Where to begin indeed? I keep hearing that this Ulysses book is one of the most, if not the most, difficult novel in the English language! Hmmm! Difficult in what way? Difficult to read? Difficult to understand? Difficult to appreciate? All slightly different questions surely? As I said before somewhere – it is only one word after another. It is – isn’t it? It’s not, like … backwards or anything? It’s not in a made-up language like Nadsat or Elfin?
So, my fine feathered Joyceans, where do you think one begins? One like me that is. Should a regular Joe Bloggs like me read it or read about it. Should I be in awe of that awful and awesome reputation and hesitate on the brink? Should I research the landscape? Or the historical context? Should I bone up on Latin or Gaelic? Or should I just open the book on page one and begin reading?
I don’t know about you but I’m no Brainiac! I didn’t mean the say that! It just slipped out – honest! You see I’m a fan of the funny books so the odd comic reference might slip out now and again. As long time funny book readers all know by now, brains are naturally evil (see exhibit A), whereas brawn and a little moral fibre wins the day every time!
What I’m going on about is this reputation of Ulysses being a book for bi-or tri-cranial readers. Bookworms. Clever Clogs. Smarty Pants. You get my drift. Those of advanced educational understanding whose sole revenge on the world is to wave a ‘clever’ book in the face of an fool. Like I say, I’m no brain. But I’m no idiot either [Citation needed]. So, I’ve a lot of questions I know, but is there anything in the book for us ordinary mortals or it is just a stick with which to beat those outside the inner circle – the ‘uninitiated’ has a certain sinister ring to it.
Bridging these two worlds of coldly calculating brains (see exhibit |B) and gibbering village idiots I feel like I need to crack some heads together and find out out what this Ulysses is really all about. I like a challenge. I’m excited. And now there is this comic book interpretation. The reason for this very site. Not just what one might think – a dumbing down and over-simplification – but a real attempt at translation.
Holey Moley (see exhibit C)! Talk about two worlds colliding. Maybe I’ll get more from Rob’s adaptation than I would from the novel, but alas and alack even, I can’t wait for him to finish. I’ve a book to read and I don’t know where to start. If you don’t tell me I’m going to have to figure it out for myself!
What a predicament! I feel like shouting “JOYCEAN SCHOLARS ASSEMBLE” for some reason!
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You can buy copies of the works illustrated above by clicking on the links below.
I just reread Ulysses after a 50 year gap. Would suggest begining at the beginning and just plowing through without worrying too much. It helps to have a friend who is doing the same thing at the same time. It also helps to read the New Bloomsday Book before heading into each chapter. Read through perhaps 1/3 of the Ulysses and Us and wasn’t very impressed. The author also uses page references to a 1960’s Bodley edition which few readers have access to. the conventional text nowadays is the 1984 edition edited by Gabler. This is probably more info than anyone wants but so be it.
Ah! Different versions! That further complicates matters. Just how many versions of this novel are there and more importantly how different are they. And how much difference would that make to a first time reading of the novel?
By the way – how did you find the novel on coming back to it after such a long time?