On Ulysses, on Bloomsday

Ulysses is the story of these men 

 

and their experiences on one day, 16 June 1904.

(images via Ulysses "seen")

Now, every year on June 16th, people in Dublin act out the odysseys of Stephen Dedalus and Leopold Bloom, bringing the novel to life. It's a tradition, one that is steeped in literary history. 

Always on the list of "Best Books" and clocking in at over 300,000 words, Ulysses remains one of the most daunting and brilliant novels of all time. While it is extremely difficult to get through, it's also extremely rewarding. I read it in a graduate seminar, and we spent almost eight weeks on it. And we still felt like we needed more time. But it's beautiful and brilliant and when you're reading it, you can tell you're reading something important. Even if you don't always understand what is going on.

Ulysses is, of course, an adaptation of The Odyssey, but it's also the story of Modern Man, Modern Dublin and Modernity. 

If you're interested in learning more about Ulysses, here are two lovely places to do it:

Ulysses "seen" - a graphic adaptation of the work. Only completed through "Telemachus" but it has the makings of greatness.

re:Joyce - Frank Delaney's recent project, podcasts dedicated to various episodes in Ulysses. This project just started, and will finish for Bloomsday next year.

Just to help, I'm also going to offer "Ulysses in 39 words"

          I: Buck concelebrates                    II: Stephen educates                    III: Stephen cogitates

       IV: Bloom evacuates                       V: Bloom exfoliates                    VI: Bloom commiserates

      VII: Crawford prevaricates           VIII: Bloom masticates                   IX: Stephen explicates

        X: Dublin perambulates                XI: Boylan adulterates                 XII: the citizen co-agitates

    XIII: Gerty titillates                        XIV: Mina parturiates                    XV: Bella emasculates

    XVI: a sailor exaggerates              XVII: Our heroes micturate        XVIII: Molly menstruates

This comes from a postcard that I picked up in Dublin at the James Joyce Centre.

Ulysses is something that everyone should read.

It is on those lists for a reason.

It changed literature. Completely.

It changed me, too.

Ireland: a novel (#24)

Ireland is a story about Ronan, a boy who hears a traveling storyteller for three consecutive nights, and is forever changed by the experience. Ronan’s relationship with the storyteller is mysterious, sometimes frustrating (because the reader really identifies with Ronan’s journey), moving and heartwarming. It is lyrical, for the storytelling is rich with moments that make you sit back and collect yourself, because you didn’t realize that there could be something so poignant written. It is epic, for it spans centuries and millennia without missing a beat. It is transporting, for it feels like you are really there, in a living room by the fire, sharing this moment with Ronan, who is lovable from the moment he is introduced.

Ireland is also a story about stories, the lost art of the traveling storyteller and the way that myths and history are weaved together to form a blanket that encompasses all sides of history. It hearkens to the days when families spoke to each other, sharing their collective histories to pass on to successive generations. 

And, to top it all off, it’s beautifully written.  Frank Delaney’s writing warms the heart like freshly baked bread (I’m sitting next to a loaf of it right now and it smells the way that I imagine it has smelled for centuries).  Rarely have I encountered a book that takes on the whole spectrum of emotions like this book; I wanted to start reading it again the second I finished it, making the stories into part of my own personal story. 

I know this review seems like a laundry list of things that I loved about the book.  Reading over the review, I see that. The only thing that I didn’t like about the book was that it ended; I’m comforted by the fact that I will be able to read it again and again, revisit the characters in both the Storyteller’s tales Ronan’s narrative.  This kind of book does not happen everyday.