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I couldn't get past five pages in Clockwork Orange. That made-up language irritated me to no end, even with the "glossary" in the back of the book. I also never finished Les Miserables. I got about 600 pages into it, started something else, and it just fell to the wayside. I'm going to finish one day, though, because I did really like what I read of it. Yeah, I suggest you don't read Ulysses unless you have a book of footnotes to help you. I only got through it because 1) I was taking a Joyce class, and 2) I had Ulysses Annotated by Don Gifford. Trust me, the third chapter may be a bitch, but it gets better afterwards, especially if you have something to guide you when you read it.
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| # ¿ May 9, 2008 17:28 |
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| # ¿ May 23, 2013 06:43 |
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leefy greans posted:Totally. Which is why I'd suggest the Blamires book over _Ulysses Annotated_ for a first attempt. I took a Joyce class, too, and I found myself returning to _Ulysses Annotated_ less and less as I progressed the book. There are some helpful references and such, but overall I found that it was too much trees, not enough forest. Not even trees -- the bumps on each mushroom of each individual tree. Which, sure, is interesting once you've gotten your bearings, but my first time through I just wanted somebody to throw me a bone and tell me what was fricking happening. I thought Ulysses Annotated was really helpful and added a lot to my reading experience. It was the book of footnotes assigned by the professor whose course I took, so I don't know how helpful other books are, but I think I would have missed out on a lot as far as symbolism and national issues if I hadn't had that book. I also would have been really irritated if I didn't know what he was talking about when he was throwing out random, bizarre, or now-obscure allusions. I guess it just depends on what you're looking for when you're reading, though.
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| # ¿ May 11, 2008 06:46 |
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