I have finally conquered the odyssey of Ulysses! ...I think, anyway

sun surfer · 12-19-2013, 05:30 PM

After all, can it ever really be conquered by the likes of mere mortals?

But, I read every word even if I didn't understand it all, so that counts well enough, right?

To put things into perspective, I've been attempting to read this book, off and on, for over 15 years. I've tried all kinds of ways of reading it. My last attempt, last year, I bought Ulysses Annotated as well, which is a separate book of annotations about as long as the book itself. I actually made it a good ways through, and it was the first time I even halfway understood what was going on. And not only halfway; with the detailed annotations on almost every line I understood everything that I'd read. Trust me, everything.

But, it also meant that I had to go back and forth between the two books every line, and so a book that was already a very slow read became an extremely extremely slow and laborious read. So, I gave it up.

This year I was (again) determined to tackle this book, and this time my motto was to head-butt my way through it like a ram. No annotations to help me, and even unlike other books I read, I wouldn't even look up dictionary words or sometimes google or wikipedia something. None of that. I started from the beginning again, so I already understood a good ways into it, but when I made my way into uncharted territories things got trippy. I did resort to short chapter summaries online after I read a chapter, so I could at least sort-of understand what the chapter was supposed to be about. That came in handy for one or two chapters where I had almost no idea what I was reading until I read the summary of it at the end.

And so, did I hate it? Not at all! Actually, I loved it! Certainly there's a lot I didn't understand, and I didn't like how vulgar it became at times in the some of the last chapters, and some chapters I was not a fan of at all, but I really, really loved it overall. It's a masterpiece and I'd recommend it to anyone willing to battle with it.

kennyc · 12-20-2013, 07:41 AM

oh you poor thing, my sympathies.

DrNefario · 12-20-2013, 08:26 AM

Congratulations. Is Finnegans Wake next?

sun surfer · 12-20-2013, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kennyc

oh you poor thing, my sympathies.

Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrNefario

Congratulations. Is Finnegans Wake next?

Thanks. Maybe in 15 years or so I'll conquer that as well. I hope that one day I shall, if not "read" Finnegans Wake in the sense that we understand reading, at least look in order at every word and letter in that book. What more can I hope for?

Penforhire · 12-20-2013, 01:39 PM

Which translation? I think I read Lattimore's (from the 1950's). His were most often used in the schools I attended.

HomeInMyShoes · 12-20-2013, 01:41 PM

Congratulations sun surfer, I did my penance in 2011.

I'm still recovering.

kennyc · 12-20-2013, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Which translation? I think I read Lattimore's (from the 1950's). His were most often used in the schools I attended.

Huh??

kennyc · 12-20-2013, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Congratulations sun surfer, I did my penance in 2011.

I'm still recovering.

I continue to suffer by proxy after a couple of failed attempts.

BelleZora · 12-20-2013, 02:33 PM

What an accomplishment and an inspiration! I am in awe. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in on my TBR list for early 2014, but after reading about Ulysses I dismissed even the possibility that I would have a clue what I would be reading. Still...it does seem to be some sort of rite of passage for the dedicated reader. I didn't have any trouble with Dubliners once I sort of maybe got Joyce's style and what he was trying to convey (maybe), but it seems that book is a mere kindergarten to his later books.

sun surfer · 12-20-2013, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penforhire

Which translation? I think I read Lattimore's (from the 1950's). His were most often used in the schools I attended.

I think the title may have confused you...are you thinking of Homer's Odyssey? I'm talking about James Joyce's Ulysses, which was structured around the Odyssey, hence why I put that wordplay into the title. But if it's any consolation, I did read the Odyssey a year or two ago, and I think I did read the Lattimore if it's the one that sticks close in translation and I liked it a lot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Congratulations sun surfer, I did my penance in 2011.

I'm still recovering.

Thanks, and congrats to you too, and well wishes for your recovery.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelleZora

What an accomplishment and an inspiration! I am in awe. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in on my TBR list for early 2014, but after reading about Ulysses I dismissed even the possibility that I would have a clue what I would be reading. Still...it does seem to be some sort of rite of passage for the dedicated reader. I didn't have any trouble with Dubliners once I sort of maybe got Joyce's style and what he was trying to convey (maybe), but it seems that book is a mere kindergarten to his later books.

Thanks, BelleZora.

It really does feel like an accomplishment though and I can say without exaggeration that I think this is the hardest book I've ever read. I'm sure there are harder (Joyce's own Finnegans Wake for example sounds even harder, though it's a little shorter at least) but I haven't read them.

If you ever do try Ulysses, I wish you good luck. This was my first Joyce (only 15 years in the making) - it was odd that Dubliners came up this month as well, but I had challenged myself to finish Ulysses before 2014, so I decided to go it first once I made up my mind to start. You are probably reading in a better order.

BelleZora · 12-21-2013, 12:00 AM

It was The Satanic Verses that sparked my belated desire to read James Joyce. Incomprehensibly even to me, I really wanted to understand what Rushdie was trying to convey. Apparently that is not possible without first understanding Lucretius, Ovid, and James Joyce. I read The Odyssey long ago and enjoyed it, but it seems I must read it again before tackling more of Joyce.

Reading is both a joy and a torture. God help us.

kennyc · 12-21-2013, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I think the title may have confused you...are you thinking of Homer's Odyssey? I'm talking about James Joyce's Ulysses, which was structured around the Odyssey, hence why I put that wordplay into the title. But if it's any consolation, I did read the Odyssey a year or two ago, and I think I did read the Lattimore if it's the one that sticks close in translation and I liked it a lot.

....

Ah, NOW that makes sense.

Bookworm_Girl · 12-21-2013, 09:55 AM

Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I appreciated your description of how you managed to conquer it.

issybird · 12-21-2013, 10:21 AM

Good for you, sun surfer. It's a lot to take on independently. I first read it as a freshman in college, which helped a lot, because of both the exigesis and the compulsion. I tried it again a few years later, to see how it went on my own, and was happy to discover that it's a good story, but the initial exposure made a big difference.

I haven't been very tempted to dip into it since, however, and Finnegan's Wake is a book too far for me.

rkomar · 12-22-2013, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sun surfer

I think the title may have confused you...are you thinking of Homer's Odyssey? I'm talking about James Joyce's Ulysses, which was structured around the Odyssey, hence why I put that wordplay into the title. But if it's any consolation, I did read the Odyssey a year or two ago, and I think I did read the Lattimore if it's the one that sticks close in translation and I liked it a lot.

It caught me, too. And I also thought back to the Lattimore translation of The Odyssey that I read, wondering what the big deal was about. I was much more impressed about the finishing of Joyce's book, since I couldn't get past about four pages when I tried long ago.

12-19-2013, 05:30 PM	#1
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	I have finally conquered the odyssey of Ulysses! ...I think, anyway After all, can it ever really be conquered by the likes of mere mortals? But, I read every word even if I didn't understand it all, so that counts well enough, right? To put things into perspective, I've been attempting to read this book, off and on, for over 15 years. I've tried all kinds of ways of reading it. My last attempt, last year, I bought Ulysses Annotated as well, which is a separate book of annotations about as long as the book itself. I actually made it a good ways through, and it was the first time I even halfway understood what was going on. And not only halfway; with the detailed annotations on almost every line I understood everything that I'd read. Trust me, everything. But, it also meant that I had to go back and forth between the two books every line, and so a book that was already a very slow read became an extremely extremely slow and laborious read. So, I gave it up. This year I was (again) determined to tackle this book, and this time my motto was to head-butt my way through it like a ram. No annotations to help me, and even unlike other books I read, I wouldn't even look up dictionary words or sometimes google or wikipedia something. None of that. I started from the beginning again, so I already understood a good ways into it, but when I made my way into uncharted territories things got trippy. I did resort to short chapter summaries online after I read a chapter, so I could at least sort-of understand what the chapter was supposed to be about. That came in handy for one or two chapters where I had almost no idea what I was reading until I read the summary of it at the end. And so, did I hate it? Not at all! Actually, I loved it! Certainly there's a lot I didn't understand, and I didn't like how vulgar it became at times in the some of the last chapters, and some chapters I was not a fan of at all, but I really, really loved it overall. It's a masterpiece and I'd recommend it to anyone willing to battle with it.

12-20-2013, 02:33 PM	#9
BelleZora Wizard Posts: 1,432 Karma: 25151986 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Seattle, US Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kobo Libra 2	What an accomplishment and an inspiration! I am in awe. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in on my TBR list for early 2014, but after reading about Ulysses I dismissed even the possibility that I would have a clue what I would be reading. Still...it does seem to be some sort of rite of passage for the dedicated reader. I didn't have any trouble with Dubliners once I sort of maybe got Joyce's style and what he was trying to convey (maybe), but it seems that book is a mere kindergarten to his later books. Last edited by BelleZora; 12-20-2013 at 02:39 PM.

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12-20-2013, 07:41 AM	#2
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,872 Karma: 118716293 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2; Kindle Fire	oh you poor thing, my sympathies.

12-20-2013, 08:26 AM	#3
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,100 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	Congratulations. Is Finnegans Wake next?

12-20-2013, 01:39 PM	#5
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Which translation? I think I read Lattimore's (from the 1950's). His were most often used in the schools I attended.

12-20-2013, 01:41 PM	#6
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Congratulations sun surfer, I did my penance in 2011. I'm still recovering.

12-21-2013, 12:00 AM	#11
BelleZora Wizard Posts: 1,432 Karma: 25151986 Join Date: May 2012 Location: Seattle, US Device: Kindle Oasis 3, Kobo Libra 2	It was The Satanic Verses that sparked my belated desire to read James Joyce. Incomprehensibly even to me, I really wanted to understand what Rushdie was trying to convey. Apparently that is not possible without first understanding Lucretius, Ovid, and James Joyce. I read The Odyssey long ago and enjoyed it, but it seems I must read it again before tackling more of Joyce. Reading is both a joy and a torture. God help us.

12-21-2013, 09:55 AM	#13
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	Congratulations! What an accomplishment! I appreciated your description of how you managed to conquer it.

12-21-2013, 10:21 AM	#14
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,234 Karma: 222235366 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	Good for you, sun surfer. It's a lot to take on independently. I first read it as a freshman in college, which helped a lot, because of both the exigesis and the compulsion. I tried it again a few years later, to see how it went on my own, and was happy to discover that it's a good story, but the initial exposure made a big difference. I haven't been very tempted to dip into it since, however, and Finnegan's Wake is a book too far for me.

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