#80 Days of Ulysses

There is a "movement" to read Ulysses over the summer (around Ulysses in 80 days). It began on June 1 and I got caught up today. I think I can do it this way!

here is the link in case you are interested: https://ulysses80.ie/

Personally, I am not quite ready to tackle Ulysses but I wish you success on your read!

Ooh, this does look fascinating! I'm not motivated to play catch-up at this point, but if they do it next year, I'm in!

Good luck with Ulysses, Tess. I struggled through it a few years ago with the aid of The Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires. I'm not nearly erudite enough to understand Joyce's historical and literary references (I understood the scientific ones), found the challenge of untangling the jumbled thoughts in a characters' minds quite a challenge, and loathed most of the characters. But I had to try, to see why it's such a classic.

>4 pamelad: I'm only about 30%-40% through it and am guided somewhat by other's comments. I have little or no knowledge of Greek myths, so I'm having to stop and look up the allusions, often. If I understand 50% of Joyce's ramblings (stream of consciousness) then I will be satisfied. And I agree, don't like any of the 3 characters I have met thus far. I am not going to drag this out for 80 days, so I will certainly look for guidance from the book you suggested or from Cliff Notes (do they make those anymore???!!!) Best quote so far: "Is history the fulfillment of the only possible course of events, or one of many?"

new vocab word: cocklepicker One who picks up shellfish at low tide.

ETA Just finished part III. OMG! The entire "chapter" is just Stephen's thoughts. That man certainly had ADD!

Having read The Odyssey aloud over the last several months with my OutLoud book group, I realise it’s Now or Never to reread Ulysses with Homer fresh (sort of) in my mind. Have now finished four chapters, with The Bloomsday Book to hand, also a “Lecture Transcript and Course Guidebook” by James A W Heffernan on Ulysses put out by The Teaching Company which I picked up from a Little Free Library or some such. Quite useful. Part of Joyce’s Ulysses package.

Have finished chapter 6. It has now dawned on me that Leopold Bloom is not Jewish, from a Jewish perspective; that is to say his mother was not Jewish nor was he raised in the Jewish faith. His father’s Jewish ethnicity could account for aspects of Leopold’s personality but his outsider’s take on Christianity, while perhaps necessary to Joyce’s artistic purpose, doesn’t really make sense. For fans of Law & Order, the Lennie Briscoe character is in this situation, as was the actor who portrayed him, Jerry Orbach. He used Yiddish expressions and had the mordant sense of humour one associates with Jewish comedians, but he knew his way around a church, as it were.