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Original poster

Have you read Ulysses?

205 replies

ValentineGreen · 29/05/2023 17:46

Or War & Peace?
I read Ulysses a few years ago but since then I've read a lot about it & now feel like I would like to reread it..

Just wondering if many others have read it?

OP posts:
Original poster
ValentineGreen · 29/05/2023 17:47

Meant to say I haven't read war & peace- again wondering if I might...

OP posts:
SquatBetty · 29/05/2023 17:47

I tried! 😂 Ended up watching the film 'Bloom' that was based on it and I'm still none the wiser!

Never read War and Peace

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 29/05/2023 17:49

Life's too short. Ditto Moby Dick.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Books
JayAlfredPrufrock · 29/05/2023 17:49

Nope.

Studied Portrait of an Artist

Reluctantadult · 29/05/2023 17:49

No, I tried Ulysses and quickly gave up on it, couldn't deal. Never tried War and peace. I liked Crime and punishment.

IScreamMonday · 29/05/2023 17:49

Yes, I read Ulysses twice back to back. Should do the same with War and Peace as I might remember who everyone is second time round 😂

HuntingoftheSnark · 29/05/2023 17:51

Yes to Ulysses, no to War and Peace.

WallaceinAnderland · 29/05/2023 17:52

I read War and Peace during a summer break in France. Once I got used to the who's who of Russian names, I loved it.

I know you didn't ask about this one but I read Gone with the Wind on a summer break in Spain and enjoyed that one too.

I do love an epic story on a summer holiday.

GeraltsBathtub · 29/05/2023 17:52

I’ve not read Ulysses (never really got into Joyce) but I have read War & Peace and really enjoyed it. The BBC adaptation from a few years ago was quite good and would make a good introduction to the overall plot and characters if you’re a bit daunted by it.

EliosBackPack · 29/05/2023 17:54

Have a Eng.Lit. Degree and have tried several times, gave up in the end and won’t try again. Used Wikipedia for quick synopsis, life is too short.

ticketstickets · 29/05/2023 17:58

Read Dubliners, (for a uni course, not for fun) not Ulysses, except for a few lines. Live quite close to where Joyce was born and always enjoy Bloomsday though and I feel like I have read it since it is talked about so much.

EggInANest · 29/05/2023 17:58

Yes, both.

I read Ulysses when I was at school, Yr11, boosting my reputation as an ‘intellectual’ (we were all v pretentious) but I did find it fascinating.

Read W&P in my v early 20s, and really enjoyed it.

wasting hours on the internet has undermined my sticking power for ‘big literature’.

Bideshi · 29/05/2023 17:58

I have. I love Poldy Bloom.
I've read W&P too but I don't love it. Natasha' s a brat and all that freemasonry stuff......

Original poster
ValentineGreen · 29/05/2023 17:58

I enjoyed parts of ulysses when I read it but I've been doing such a lot of reading about joyce & the writing of it that I think it would open up whole new layers of understanding to read it again now.

I'm going to make it my summer project!

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RoseAdage · 29/05/2023 17:59

Yes, I love it.

For any Ulysses newbies I’d recommend the audio version read by Jim Norton (aka Bishop Brennan). A really superb reading which helps you find your way through the text- especially useful if you’re not Irish as the cadences of the language become clearer in Jim’s beautiful voice.

EineReiseDurchDieZeit · 29/05/2023 18:00

I've read Ulysses but not War and Peace - wasn't a fan of it if I am honest

Original poster
ValentineGreen · 29/05/2023 18:00

Interesting @EggInANest I, too, fear the Internet may have destroyed my ability to read like i used to....its worrying

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Original poster
ValentineGreen · 29/05/2023 18:01

For those who love it - why?
I know that's a huge question but maybe you might be able to explain?

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Piggywaspushed · 29/05/2023 18:05

I have not read the whole of Ulysses. To my eternal shame, the copy I own was read cover to cover by a German speaking student I knew at uni and had her copious annotations in it.

I have read War and Peace.

MrsDanversGlidesAgain · 29/05/2023 18:07

EliosBackPack · 29/05/2023 17:54

Have a Eng.Lit. Degree and have tried several times, gave up in the end and won’t try again. Used Wikipedia for quick synopsis, life is too short.

Have Eng Lit degree also and you can add Daniel Deronda to the 'life's too short' list.

Curioushorse · 29/05/2023 18:08

Yes. Have read both.

I actually think War and Peace is much easier than an Austen- but just has the reputation of being difficult. It's not much longer than Middlemarch. I found it a pretty straightforward read once I got into it, and there are some really memorable and brilliant passages.

Ulysses, on the other hand, was a nightmare. I've 'read' it twice. That's in quotes because although I've technically gone through each word I wouldn't say I got it.

Merrow · 29/05/2023 18:09

I read war and peace and liked it, but preferred Anna Karenina. Didn't get on with Ulysses.

Tarahumara · 29/05/2023 18:10

Yes, both in my 40s (having given up on Ulysses 20 years earlier). I enjoyed War and Peace most of the time, Ulysses was more of a struggle. I did feel a sense of achievement at the end!

Ylvamoon · 29/05/2023 18:10

Nor read Ulysses, something always stops me (I own a lovely antiquarian copy).

I red War and Peace- twice! Once in my early twenties and again during lockdown. I must say, it was better 2nd time round! I guess you need time and head space to fully appreciate the writing/ story.

NetballHoop · 29/05/2023 18:11

Ulysses was a step too far for me and I gave up but I enjoyed War and Peace.