Thoughts on reading (and re-reading) Ulysses by James Joyce

My first attempts to read Ulysses were a complete failure, which I guess is no surprise.

Some preparatory reading - and practice navigating the stream of consciousness style which runs through the writing - helped me get started. I reached the end of chapter 6 and took in a reasonable amount (at least I thought I had), but then stopped abruptly and decided to read "A portrait of the artist as a young man" first.

I decided to do this after reading an analysis of Ulysses by Clive Hart where he suggested no-one should attempt a study of Ulysses (although studying and reading are 2 different things) without having read the following 3 books.

1. The Odyssey by Homer
2. Dubliners
3. A portrait of the artist as a young man

Clive later states in relation to these books he would at least expect the reader to have a passing acquaintance with them.

It was said that Ulysses grew out of what was initially to be a short story within Dubliners, and that Joyce apparently got the idea for Ulysses after he was helped (or possibly helped someone else) after a drunken fight outside a pub.

I've read several synopses of what the story of Ulysses is about (one of the great things about it is you can read as much as you like - for example you could be told the entire plot in detail - and it won't affect your reading of it) here are 2 of my favorites:

1. It's about a day in Dublin.

2. It's about filling your mind with as many distracting thoughts as you can to prevent yourself from having to face the overwhelming despair that comes with the knowledge your wife is having an affair.

There are many reading guides which have been recommended and If I may add another it is "James Joyces Ulysses - A study by Stuart Gilbert". This was were I started. I am certain there are other great guides out there, I am just making the point that before having a guide my reading was an absolute mess.

Stuart's guide is I think one of the earliest (the study was first published in 1930 - and Ulysses was first published in 1922). The study benefits from Stuart having had the privilege of speaking personally with Joyce about his work.

Joyce was reportedly reserved (even cryptic) in his disclosures but would occasionally suggest leads for Gilbert to follow. Joyce also provided a schema to Gilbert which listed a breakdown of correspondences to help untangle the themes present in each chapter. The schema can be also found in the 'other resources' section of the Ulysses guide website.

https://www.ulyssesguide.com/schema

In Gilbert's study there are chapter by chapter entries which you can read to assist you on the way (Which are almost certainly in the other guides too). Having chapter guides is indispensable, without having a guide I have read several people completely giving up at chapter 3 (a common stumble) and never returning.

I read a statement about Ulysses (which may or may not have been Clive's) which was: "We don't read Ulysses, we re-read Ulysses".

So...I just wanted to write this post to implore people not to be discouraged if you have to continually re-read sections of Ulysses in order to decipher the meanings within. If you don't get it the first time, you'll be in good company. It is highly likely to take several attempts and rewards multiple readings.

Hopefully each time you will return to it with a new level of understanding and appreciation for what is arguably one of the greatest novels of all time; And I say this with absolute certainty. .. even though I haven't quite got around to finishing it.. yet.