The Bump Thread

[Orlion]

Reading "Ulysses" will NOT keep you sane, Orlion. Trust me on this.

Anything that distracts me will serve its purposes well.

And it has to happen one of these days. I have to face this ponderous tome, read it, wonder why everyone makes a big deal out of it and then go on to the next ponderous tome.

A couple of hints to help make Ulysses less daunting:

. . . . . . . . - don't be afraid to laugh. Lots of it is meant to be funny.

. . . . . . . . - starting on p. 51 is not a bad idea. It's the first chapter from Bloom's
. . . . . . . . .. perspective and so is an easier read.

. . . . . . . . - don't try to read it all in one go. Treat it as 18 novels rather than one.

. . . . . . . . - get your hands on The New Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires. This gives great
. . . . . . . . .. access to each of the chapter's themes and structure.

. . . . . . . . - read Dubliners first. Some of the characters and locations appear there in very
. . . . . . . . .. readable prose.

u.

Thanks for the advice! One thing that really rang true to me is that about laughter. I don't know why or how, but it seems like we are conditioned that classics aren't funny and that humor did not exist until the I Love Lucy show.

I'm also thinking of re-reading The Odyssey before or during. Couldn't hurt, right?

I'll also start a topic in Gen. Lit. Reading Ulysses will be fun!

[Worm of Despite]

Bump.

[ussusimiel]

I'm also thinking of re-reading The Odyssey before or during. Couldn't hurt, right?

I'll also start a topic in Gen. Lit. Reading Ulysses will be fun!

I haven't done it myself, but reading The Odyssey can only help, I'm sure.

I'll keep an eye out for the thread. Maybe we can do a dissection

[Orlion]

I'm also thinking of re-reading The Odyssey before or during. Couldn't hurt, right?

I'll also start a topic in Gen. Lit. Reading Ulysses will be fun!

I haven't done it myself, but reading The Odyssey can only help, I'm sure.

I'll keep an eye out for the thread. Maybe we can do a dissection

Sounds good, we'll be the only fantasy fan-site with a Ulysses dissection! (That's right, such a thing would be cool)

[sgt.null]

As for this forum: Null has taken my torch.

I am going to write the sequel to Ulysses.

[Savor Dam]

Null's sequel will be made possible by a Grant from...


(what I need now is a really good punchline to complete the wordplay, but it just isn't coming to me. Anyone?)

[sgt.null]

"I hate that in women no
wonder they treat us they way
they do we are a dreadful lot
of bitches I suppose its all the
troubles we have makes us
so snappy".

[aliantha]

Null's sequel will be made possible by a Grant from...

...U.S.

...the More Perfect Union.

...Tippecanoe and Tyler, too. (Nah, strike that -- I think that was a different war.)

[ussusimiel]

Null's sequel will be made possible by a Grant from...


(what I need now is a really good punchline to complete the wordplay, but it just isn't coming to me. Anyone?)

... the Jackson State University?

[aliantha]

There ya go, u.! Wait, how about:
...the Lee-Jackson Day Committee of Virginia.

Or:
...the James Joyce Trust.

[sgt.null]

trust Joyce???

[deer of the dawn]

Last Dark is a LONG ways away.

Not as long as you may think. If SRD keeps on schedule like he always does, he'll have the first draft done by Feb/Mar. (in which we can all exhale slowly) and then we got the rest of 2012 to await two revisions, then maybe, (there is no guarantee) we'll get that teaser chapter at the beginning of 2013! Hoo-ray!

How am I coping? I still haven't read 'The Man Who Fought Alone', so I still have one 'new to me' Donaldson book to tide me over. Meanwhile, a massive study of the Chronicles so far, Malazan, John Crowley, and if necessary Ulyssus by James Joyce, ought to be enough to keep me sane until the beginning of 2013. At which point the existence of the book will be too overwhelming.

Thanks for saying that, Orlion. I decided I'm not reading anything past Fatal Rev until they're all out. Because I read so many books and have such an intense life that between releases I honestly lose track and have to read the entire Chrons again from the beginning! And I decided I had other books to read so I'm probably going to just leave the whole thing alone till I have every book in my hot, little hands and then start from the 1st Chrons and keep going till I've read the whole thing. Maybe around January 2013 it would be safe to start. I didn't even by AATE because I don't want it sitting there calling my name.

[Vader]

Big Joyce fan here. Laughing can't do any harm while reading Joyce. Can't find the exact quote, but I remember Joyce saying about Flann O'Briens "At-Swim-Two-Birds" (one of my all time favorites)

"I hope the critics will notice here what escaped them in Ulysses - that it's a really funny book".

When I was studying English literature at university I was attended a seminar on Joyce's "A Portray of the Artist as a Young Man." We didn't get past the first page the whole semester, so much did we find worth analysing and dicussing. But that was in another millenium.

[I'm Murrin]

I've only read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce; it was quite a fascinating study in voice (with the narrative voice changing as his life experiences change him), but otherwise a little dry.

[aliantha]

I never really thought about it before, but I can see where parts of Ulysses would be pretty funny. I should read it again with that in mind.... (I am often slow on the uptake about humor in novels. I was an adult before I realized Jane Austen wrote satire. )

[ussusimiel]

I've only read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by Joyce; it was quite a fascinating study in voice (with the narrative voice changing as his life experiences change him), but otherwise a little dry.

I have read few writers that can handle the narrative voice as Joyce can. I think it is probably one of the most difficult feats to pull off in writing.

[Vader]

Flann O'Brien
James Joyce
Umberto Eco
William S Burrough
Richard Brautigan

[MsMary]

I never really thought about it before, but I can see where parts of Ulysses would be pretty funny. I should read it again with that in mind.... (I am often slow on the uptake about humor in novels. I was an adult before I realized Jane Austen wrote satire. )

There are funny parts in Ulysses.

I am also a big James Joyce fan. Nothing thrilled me so much as being in Dublin (and Sandycove, in the famous - or infamous - Martello Tower featured in the first chapter of Ulysses!) last month and recognizing place and street names from reading Joyce.

[sgt.null]

William S Burrough

[deer of the dawn]

*bump*