Ulysses by James Joyce

Wow. Let me start off by saying that this probably wasn't the best way to begin my challenge, as it took me 11 days to finish the book! Finishing each chapter felt like running a never-ending marathon; I was tired, out of breath, and yet determined to reach the speck of a finish line in the far horizon.

Although not my favorite book ever, I understand why Modern Library considers Ulysses the quintessential novel of the 20th century. I could read this book another dozen times and still learn something new with each reading. In fact, I probably SHOULD read it another dozen times; the sheer number of literary, biblical, and historical allusions present in James Joyce's novel is astounding. In fact, there is a whole book written by Don Gifford that consists, not of Ulysses' text, but of FOOTNOTES relating to the work (Gifford's book, entitled Ulysses Annotated, is a must-have for in-depth comprehension. Had I afforded myself more time for this challenge, I would have used this book constantly).

It's also been a while since I read The Odyssey, and that definitely made my experience with Ulysses more difficult. Before every chapter, I would read a synopsis of the corresponding chapter in Homer's epic poem (Each one of Joyce's chapters is named for a chapter of The Odyssey). This allowed me to find at least some of the parallels between the two works. For instance, knowing that the 12th chapter is called "Cyclops" allowed me to understand why the word "eye" kept appearing in the text, why this chapter was told in first-person narrative (get it? "I"?), and why when one of the characters got mad, he imagined his fury starting an earthquake. I suggest anyone attempting to read the novel to try the same technique (Or watch the Wishbone version. Because seriously; who doesn't love a talking dog?)

The format in which the novel is written is a puzzle in and of itself. The majority of the chapters have no quotation marks signifying dialogue, but rather em-dashes when a new character begins to speak. This led to some confusion as to whether I was reading the character's thoughts, or what he was saying aloud. Some chapters take on decidedly different formats: "Aeolus" is peppered with newspaper headlines, while "Circe" is written as a script for a play. One of my favorite chapters, "Ithaca", is written in question and answer format, while the last chapter is 36 pages long and contains 8 run on sentences.

I could literally spend hours discussing the finer points of this book, but for your sake I think I'll simply describe my favorite chapters.

Chapter 13, entitled "Nausicaa", focuses on an encounter between Leopold Bloom, the main character, and Gerty MacDowell, a naive, beautiful, 17-year old girl. The first half of the chapter focuses on Gerty's musings on love and romance. After seeing Leopold from a distance, she decides that he's the perfect man for her, and that she'll never love anyone else. Her effort to balance innocence and seduction is incredibly realistic and relatable. I found her character's spirit to be a refreshing change from the dark, depressing tone of the previous chapters. Her wide-eyed optimism is all the more poignant because the reader knows that she'll soon be just as blasé and unsentimental as the other women in the novel (such as Bloom's wife, Molly). The second half of the chapter focuses on Bloom's attraction to this young girl and how he deals with it. Despite his intense desire for Gerty, his lackluster marriage, and a sexually charged passage involving fireworks (which can be read here), Leo chooses to remain faithful to his wife and vows to never see the girl again. His decision, as well as his actions throughout the rest of the novel, makes Bloom, in my opinion, one of the most realistically decent characters ever written about.

My second favorite chapter is Chapter 17, entitled "Ithaca". The entire chapter is written, as I mentioned earlier, in the form of a Q&A. What makes this chapter so brilliant is the answers given to some of the most mundane questions ever asked by man. For instance, when asked what Bloom thinks about water, what follows is an incredibly long list of scientific and philosophical thoughts (the passage can be read here). And that's not all; the same detail and attention was given to questions about constellations, shaving, and items located in obscure drawers. Despite embarking on a 540 page journey with Leo, I had never felt more connected to him than in this chapter. I saw the innermost workings of his mind; his hopes and dreams, fears and habits, and I loved every single word of it.


The book as a whole challenged my idea of what a novel can be. Joyce's use of language and syntax is truly groundbreaking, and I often found myself shaking my head out of sheer astonishment. I highly recommend that everyone read this work, but without a deadline. Enjoy the piece, and truly savor his poetry. You won't regret it.

My next review will be of The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. See you soon!