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It's a hit!

From a literary standpoint, the book is brilliant. Joyce captures the world through the mind of a young child so perfectly, you relate totally to l... (show more)

From a literary standpoint, the book is brilliant. Joyce captures the world through the mind of a young child so perfectly, you relate totally to little Stephen. Then, as he grows up, the language of the narrator grows up with him. Somewhere around the last third of the book, that kind of lost me, because Stephen is becoming a poet, and the language becomes so ultra-flowery.

Also, I felt that Stephen was growing up to be a bit of a twerp and very self-consumed with himself and his "art". Since the book is semi-autobiographical, I suppose if anyone has a right to be artistically arrogant, it's James Joyce, but nevertheless, I don't think I'd want to have coffee with the man.

The best thing about the book is its ability to immerse you in early 20th century Ireland. I feel that this is almost a travel book. I have a real understanding of what it might have been like to grow up in that world. I think I'll save "Dubliners" for the plane ride should I ever have the chance to travel to Ireland. (show less)

 

 

by Holley Higgins

No, it's a flop!

I found it outrageously dull. Sure, it's great from a literary point of view, you could write some awesome essays on the change from child to adult... (show more)

I found it outrageously dull. Sure, it's great from a literary point of view, you could write some awesome essays on the change from child to adult, conformist to artist, and so on, but it doesn't make it a good book.

I can't really complain, it does say it's just a 'portrait' on the front, but the lack of any real characterization and cohesive plot is a little disappointing. It just seemed a big, vague blur...which may have been appropriate when depicting the confusion of childhood, but it was hard to stand for the whole book.

The scene of his artistic realization is beautiful (as he sees the beautiful girl standing in the water with her dress hitched up) ... you can't really deny the beautiful language ... but then what happens? There's no flowering into pure poetry, just a disintegration into stinted diary entries.

So maybe i missed the point. But it was boring. (show less)

 

 

by Facebook-användare

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  An absolutely magical illustration of metamorphosis; every sentence, every line, every single symbol in this text relates to the inner transformation from Icarus to Daedalus, set in an abstract psychological process amidst the bustling reality of Ireland, and the composition is so magical the book itself is at times utterly unreadable; one feels one's way through it, not relating the stuff of text to the characters therein, but rather the stuff of character to the reader himself - one is forc... (show more)

  An absolutely magical illustration of metamorphosis; every sentence, every line, every single symbol in this text relates to the inner transformation from Icarus to Daedalus, set in an abstract psychological process amidst the bustling reality of Ireland, and the composition is so magical the book itself is at times utterly unreadable; one feels one's way through it, not relating the stuff of text to the characters therein, but rather the stuff of character to the reader himself - one is forced to become Stephen Dedalus (which is certainly the case in the last pages of first-person narrative) for the duration of the book. At first, it struck me as far too esoteric for a non-Irishman to understand, but that is merely hair off the brush of this fine portrait; the impression of the portrait as a whole, the only impression of real importance, is a long-lasting one (show less)

   

   

  by Anonymous User on Jul 21, 2008 at 03:09AM

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  I have not studied Joyce, or read any analysis of this work. I wanted to hit it fresh and judge it on its own merit. So, as usual, here's the regular guy's take on the book. First off, it deserves its status as a great literary classic. Joyce is obviously well (classically) educated and works Latin quotations (rarely translated) and literary and historical references every few pages. Arts students may enjoy that. His language is often just perfect -- so effective and efficient that it i... (show more)

  I have not studied Joyce, or read any analysis of this work. I wanted to hit it fresh and judge it on its own merit. So, as usual, here's the regular guy's take on the book. First off, it deserves its status as a great literary classic. Joyce is obviously well (classically) educated and works Latin quotations (rarely translated) and literary and historical references every few pages. Arts students may enjoy that. His language is often just perfect -- so effective and efficient that it is essentially poetry. Its worth reading just for the OMG moments of awe at the man's command of language. And there are parts that are just fun to read, like the lengthy fire and brimstone review of Hell, what its like, what its for, and how it got there, that takes up the middle of the book. A lot of the philosophy is somewhat (necessarily) forced into unlikely dialogs between school kids, but it is thoughtful and only slightly jaded. Daedalus, I fear is a dork, moreso than most of us, but his dorkiness is a reassuring mirror for us to look in and, through him, Joyce helps us remember the exotic intenseness of emotion that everything had when we were adolescents. On the down side, folks, plotwise, there just ain't none. This is no page turner. It is not ice cold Bud Light - it is a bottle of fine cognac that must be carefully rolled in the glass, wafted and then sipped. And it is still just dry as all get out. I would not let anyone read this book until their love of reading, of language, was a bit more developed. It is much like you would imagine -- a hard book. I am glad I read it; I feel smarter. :-) (show less)

   

   

  by Facebook-användare on Aug 06, 2009 at 11:44PM

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