![]() ![]() to enjoy the read- you do have to be willing to get through parts that you do not understand and forgive yourself (and Joyce) for those.there are some really helpful reader's concordances- Harold Blamires work, 'The Bloomsday Book' is my top recommendation. You DO NOT need to be knowledgable in Irish history, Catholic tradition, mythology, history of heresy, etc. ![]() I run twenty week studies on the book in London- and often take a group to Dublin for Bloomsday. I read this thread with interest as I have spent the last 10 years devoted to getting readers through the intimidation on to the real joy (and humour- it is a really funny book!) of Ulysses. If I read a page a day I'll finish the book in just under 2 years. I think I'll have to tackle 'Ulysses' a page at a time. Which is probably a good thing - Joyce's work will be introduced to a far greater audience through this medium. But I think for this film and book, many will choose to skip the written word and watch the action. That way the movie won't influence your own visualization process. I like your tip of reading a book first, before watching it as a movie. "I've seen the movie." His response was not appreciated by his mother. I have the full box set of "The Chronicles Of Narnia" which I gave to my son to read. I fully understand how rankled you felt when your less-than-diligent student told you he would watch the book on video. This book's Dublin setting really does pique my interest, or more often, it stokes my Irish guilt for not having tackled its pages. I bet your copy of Ulysses produces the most amazing dried flowers, shamrocks and four-leaf clovers. If you are up to the challenge and read the novel, so will I. Read the novel first, Mairead, then see the film: the two art forms should complement each other and lead to a fuller understanding of "the English Language's best novel ever written" and its author. Why aren't you reading?" Response: "Nahhh, I'll just watch the video." Even though the exchange happened years ago, his apathetic answer still rankles me. Re: the film "Bloom." As a former educator, a spurious "teacher of English," I must share an exchange with a former student who was not doing the assigned reading during class time: (to student) "You''ve been given a reading assignment and class time to complete it. ![]() I have my own favorite "novels written in English," but have yet to read Joyce's masterpiece so must disqualify myself on its ranking as the "best novel in English." My copy of The Reader's Encyclopedia states: ".this novel is now generally recognized to be the greatest 20th century novel written in English." TRE further states: ".in order to fully understand Ulysses, one must, at the very least, be familiar with the Catholic Church, the history of heresy, Irish legend, European history, mythology, astronomy, Hebrew, Latin, Gaelic, and Gypsy slang." You, IAM, should better than I, qualify in at least three of these categories. A former colleague of mine once told me if Dublin, due to an apocalyptic event, was razed entirely, the entire city could be rebuilt.streets, structures, om Joyce's novel. I have pulled it from the shelf two or three times and while considering this heavy tome as a nice medium for pressing four-leaf clovers, put it back almost immediately (my son-in-law has read the novel). Mairead, as I sit here typing this comment, I can look to my left and see three volumes of Joyce's works on my bookshelf, Ulysses being the heftiest of the three.
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