Here I am another who really tried several times to read Ulysses and failed. Then a friend gave me the audio book. I was thrilled, could not stop listening. These characters came alive and I loved them. My imagination had not ever failed me in this way when reading. Listening to the words unlocked the text and spoke of its indebtedness to oral tradition. I have since reread the novel. When I do, I hear the words spoken. Pure magic.
Thanks for this tip. I have been intimidated to even try reading Ulysses, but I have wanted to, and I love audiobooks. I will order the audiobook and am excited to start listening. (Elif's novels are also excellent as audiobooks!)
That was an interesting one for me to find the answer to😉
But I managed to find my near antique mp3 player, get it charged and it still works!
It is the version narrated by Jim Norton - with an enchanting Irish lilt. There were 4 cds in the set my friend lent to me.
Thank you for initiating this. I will leave the thing to fully charge now and listen to it again after all these years. It always helped to pass the 12 hours on school trips by coach to Germany as well as obliterate some of the noise.
Hi Roswitha, I'm looking on my Libro.fm site to buy an audiobook of Ulysses, and I have about 8 different choices. Do you remember the narrator of the version you listened to? Thanks!
I haven't read Ulysses but I'm fascinated by this idea you touch upon of life experience deepening perspective, revisiting books at later points in your life and experiencing them in a completely new light. How beautiful... I think the universe has a way of leading us to books we need to read and pulling us back to some that we must revisit. Thankyou for sharing this with us.💚
Sad to say that in the final count, if my soul were weighed it would be found to be inadequate as a reader's soul. I could not get through Ulysses. I'm too old to try again - there's too much else for my inadequate soul to devour. I'm happy you love James Joyce. You are a worthy champion.
Oh, such an amazing idea to weigh in a reader s soul. Imagine how much would be on a violinist or another member of an orchestra or band, how many notes to read.. :) the weight would be a thing for some to cheat death maybe, if only to read it by the massively worded stories, they'd probably think gravity would keep them down more, maybe, innit? :) Again, it would be nice for everyone to have a soul tagging system to look forward. Our souls weigh all the same. Roots for a big story tree. We are all equally equipped with the grams. Some plug it to the heart, some to the mind, some to manipulate others, all sorts of souls. It can even be a haiku. 3 clever lines. A reader s soul. Such an excellent opportunity to explain ourselves and make a story every time we read something. It's a good idea for introspection. We are all the same and still uniquely developing. What would be the weight, after adding or extraction of the tears or smiles, in grams, after reading something that touched your soul? Such a beautiful idea of soul maths. Warm hugs annemarie. Thank you for seeing death with a lovely gentle idea of preparation. Leaving room for being greatful for another day, another reading opportunity. Another spark to send up the roots to the tree of unity and universal access of intuition and stories. :)
Hi Elif, honestly you are such a treasure and inspiration for me and for many others - I think we can also add Scotland, has it too, for its famous loved, Robert Burns, - National Celebrations, party and poems readings. https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night
Irish and Scots are connected through history of course, so many similarities. So also remembered Bruce reenactment Scottish event, celebrating the King Robert the Bruce in Dunfermline :)..and many other history's moments :) https://www.reenactment.scot/events/bruce-festival/
I am glad you were welcomed well to my homeland, and literary lineage. I could not make it to the Dalkey festival, but I heard great things, and I am so glad that they got to savour you too. Come again, please :)
Yes, Joyce's titling a mundane day's story after an archetypal hero is a great reminder we are ALL on a hero's journey. A friend of mine wrote a marvelous novel about a young introverted woman's heroic transformation of self through the everyday experiences of living. You and your readers might enjoy the book, which I reviewed here:
What an amazing essay, Elif! Oddly, I just posted a piece about how Portrait of the Artist and Ulysses saved me the summer after tenth grade. I'd overdosed on alcohol and drugs and was shunned by everyone as "bad." I lay on the hammock at my parents' cottage and read Portrait, which I'd read every year since seventh grade, and then Ulysses. Then I read Ulysses again. There was no AA or support for a sixteen-year old troubled teenager at the time. But there was James Joyce speaking directly to me. Half my heritage is Irish, but I always thought that side "crazy," as in Crazy Grandma Gilligan, and clung to the staid Danish half instead. Amazing to read your analysis of Joyce, my obsession for years until I switched to Virginia Woolf. I love your writing.
I have never had the courage to read Ulysses, but one of my favourite books of all times is Dubliners. I feel so connected to Evelyne's story on such a deep level that it makes me cry to this day.
Thank you Elif. This Irishman only liked Dubliners. I'll have to take another look at Ulysses. Unfortunately at a thousand pages it will be a rather long look : )
Such an epic bookstore - and she evaded the Nazi's desire to steal her beloved collection. And she eventually sold to George Whitman! "We must send a salute to Shakespeare and Co in Paris. It was Sylvia Beach’s independent press that in the end published one of the most consequential novels of the 20th century."
The Irish nation is not an aggressive or bellicose nation, like the English - or rather, the English ruling class (descendants of William the Conqueror and his French-speaking Normans)and not the defeated people. People who hold their poets and writers dear to their hearts are the best, in my opinion.
As for the reason Virginia and Leonard Woolf and their Hogarth Press reflected it. They were not printers, so they had to look for a trained printer to set up the metal plates, letter by letter. They could not find one. It was a very long novel. Also, as history has shown, Ulysses was considered obscen,e so the fear of prosecution, even prison, was not worth the risk.
I attempted to read Ulysses when I was far too young, with predictable results. You're inspiring me to try again. And Bloomsday in Ireland! Who knew? If every nation had a similar festival for one of its treasured authors' works, the world might be a much happier place.
Here I am another who really tried several times to read Ulysses and failed. Then a friend gave me the audio book. I was thrilled, could not stop listening. These characters came alive and I loved them. My imagination had not ever failed me in this way when reading. Listening to the words unlocked the text and spoke of its indebtedness to oral tradition. I have since reread the novel. When I do, I hear the words spoken. Pure magic.
Happy Bloomsday🍀
Thanks for this tip. I have been intimidated to even try reading Ulysses, but I have wanted to, and I love audiobooks. I will order the audiobook and am excited to start listening. (Elif's novels are also excellent as audiobooks!)
Hoping it works as well for you!
What better time to plan this than for Bloomsday🍀🍀🍀
Hi Margo,
That was an interesting one for me to find the answer to😉
But I managed to find my near antique mp3 player, get it charged and it still works!
It is the version narrated by Jim Norton - with an enchanting Irish lilt. There were 4 cds in the set my friend lent to me.
Thank you for initiating this. I will leave the thing to fully charge now and listen to it again after all these years. It always helped to pass the 12 hours on school trips by coach to Germany as well as obliterate some of the noise.
I hope you like it too!
R x
Hi Roswitha, I'm looking on my Libro.fm site to buy an audiobook of Ulysses, and I have about 8 different choices. Do you remember the narrator of the version you listened to? Thanks!
Loved every bit of this. Thank you for chasing away some of the world's gloom today xo
I haven't read Ulysses but I'm fascinated by this idea you touch upon of life experience deepening perspective, revisiting books at later points in your life and experiencing them in a completely new light. How beautiful... I think the universe has a way of leading us to books we need to read and pulling us back to some that we must revisit. Thankyou for sharing this with us.💚
‘Love loves to love love’ - what a beautiful mantra to start a week.
Sad to say that in the final count, if my soul were weighed it would be found to be inadequate as a reader's soul. I could not get through Ulysses. I'm too old to try again - there's too much else for my inadequate soul to devour. I'm happy you love James Joyce. You are a worthy champion.
Oh, such an amazing idea to weigh in a reader s soul. Imagine how much would be on a violinist or another member of an orchestra or band, how many notes to read.. :) the weight would be a thing for some to cheat death maybe, if only to read it by the massively worded stories, they'd probably think gravity would keep them down more, maybe, innit? :) Again, it would be nice for everyone to have a soul tagging system to look forward. Our souls weigh all the same. Roots for a big story tree. We are all equally equipped with the grams. Some plug it to the heart, some to the mind, some to manipulate others, all sorts of souls. It can even be a haiku. 3 clever lines. A reader s soul. Such an excellent opportunity to explain ourselves and make a story every time we read something. It's a good idea for introspection. We are all the same and still uniquely developing. What would be the weight, after adding or extraction of the tears or smiles, in grams, after reading something that touched your soul? Such a beautiful idea of soul maths. Warm hugs annemarie. Thank you for seeing death with a lovely gentle idea of preparation. Leaving room for being greatful for another day, another reading opportunity. Another spark to send up the roots to the tree of unity and universal access of intuition and stories. :)
Hi Elif, honestly you are such a treasure and inspiration for me and for many others - I think we can also add Scotland, has it too, for its famous loved, Robert Burns, - National Celebrations, party and poems readings. https://www.scotland.org/events/burns-night
Irish and Scots are connected through history of course, so many similarities. So also remembered Bruce reenactment Scottish event, celebrating the King Robert the Bruce in Dunfermline :)..and many other history's moments :) https://www.reenactment.scot/events/bruce-festival/
I am glad you were welcomed well to my homeland, and literary lineage. I could not make it to the Dalkey festival, but I heard great things, and I am so glad that they got to savour you too. Come again, please :)
Yes, Joyce's titling a mundane day's story after an archetypal hero is a great reminder we are ALL on a hero's journey. A friend of mine wrote a marvelous novel about a young introverted woman's heroic transformation of self through the everyday experiences of living. You and your readers might enjoy the book, which I reviewed here:
https://bairdbrightman.substack.com/p/your-heros-journey
What an amazing essay, Elif! Oddly, I just posted a piece about how Portrait of the Artist and Ulysses saved me the summer after tenth grade. I'd overdosed on alcohol and drugs and was shunned by everyone as "bad." I lay on the hammock at my parents' cottage and read Portrait, which I'd read every year since seventh grade, and then Ulysses. Then I read Ulysses again. There was no AA or support for a sixteen-year old troubled teenager at the time. But there was James Joyce speaking directly to me. Half my heritage is Irish, but I always thought that side "crazy," as in Crazy Grandma Gilligan, and clung to the staid Danish half instead. Amazing to read your analysis of Joyce, my obsession for years until I switched to Virginia Woolf. I love your writing.
I have never had the courage to read Ulysses, but one of my favourite books of all times is Dubliners. I feel so connected to Evelyne's story on such a deep level that it makes me cry to this day.
A toast to Bloomsday and a culture that celebrates genius.
Thank you Elif. This Irishman only liked Dubliners. I'll have to take another look at Ulysses. Unfortunately at a thousand pages it will be a rather long look : )
Such an epic bookstore - and she evaded the Nazi's desire to steal her beloved collection. And she eventually sold to George Whitman! "We must send a salute to Shakespeare and Co in Paris. It was Sylvia Beach’s independent press that in the end published one of the most consequential novels of the 20th century."
The Irish nation is not an aggressive or bellicose nation, like the English - or rather, the English ruling class (descendants of William the Conqueror and his French-speaking Normans)and not the defeated people. People who hold their poets and writers dear to their hearts are the best, in my opinion.
As for the reason Virginia and Leonard Woolf and their Hogarth Press reflected it. They were not printers, so they had to look for a trained printer to set up the metal plates, letter by letter. They could not find one. It was a very long novel. Also, as history has shown, Ulysses was considered obscen,e so the fear of prosecution, even prison, was not worth the risk.
Nice piece! I created a personalized instrumental song to supplement reading your post with, and I hope you and your readers love it – https://drive.google.com/file/d/18pUBXN_bt8dthJua1J4Qn3MaASfgv3s5/view?usp=sharing
Take it as a gift, as I’m working on making multi-sensory poetry :)
I attempted to read Ulysses when I was far too young, with predictable results. You're inspiring me to try again. And Bloomsday in Ireland! Who knew? If every nation had a similar festival for one of its treasured authors' works, the world might be a much happier place.