If it's any consolation, I tried and failed to finish it the first time. But came back to it again when I thought I was better prepared. I tend to think that a lot of the so-called 'great books' are better read in mid-life rather than during teen years or even the twenties. Some of my favorite books nowadays are ones that I failed to understand at my first encounter. I had to wait until I was ready for them.
I do agree that there are some books that you have to wait until you’re older to read. Conversely, there are some that I read when I was younger that I have no interest in reading now.
I've tried three times to read it - in my early 20s, my mid-30s, and late 40s. I can get about a third of the way through, and then lose the train of narrative completely. Whose thoughts ARE these I'm reading? I skim back a few pages, trying to re-orient myself, and ... nope.
A few years ago, I was reading some essays by Camus, and he wrote something along the lines of, What is important is not what Joyce accomplished with Ulysses, but what he attempted to accomplish. I read that and thought, "Al, you fraud, you couldn't finish it either!"
You're right. At home, Joyce spoke to his children in Italian. His son Giorgio had great talent as a singer, and given his father's fame, he might have gained fame singing Irish songs—but Giorgio had a noticeable Italian accent, which limited his ability to take advantage of the renown of his last name, which was so closely linked with his Irish heritage.
Thanks much for bringing this up from the vault!
From the voids of my literary knowledge, I am always awed and inspired by the essays here.
I’ve never had the nerve to tackle this book. Wonderful essay.
If it's any consolation, I tried and failed to finish it the first time. But came back to it again when I thought I was better prepared. I tend to think that a lot of the so-called 'great books' are better read in mid-life rather than during teen years or even the twenties. Some of my favorite books nowadays are ones that I failed to understand at my first encounter. I had to wait until I was ready for them.
I do agree that there are some books that you have to wait until you’re older to read. Conversely, there are some that I read when I was younger that I have no interest in reading now.
I've tried three times to read it - in my early 20s, my mid-30s, and late 40s. I can get about a third of the way through, and then lose the train of narrative completely. Whose thoughts ARE these I'm reading? I skim back a few pages, trying to re-orient myself, and ... nope.
A few years ago, I was reading some essays by Camus, and he wrote something along the lines of, What is important is not what Joyce accomplished with Ulysses, but what he attempted to accomplish. I read that and thought, "Al, you fraud, you couldn't finish it either!"
Maybe the greatest book almost no one has ever finished ...
It's noteworthy that Joyce spent several years in Trieste, Italy
You're right. At home, Joyce spoke to his children in Italian. His son Giorgio had great talent as a singer, and given his father's fame, he might have gained fame singing Irish songs—but Giorgio had a noticeable Italian accent, which limited his ability to take advantage of the renown of his last name, which was so closely linked with his Irish heritage.