Customer Reviews

James Joyce's Ulysses: A Study

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

James Joyce has more books written about him and his works than possibly anyone else in the english language - barring Shakespeare. There are countless guides through the labyrinth that is Ulysses, and all do their job well, some better than others. This one, by Stuart Gilbert, was the first and is still the best. Originally written in the thirties, it remains the definitive guide to Joyce's masterpiece of modernism. Gilbert was a close friend of Joyce's, and it was written under the scrutiny and supervision of Joyce himself, making this the closest thing to a guide written by the author himself (which would probably be unintelligible in itself!). This small, helpful book guided me through one of the most difficult but most rewarding reading experiences of my life - and saw me through safely to the other side, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is taking the plunge for the first time.

Gilbert provides insight into Ulysses which it is extremely doubt the reader can get alone. He provides the overall plan of the work, the diagram of each sentence and how it coordinates with all the categories which Joyce combined in constructing his encyclopediac work. Stuart was at one point close to Joyce and has much of his information from the master himself. I do not know if there is a better guide, but this as the first is a very good one. It helped me understand at least the outline of the work and its basic structure.

Gilbert has written a classic analysis of Ulysses . This book provides both the initiate and the fanatic with a broad basis for comprehension of Joyce. It include historical documentation of the settlement of Ireland, connections of Troy and Ireland, an interesting view of Viking/ Greek parallels, aspects of occult knowledge. Failure to read this and you will not get 1/3 of the intricacy of Joyces works.

Joseph Campbell, an early Joycean scholar (see his A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake: Unlocking James Joyce's Masterwork) considered this the best reference for James Joyce's Ulysses: A Facsimile of the First Edition Published in Paris in 1922. My study of other exegetical references for Ulysses have confirmed Campbell's view. Author Stuart Gilbert was a close friend of Joyce, and in this book he unravels the numerous symbolic layers of Ulysses. A definite must-have reference for reading Ulysses. Hugh Kenner also is a helpful Joycean resource.

The Introduction is masterful. Of books on "Ulysses"--and there are many, let's face it--this one stays close to my heart. A great one to begin your trek through the Dublin of 16 June 1904.

I am reading Ulysses for the first time, and, yes, this book helps tremendously in understanding Ulysses. I'd be lost without it much of the time. BUT it's not a wonderful book. Gilbert quotes extensively from Ulysses -- for those people who don't actually want to read Ulysses, he says in the intro. -- but doesn't bother to translate quotes that are in French or Latin or Greek. The quotes from Ulysses often aren't introduced or explained well -- there just there. In fact, most quotes, from Joyce or from other sources, aren't well explained -- some chapters seem to have none of his own words, just quote after quote -- and because of that, I certainly wouldn't call this book a "good" text. Certainly, it is useful, and I don't regret the time spent reading it, but I am sure that there are more-accessible studies out there.

Four stars, not five, if only because I do agree somewhat that this study can be as complex as the novel itself. I think that the reason for this is that Joyce's work is, indeed, so rich and allusory that a full-length treatment like this is demanded. Ulysses is to the novel what Jorge Borges's short stories are to that literary art form.

By the way, 12 years ago I took a college course on Joyce and spent seven weeks of the twelve-week semester on Ulysses alone. Believe me, that wasn't nearly enough time. Yet, the presense of a knowledgeable mentor was invaluable in understanding this wonderful novel.

Stuart is the next best thing to having such a person nearby, but be forewarned--you will still need all of your analytical skills. Ulysses is a complete education, and as such entails a lifetime journey.

I am still digesting "Ulysses." I read it while walking around Dublin a few years ago. It was marvelous to trace the steps of Leopold and Molly, and to see what they "saw," but the novel remains a distant pleasure to the reader. I must admit it is not the most accessible book ever written, but it gets four stars for its intent ... and that it is better than "Finnegan's Wake." Be warned: This novel is not for the casual reader. This is one of several excellent accompaniments to "Ulysses" and well worth the price and the time to compare against Joyce.

According to Richard Ellman's Joyce biography Joyce felt that the book by Gilbert was an "advertisement for Ulysses," and he rued the collaboration. Perhaps this shows how clear the book renders Ulysses, but it also shows that Ulysses is better read without consulting second texts so that it echoes in the unconscious as oppossed to being deciphered and merely understood.

And I really hate calling it that, since this book, a thick paperback, was obviously carefully and comprehensively written by a man who was deeply immersed in and respectful of his subject. But my verdict stands.

The reason I call book useless is that, believe it or not, it's almost as impenetrable as the text it purports to explain! Perhaps this was because the author, Stuart Gilbert, was actually a friend of Joyce's, and Joyce actually helped him write it. Note also that it was written only 8 years after the publication of "Ulysses" -- in 1930.

As such, it was seminal in laying out a lot of the main themes of the novel (Gilbert's famous "schemata" is still referred to these days). Seminal, yeah -- but the tone, level, and direction of Joyce criticism (not to mention the literary preparation of would-be exegetes of "Ulysses") have undergone much change in the last 75 years, to say the least.

Sound flippant? Well, be aware that, in addition to being completely conversant with all of English and continental literature, Gilbert expects you to be able to negotiate classical Greek, Latin, French, Italian, and German, much as "Ulysses" does. Quotations and allusions in these languages are liberally sprinkled throughout the book -- and the footnotes explaning them contain not translations but even more abstruse glosses!

The whole premise is ridiculous. I can't see who would possibly be helped by this book, despite the fact that nearly all of the various editions of "Ulysses" cite it as helpful secondary reading. For accomplished critics, perhaps. But for the average reader out there, the searingly obviously problem is that anybody in possession of the cultural firepower and reading acumen needed to read this book . . . would have no need of its insights! If you can understand Gilbert, you sure as a shot could understand Joyce without much assistance. Was Gilbert writing to himself?

Yes, best steer thee elsewhere. There's something out there called the "New Bloomsday Book" (careful you don't unnecessarily buy the hardback), which most students these days find far more helpful and more in consonance with their needs and sensibilities.

Of the various kinds of "Cliff's Notes" out there, probably the most useful is the original, the black-and-yellow striped "Cliff's Notes," followed closely by the "ClassicNotes." Avoid the Sparknotes and the Barron's.