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The test of time. Sort of.

I first read this book in 1983 when I was in art college. I did a painting using a line from the book, “We were always loyal to lost causes.�� It was inspirational. I was blown away by the book, but as I was in my twenties, had not read many other books, other than sci-fi (Foundation, Dune) and fantasy books (Mary Stewart’s The Sword in the Stone trilogy, Lord of the Rings). This was a complete departure for me.

Did I understand the book? Hmmm, that is a very good question. You see, apart from some high school French, I didn’t understood any the languages he used, French, German, Spanish and Italian not to mention Celtic. Plus I am very sure that all the historical references went over my head. I wouldn’t even read The Odyssey for another ten years, so would have missed that all important source of inspiration. So maybe I just liked the fact that I read what was considered a modern masterpiece.

The book tells the story of 16 June 1904. Bloomsday. A day in the life of Leopold Bloom. A 56 year old Jewish man of Hungarian roots born in Ireland. His father’s real name was Verag. Bloom is married to Molly, a Spanish woman from Gibraltar and they have one daughter, Millie.

He spends a good portion of the day with Stephen Dedalus, a writer 16 years his junior. Dedalus is the artist; Bloom is the scientist. Together, their Yin and Yang counterbalance their antics. And there is a lot of antics.

Published the same year as the first volume of Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, Ulysses would be the inverse of that book. This book is considered a classic of modernism. It is bold, funny, witty, intellectually challenging, surreal, poetic, baffling, and at times, just plain weird. Not to mention, there is a serious sexual honesty not seen before.

So forty years later I reread the book, knowing much more than I did. And in very Joycean manner, I started on 2 Feb 2022, exactly on the 100th anniversary. How did I fare?

At first perplexed. Then puzzled. Often what the hell is going on here? Book one started off well, book two degenerates into the most surreal literature ever, but book three, divided into the return home, a question and answer portion which basically fills my missing pieces, and the final soliloquy. The answers to my prayers.

It is a modern take on The Odyssey. Bloom (Odysseus) and Dedalus (Telemachus) wander through Dublin. Symbolically scenes from The Odyssey pop up like the trial scene (the suitors), tempting women like Nausicaa (Gerty, which is set on a beach), Scylla and Charybdis (the brothel women), and of course the wives, Molly and Penelope.

Joyce even pokes fun at Homer. Bloom is referred to “Everyman or No man�� which is a reference to the scene with one-eyed Polyphemus, who called out, who is there and Odysseus responds “Outis.�� No one. Joyce the trickster. Joyce, the Homeric weaver of tales.

Unlike the Odyssey, everything takes place on land. However, our dynamic duo encounter a sailor, who spins some yarns (Kalypso?). Then Bloom points out that the tales could be all lies. Hmm, perhaps all is a lie? Homer would have liked this.

There are many memorable scenes and passages. However, the true masterpiece is Molly’s soliloquy at the end of the book. And to be honest, it never disappoints. It truly shows the brilliance of Joyce.

Like Homer, the real hero is the woman. Faithful and smart Penelope/Molly out does crafty Odysseus/Bloom. Yes the faults of men are many and we must praise the woman who stands for her husband (and cleans up the mess, deals with their overblown tantrums and puts up with their egos). She has her faults but this dramatic shift from 660 pages of the rambling of Bloom and Dedalus to 40 pages of the honesty of Molly changed everything. My confusion at first is completely abandoned. The world shifted. We are home. Safe and sound.

Alas, my book of forty years literally fell apart as I read it. I won’t be reading it again. It didn’t stand the test of time. Cheap paperbacks! BTW the image shown above is that very book I read, printed 1982. Joyce liked facts.


I originally gave it a five star rating but I am thinking 4 or maybe 4.5 might be better for me. The ending is a 6.





My original review: Pure art. Pure enjoyment.