I've grown to rather like James Joyce. I liked A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners as well proved very enjoyable. I guess that means I will have to give the Ulysseus I have standing in Berlin another shot at some point. We'll see. Time will surely take care of that.
Dubliners is made up of fifteen stories taking a closer look at variety of characters living in the Irish capital. The protagonists populating these stories, this town, are nothing special. They are pious and crooks. Young and old, satisfied with having left Dublin unhappy at having stayed; married, faithful and abstinent. They are neither heroic nor afraid. They are you and me, some more reflective some less. Joyce paints all of them in extremely humane colors, makes them accessible to the reader and allows him to easily relate to them. There is grand scheme hidden behind their description and I am not even sure one knows much more about Dublin after having read these stories apart from some mention of Irish nationalism these stories could take place anywhere and anytime. Joyce is great in giving character studies without divulging every little piece of information to the reader. If only Ulysseus weren't so hard and difficult to follow, I would hold him in even higher esteem.
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sunday, May 31, 2009
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
"It is a curious thing, do you know, [...] how your mind is supersaturated with the religion in which you say you disbelieve."
James Joyce, one of the biggest literary legends. Author of a book that I started reading twice and yet never finished (I'll let you guess the title of that one). Exiled himself from Ireland for virtually all of his adult life, yet never seemingly wrote anything not taking place on the Emerald Isle. Growing up in a highly religious setting of Catholic boarding schools he turns into a non-believer, yet remains obsessed with religious topics all his life.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a reflection of Joyce's literary alter ego's, Stephen Dedalus, youth and upbringing. His family life is dominated by a father driven to alcohol, critical of the Church and its lack of support for Irish nationalism while his aunt and mother are devout catholics. Dedalus himself is taught by Jesuits with the hope that he has developed a vocation to enter the order. The protagonist is a young man grappling with his life, his studies, women, his relation to his faith and to the church.
I had two kind of difficulties with the book. Firstly, my knowledge of Irish nationalist politics is, well, limited. I simply did not understand some of Joyce's references, nor did I care to involve myself into this topic more deeply. Secondly, Dedalus' dominating preoccupation in the latter half of the novel is clearly his faith (or lack thereof, or his sinning in any case). I found it difficult to immerse myself into page-long treatises on the eternal consequences of sin. Theological discussion is simply not something to get me riled up.
Yet, please don't get me wrong. This is a great book and Joyce a wonderful author whose sentences evoke a Faulknerian beauty. Highly recommendable.
James Joyce, one of the biggest literary legends. Author of a book that I started reading twice and yet never finished (I'll let you guess the title of that one). Exiled himself from Ireland for virtually all of his adult life, yet never seemingly wrote anything not taking place on the Emerald Isle. Growing up in a highly religious setting of Catholic boarding schools he turns into a non-believer, yet remains obsessed with religious topics all his life.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a reflection of Joyce's literary alter ego's, Stephen Dedalus, youth and upbringing. His family life is dominated by a father driven to alcohol, critical of the Church and its lack of support for Irish nationalism while his aunt and mother are devout catholics. Dedalus himself is taught by Jesuits with the hope that he has developed a vocation to enter the order. The protagonist is a young man grappling with his life, his studies, women, his relation to his faith and to the church.
I had two kind of difficulties with the book. Firstly, my knowledge of Irish nationalist politics is, well, limited. I simply did not understand some of Joyce's references, nor did I care to involve myself into this topic more deeply. Secondly, Dedalus' dominating preoccupation in the latter half of the novel is clearly his faith (or lack thereof, or his sinning in any case). I found it difficult to immerse myself into page-long treatises on the eternal consequences of sin. Theological discussion is simply not something to get me riled up.
Yet, please don't get me wrong. This is a great book and Joyce a wonderful author whose sentences evoke a Faulknerian beauty. Highly recommendable.
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