Dubliners

[KEV67]

Started reading this. It is a much easier read than Ulysses.  The book is reminds me most of, so far, in style, is Cider with Rosie.

[lunababymoonchild]

I was advised - many years ago - to read this before Ulysses

[KEV67]

The book jumps about in time a little bit. One story is set about 1895. Another is set possibly up to three decades later. The outcome of one or two of the stories is a little bit predictable. Not as good as Cider with Rosie so far.

[KEV67]

On 7/28/2024 at 9:06 PM, lunababymoonchild said:

I was advised - many years ago - to read this before Ulysses

I dunno. Dubliners is a much easier read. Apart from giving you a feel for Dublin in the early 20th Century, I could not say it really helps with Ulysses very much. To understand Ulysses you need to read another book that explains what it all means.

[lunababymoonchild]

6 minutes ago, KEV67 said:

I dunno. Dubliners is a much easier read. Apart from giving you a feel for Dublin in the early 20th Century, I could not say it really helps with Ulysses very much. To understand Ulysses you need to read another book that explains what it all means.

I think that was meant. Read something easier by Joyce to get a feel for his writing before embarking on Ulysses. I will bear your comment in mind

[lunababymoonchild]

I found this website which may prove useful Ulysses Guide. This has also been put into a book, revised and updated (the guide, that is).

[KEV67]

So far I would say the best bits of Ulysses were better than Dubliners. It is just that there are a lot of boring bits and incomprehensible bits in Ulysses. I still think Cider With Rosie pisses over Dubliners. 

[KEV67]

Nearly finished. The last few stories were the best I think. Maybe the story about the feckless drunk was the best. I thought the story about the young man who fell in with the rally drivers was the weakest. A couple of the stories seem to stop part the way through. 

In the last chapter there was mention of the term 'West Briton' for an Irishman who did not want independence. The only other book I came across this term was in Roddy Doyle's A Star Named Henry. The woman who said this suggested the chap she called a West Briton to go on holiday with them to the Aran Islands. This is a place where all the inhabitants speak Irish. That amused me slightly. I once cycled from Mizzen Head in the south of Ireland to Malin Head in the north. I thought I was being clever one day by cutting off a corner by getting a ferry to the Aran Islands in the morning and another ferry back to the mainland, and ended up stranded there for most the day. There did not seem to be a great deal to do there. You could cycle half a mile in one direction and half a mile in the other. I should have cycled through Galway instead.