Customer Reviews

Ulysses Annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses

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

 

 

This is certainly an excellent book, but it is not the annotated Ulysses that you expect from the Pengiun or Oxford editions. That is, the actual text of Ulysses is not in this book, only lengthy and fascinating information about Ulysses itself. So, I would recommend it, only the title is deliberately misleading. I thought I was getting an annotated version of Ulysses, not a book on annotations about another book called Ulysses.

Yes, this does not include the text of Ulysses as others noted. But if you know anything about reading Joyce, you are aware that Gifford's annotated text is widely considered the bible for understanding Ulysses. Beware - its as long as the actual novel so I don't recommend reading it word for word. But as a reference tool, it is par excellence.

This is the perfect addition to any reading of Joyce's Ulysses. It's nice for academic work because it points you in more directions than you can possibly imagine & it works well for casual readers who just want to know more about what they're missing. Joyce was meticulous about detail and Gifford has done an incredible job of laying it all out without being too overwhelming.

The information says that its keyed to whatever editions of Ulysses but I'd also like to note that I used the Gabler text (best!!) and they were in wonderful harmony.

Some will advise the first time reader of Ulysses to read it straight thru without reference materials, or at least not much. Makes some sense, but as it worked out for me, Gifford's book was essential. It's one thing if you are missing the odd reference or allusion, but in Ulysses they are so thick and so varied, that I just don't see how you can blast thru unaided and hope to get much out of it.

Gifford's book is exhaustive, bordering on obsessive. It is in it's own right a very enlightening and informative work. But beware of using it as a crutch instead of trusting your instincts, or referring it to it so often that it becomes disruptive. I used it much too much at times, making the reading of Ulysses longer and more involved than necessary.

Highly recommended.

I was, like others who bought this book, expecting the text of Ulysses with annotations (especially once I saw the size of the book). However, this is a huge encyclopedia of footnotes, and ONLY footnotes - a cross-referenced treasure trove of explanations that add layers and layers to the already-complex Ulysses. I find now that when I read Ulysses, I really have to have this book with me - otherwise I feel like I'm missing 90% of what Joyce was saying. The author does a great job of explaining, nearly every paragraph, all of the obscure references Joyce makes, all of the then-contemporary slang Joyce used, Joyce's often-cerebral humor, and historic significance of places and people mentioned in the novel. The author meticulously cross-references many of these footnotes, so for example when a phrase or historic figure shows up in Chapter 8 and then shows up again in Chapter 15, the author will point this out. This helps tie the novel together much more cohesively and create connections between chapters that would otherwise be missed. It is obvious the author of this book put a huge amount of time and effort into the book, and it shows.

I highly recommend this reference for anyone reading Ulysses. It will help those struggling with Ulysses, to see it in a new light. It will also help those who have already read or already appreciate Ulysses, as they will be able to take away even more from Ulysses via this book.

Yes, the title is misleading as this is only the annotations for the novel Ulysses and not the novel itself. But think about it - an actual annotated version of Ulysses would not only be difficult to read (imagine constantly flipping back and forth instead of having both books opened to the exact spot you need) but would be massive in size. Ulysses is hard enough, so why make it harder on yourself? I believe this is meant to pair with the Gabler edition of Ulysses and, quite frankly, this is the edition that you want to read anyway.

Kind of reminds me of approaches to Pynchon/Gravity's Rainbow that run the risk of missing the forest for the trees. That said, lots of super-interesting details--some trivial/most not--that can help to construct a more complete picture of what Joyce was thinking when writing Ulysses. Needs to be updated to include page refs for the now-standard 1960 Bodley Head/Penguin Classics edition. Insofar as lack of that pagination and inclusion of Gabler validates the Gabler text, this "20th anniversary" guide does scholars and students (one and the same, we hope) a disservice.

Despite the title, this is NOT Ulysses annotated as it does not contain the text with annotations...merely the annotations themselves. And if your copy of Ulysses does not contain the line numbers to which this is keyed, it is fairly useless.

having read ulysses ages ago, after having read this book, i did not know how much i missed. great book.