[Steely Tom]

Well, the passage you quoted from Ulysses gave me pause, as I said. I hereby ask to be permitted to withdraw my assertion that it was drivel. It is good, and interesting on multiple levels, I agree. But I read at least the first thirty pages of the book. To get to your quote one must read nearly 80% of the entire novel!

What did you think when you finally got there? Was it like the moment in Raiders of the Lost Ark when the beam of sunlight strikes the headpiece on the Staff of Ra? Was it like when Jake Blues has his moment of vision in the Triple Rock Baptist Church?

[ifinnegan]

I read Ulysses like 40 years ago when I was 20 or so.

I forced my way through it and didn’t understand much, really.

I was reading a lot of things then.

It’s picking it up again various times over the years where I’ve come to understand more and more. Kindle is a great tool.

What happened is over time I have determined what’s good, or not so good vs what what is set apart and Joyce is set apart.

Back then I liked Phillip K. Dick and read all sorts of his books. I am not sure I could read one today, I’d be bored. Or I’d be past the goofy stuff I might have found intriguing in certain books.

I still think he was a great writer, and his huge influence is now apparent. But he was a hack and a bit insane if not more than a bit.

Joyce was the opposite. As I got older Ulysses became a lot more easily readable.

I still have a hard time reading Shakespeare. Always have. But I know it’s classic.

Bible too (which of course is in a different category).

Joyce is unique and he’s not a scam. It might be a waste of time, but there is a there there.