Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man are both easy to read, but beautiful in their imagery, and especially depth of feeling.
exactly like a highly skilled, but experimental musician, I agree that with Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, Joyce departs from conventional writing and delves into his own mind and psychology. At various points you think “can you return to the melody again, please?”
“Dubliners and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man are both easy to read.”
Dubliners was okay, but Portrait was too...J.D. Salingerish.