you would with most writers who make a lot of references. Don't get scared off if a lot of them go over your head because you will probably still enjoy the book, unlike >>6084934 seems to be suggesting.

If you've read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man then you will understand Stephen's character and his problems a little better, but it is not a dealbreaker if you have not. If you read Ulysses first and enjoy it then I recommend going back and reading Portrait before you reread Ulysses.

>> No.6085043

it's honestly one of the easiest books i've ever read, the stream of consciousness means it can be read at incredible speed effortlessly. don't expect to get most of the references unless you're very well versed in the classics, though.

>> No.6085047

>>6085031
Oh, also, keep in mind that sometimes you will be reading things that are either embellished by, or possibly entirely occurring within the mind of the characters, but the book won't just come out and say so. You have to judge for yourself what is reality and fantasy to some extent, much like real life sometimes.

>> No.6085050

>>6085031
So basically go slow but read in big leaps for the best result?

>> No.6085058

literally start with the Greeks

>> No.6085063
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6085063

>>6085047
So it's an unreliable narrator, like pic related?

>> No.6085069

>>6085050
You can read it quickly, just try to set aside time so you can keep reading for a while, because, yeah, it helps you get the full SOC effect

>> No.6085082

>>6085063
Kind of, but not to the extent of American Psycho because nothing huge happens-or-doesn't-happen over the course of the book. It's mostly a guy walking around Dublin and thinking about stuff.

>> No.6085094

>>6085082
Would it be closer to say Confederacy of Dunces, but less absurd?

>> No.6085101

Start with Dubliners

>> No.6085114

>>6085101
>Start with Dubliners
start with the greeks

>> No.6087116

Don't try and understand every little thing. Joyce was a polyglot and he throws some mathematical terms in there. Once you realise that and just say to yourself you're going to go along for the ride and read it for the beauty of the prose you'll be fine. I've only read Ulysses once so maybe I'm not the best person to take advice off of, I'm sure there are people that have actually studied it if you're having trouble with some bits.