I sort of have a bit of a dilemma. I enjoy modernist literature . . . well, make that, "I enjoy Virginia Woolf, who's a modernist writer, and I wonder if maybe I might be able to consider myself someone who enjoys modernist literature as a whole." Now, I am interested in approaching the Mount Sinai of modernism, James Joyce. Thing is, I'm concerned that he'd be too hard to read, considering the idiosyncratic style he used in his two most famous works, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. If you're not familiar with what I mean, go do some reading at Amazon here. I think you'll quickly understand what I mean.So, here's the question. Should I go for it or not? I've gone through this with Joyce before. He's widely considered to be one of the greatest masters of the English language and the pinnacle of modernist literature. Furthermore, his work inevitably shows up (and places very high) on the lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century. For a serious aficionado of literature, Joyce is obviously someone that has to be dealt with. I really don't want to miss out on something great, and I do want to be as well-read as possible. That said, is it possible for something to just be too hard to read? I know of someone who read War and Peace for the express reason that it was considered an impossible book to get through, and I believe that she liked it. I've encountered difficult writing before. Anyone who's read Woolf knows that she's not exactly John Grisham. (although that's a good thing) Reading her work takes commitment and determination, but that perseverance has yielded some wonderful results. There are passages and sentences in her work that are among the finest I've ever read. Perhaps the same approach would work with Joyce.
Thoughts?
4 comments:
Do it! The only thing I can thing of if it seems to hard is to look up Joyce's influences, read some of those, and then embark on his work. But I think you can do it.
I've always wanted to read Ulysses because it seems like the pinnacle of reading comprehension if you can keep up with the vocabulary. I think I would feel accomplished, though I wonder if that's why anyone reads that book anymore.
Work your way up to it and give it a go. Even if you are not completely sure of what you read, in the end, the appeal of conquering such a mammoth work would still be satisfying. Sort of like those guys who pay a lot of money to get dragged to the top of Mt. Everest by Sherpas. They still seem happy to have done it.
I think you should do it! I've wanted to read Joyce for quite some time and instead I'm reading Dostoyevsky. (also a worthy endeavor albeit very different) If you do decide to go for it, let me know. Maybe we can do it together.
(I know this is an old post but I'm going to suggest something anyway)
Start with Dubliners. Joyce is a master of the short story, and you'll see it in this collection of shorts about Ireland. And then if you want to read his stream of consciousness stuff, I would move on to Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man. I hated it when I first started in high school. But then after reading easier modern literature, I came to appreciate it more. I have yet to accomplish Ulysses. I imagine that to be something I read if I'm ever snowed in somewhere.
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