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Paul Bryant's Reviews > Dubliners
Dubliners
by
by
For anyone thinking of putting James Joyce on your 鈥渕ust read this year鈥� list for 2019 here are my suggestions.
BY
1. Dubliners
Brilliantly atmospheric scraps of Irish miserablism 鈥� must read to get where JJ is coming from.
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Strangely 鈥� tiresome and inessential. Bangs on about religion and more Irish miserablism and a bit too much like a portrait of the author as an insufferable young genius.
3. Ulysses
The essential book out of all of these. Difficult but also very funny and not impossible. FWIW my short bluffer鈥檚 guide to this truly astonishing book is here
/review/show...
and my long review of it (chapter by chapter) is here
/review/show...
and here
/story/show/...
(it鈥檚 very long)
4. Finnegans Wake
This is really not recommended. But this is 鈥� a 10 minute excerpt (鈥淎nna Livia Plurabelle鈥�) read by JJ himself
I had thought, this small part being so beautiful, that FW would be another masterpiece, but the rest of it isn鈥檛 one tenth as fascinating or linguistically lovely, and it will do your brain in. The only thing I鈥檝e been able to do with FW is parody it, rather lamely
/review/show...
which was unnervingly easy to do once you get into the swing of it. The reader who can gain enjoyment on any level from the great mapless madhouse that is FW has my undying respect.
ABOUT
1. The Most Dangerous Book : The Battle For James Joyce鈥檚 Ulysses By Kevin Birmingham
By far the best book on JJ and Ulysses I ever read 鈥� you almost don鈥檛 need a real biography after this. It鈥檚 a total page turner. It鈥檚 not an analysis, it鈥檚 the story of how it was written and how it was published 鈥� long, painful and thrilling.
2. James Joyce : Richard Ellman
But if you do want a big biography, this is the one.
3. My Brother鈥檚 Keeper : Stanislaus Joyce
Or you could stick to this memoir by JJ鈥檚 faithful brother. It will make you love JJ (and Stanny) a lot more than most books will.
4. The New Bloomsday Book : Harry Blamires
I liked this not-too-scholarly voyage round & through & about Ulysses better than any other analysis/interpretation
5. The Finnegans Wake Experience : Roland McHugh
I only read one book about FW. It was this. It鈥檚 hilarious. Mr McHugh is a total obsessive with a screw loose & dedicated his whole waking being to reading FW correctly and then explaining how to read FW correctly. Elastic bands are an important part of the process as I recall. I think it was self published so might be hard to track down.
6. James Joyce鈥檚 Odyssey : Frank Delaney
7. James Joyce鈥檚 Dublin : Edward Quinn
These two are luxury items - gorgeous photo books full of black & white pix of dear dirty Dublin as it was and I don鈥檛 think is anymore. Not essential but just a delight.
AVOID
1. Ulysses and Us : Declan Kiberd
2. Ulysses on the Liffey : Richard Ellman
These two do exactly the same thing 鈥� with their jawbreakin pontificatin somnambulatin ramblin they like to make you want to find the English Literature department in your nearest university and burn it down.
3. Ulysses Annotated : Don Gifford
Proving that the more you know the less you understand.
***
Cocklepickers. They waded a little way in the water and, stooping, soused their bags and, lifting them again, waded out. The dog yelped running to them, reared up and pawed them, dropping on all fours, again reared up at them with mute bearish fawning. Unheeded he kept by them as they came towards the drier sand, a rag of wolf鈥檚 tongue redpanting from his jaws. His speckled body ambled ahead of them and then loped off at a calf鈥檚 gallop. The carcass lay on his path. He stopped, sniffed, stalked round it, brother, nosing closer, went round it, sniffling rapidly like a dog all over the dead dog鈥檚 bedraggled fell. Dogskull, dogsniff, eyes on the ground, moves to one great goal. Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody鈥檚 body.
鈥擳atters! Out of that, you mongrel!
"How many roads must a man walk down...."
Sorry JJ, couldn't resist.
BY
1. Dubliners
Brilliantly atmospheric scraps of Irish miserablism 鈥� must read to get where JJ is coming from.
2. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Strangely 鈥� tiresome and inessential. Bangs on about religion and more Irish miserablism and a bit too much like a portrait of the author as an insufferable young genius.
3. Ulysses
The essential book out of all of these. Difficult but also very funny and not impossible. FWIW my short bluffer鈥檚 guide to this truly astonishing book is here
/review/show...
and my long review of it (chapter by chapter) is here
/review/show...
and here
/story/show/...
(it鈥檚 very long)
4. Finnegans Wake
This is really not recommended. But this is 鈥� a 10 minute excerpt (鈥淎nna Livia Plurabelle鈥�) read by JJ himself
I had thought, this small part being so beautiful, that FW would be another masterpiece, but the rest of it isn鈥檛 one tenth as fascinating or linguistically lovely, and it will do your brain in. The only thing I鈥檝e been able to do with FW is parody it, rather lamely
/review/show...
which was unnervingly easy to do once you get into the swing of it. The reader who can gain enjoyment on any level from the great mapless madhouse that is FW has my undying respect.
ABOUT
1. The Most Dangerous Book : The Battle For James Joyce鈥檚 Ulysses By Kevin Birmingham
By far the best book on JJ and Ulysses I ever read 鈥� you almost don鈥檛 need a real biography after this. It鈥檚 a total page turner. It鈥檚 not an analysis, it鈥檚 the story of how it was written and how it was published 鈥� long, painful and thrilling.
2. James Joyce : Richard Ellman
But if you do want a big biography, this is the one.
3. My Brother鈥檚 Keeper : Stanislaus Joyce
Or you could stick to this memoir by JJ鈥檚 faithful brother. It will make you love JJ (and Stanny) a lot more than most books will.
4. The New Bloomsday Book : Harry Blamires
I liked this not-too-scholarly voyage round & through & about Ulysses better than any other analysis/interpretation
5. The Finnegans Wake Experience : Roland McHugh
I only read one book about FW. It was this. It鈥檚 hilarious. Mr McHugh is a total obsessive with a screw loose & dedicated his whole waking being to reading FW correctly and then explaining how to read FW correctly. Elastic bands are an important part of the process as I recall. I think it was self published so might be hard to track down.
6. James Joyce鈥檚 Odyssey : Frank Delaney
7. James Joyce鈥檚 Dublin : Edward Quinn
These two are luxury items - gorgeous photo books full of black & white pix of dear dirty Dublin as it was and I don鈥檛 think is anymore. Not essential but just a delight.
AVOID
1. Ulysses and Us : Declan Kiberd
2. Ulysses on the Liffey : Richard Ellman
These two do exactly the same thing 鈥� with their jawbreakin pontificatin somnambulatin ramblin they like to make you want to find the English Literature department in your nearest university and burn it down.
3. Ulysses Annotated : Don Gifford
Proving that the more you know the less you understand.
***
Cocklepickers. They waded a little way in the water and, stooping, soused their bags and, lifting them again, waded out. The dog yelped running to them, reared up and pawed them, dropping on all fours, again reared up at them with mute bearish fawning. Unheeded he kept by them as they came towards the drier sand, a rag of wolf鈥檚 tongue redpanting from his jaws. His speckled body ambled ahead of them and then loped off at a calf鈥檚 gallop. The carcass lay on his path. He stopped, sniffed, stalked round it, brother, nosing closer, went round it, sniffling rapidly like a dog all over the dead dog鈥檚 bedraggled fell. Dogskull, dogsniff, eyes on the ground, moves to one great goal. Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody鈥檚 body.
鈥擳atters! Out of that, you mongrel!
"How many roads must a man walk down...."
Sorry JJ, couldn't resist.
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Reading Progress
Finished Reading
September 26, 2007
– Shelved
December 10, 2007
– Shelved as:
short-stories
December 20, 2007
– Shelved as:
joyce
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You'll be happy to know that I saw the Pogues three times at the height of the punk madness. I was slightly older than the unruly mob and I didn't go anywhere near the mosh pit!Even in 1985 Shane's teeth weren't fresh-faced. I never did hear the story of What Happened to The Teeth. Rum Sodomy is in my Top Twenty Albums of All Time.
Okay, it's official. Shane and Kirsty, the only carolers who seem to understand the true meaning of Christmas!If anyone needs me, check the Harp.
Paul, with this very witty and funny overview of Joyce and Joyceana you've just reminded me that although I would tell all and sundry that "I love Joyce", in fact I haven't read more than the odd paragraph of his work since what seems like the Pleistocene Age, and that if I did pick up his books again it would probably very much be like the first time. Which in a weird way is one nice thing about getting older: you get to read great books for the first time twice. God knows when I'll tackle Ulysses again; I have the slightly nagging feeling I should at least try to get past the first page of Infinite Jest first, ha ha...
Ulysses is great for many things, one of which is that you can read chapters by themselves, you don't have to commit to the whole thing; so I recommend the Gerty McDowell chapter, it's a hoot, and also, quite moving too. Also known as Nausicaa. So you could renew your friendship with the old master like that.You know that phrase so and so isn't fit to tie so and so's shoelaces... well I think DFW was just about fit to tie JJ's shoelaces. He did have himself a unique style. Uniquely irritating, that is. No, I infinitely jest - I wouldn't read IJ unless under contract but I have just bought the DFW Reader.
This is excellent, thank you! I was planning a new attempt at Ulysses in 2019, but I think I'll start with Dubliners. Also, I'd be interested to see your top 20 albums, is it anywhere on GR? (I found your top 50 short stories from a few years ago very useful and interesting)
albums as in popular music?
Your guides + The New Bloomsday Book helped me tackle Ulysses for the first time, this year. Thank you!
very glad they were useful...
Paul, I have to admit that what little I've managed to read of Wallace so far has reminded me of that fellow you meet at a drinking establishment who starts talking to you, and at first he seems rather clever, but then after a half hour you find yourself waiting for that pause in the flow that never comes so that you can blurt out, "Yeah, well, look, it's been nice meeting you, but look at the time, gotta run, see ya, Dave!"
that may well be what everyone secretly thinks
Well said. Disagree about 鈥淧ortrait,鈥� though. And 鈥淭he Dead鈥� and 鈥淚vy Day in The Chrysanthemum Room鈥� in 鈥淒ubliners鈥� may be as good, or better, than anything g else he wrote.
I鈥檝e said before and I鈥檒l say it again. Paul, your review and guide to Ulysses, is a major factor in my completion of Ulysses. One of the only books which truly changed my life and the book I regard as the greatest. I would also recommend those interested in Joyce and Ulysses to check out Anthony Burgess鈥� ReJoyce (also printed as Here Comes Everybody). If anybody understood Joyce it was Burgess in my opinion. In 200 pages he walks us through Joyce鈥檚 life as well as giving detailed explanations of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. It鈥檚 invaluable to any Joyce fan in my opinion.
"albums as in popular music?"Yes, this was in reference to your earlier comment mentioning The Pogues Rum Sodomy was in your top twenty albums of all time. Hadn't noticed that comment was from 2007!
WHY OH WHY OH WHY WHY WHY WHY?????
I think the best part of this is towards the end where the audience finally figures out how/is given a real opportunity to make a pit.
Sigh.... I was born too late for anything this good ever to happen to me, that much is clear.
Thanks a lot, Paul.... you bastard.
Well, you've inspired a renewed commitment to my unsuccessful search for the one and only Xmas song I like! Can't seem to find my Grace With God tape, so if I wind up around the corner at the Irish bar tonight, I'll have them send you my tab.