Maybe that's it . . . I should add that it's been almost 15 years since I even attempted Joyce, so it's entirely possible that my literary palate has matured, so to speak.
Yes, Borges, I'm gonna go give MD another try, mostly because of the aforementioned palate issue. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out I like it.
(But I bet them prisoners wouldn't cotton to 45 minutes of me going on and on and ON about the whiteness of the whale.)