Ah, it's "gibberish that's supposed to be exquisite flights of literary brilliance day."
Find the non-fan of Joyce.
Come on. You drop by for a cup of coffee, and the world's not ending? Please.
Connor ,'Not Fade Away'
Literary Buffistas 3: Don't Parse the Blurb, Dear.
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Connie Neil - Jun 16, 2008 8:48:33 am PDT #6141 of 28370
brillig
DavidS - Jun 16, 2008 8:54:06 am PDT #6142 of 28370
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
Ah, it's "gibberish that's supposed to be exquisite flights of literary brilliance day."
Wow, that's freakin' ignorant, Connie.
If you've read Ulysses you'd know better. Go read his short story "The Dead" and tell me that Joyce didn't know how to write.
Scrappy - Jun 16, 2008 8:54:33 am PDT #6143 of 28370
Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.
It's not gibberish, but it is really, really difficult. I think it's like Shakespearean English in a way--it can be very off-putting at first but once you learn the language of the writer, it's a total pleasure to read. It's like Sci-Fi world-building, but instead of creating a different world using regular language, the writer is describing this world, using a whole world of words, which has its own sense and layers.
Hil R. - Jun 16, 2008 8:59:37 am PDT #6144 of 28370
Sometimes I think I might just move up to Vermont, open a bookstore or a vegan restaurant. Adam Schlesinger, z''l
I was in Dublin on Bloomsday a few years ago. It was kind of neat -- I was taking a cab to the airport, and the cab driver was listening to a broadcast about Joyce.
I've never read more than a few excerpts of Ulysses. I did read all the way though Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in high school, and didn't particularly enjoy it.
amych - Jun 16, 2008 8:59:45 am PDT #6145 of 28370
Now let us crush something soft and watch it fountain blood. That is a girlish thing to want to do, yes?
Excellent and shiny description, Scrappy.
Steph L. - Jun 16, 2008 8:59:55 am PDT #6146 of 28370
this mess was yours / now your mess is mine
Wow, that's freakin' ignorant, Connie.
That's pretty harsh, Hec. People are allowed to have differing opinions on books. It doesn't make them ignorant.
If you've read Ulysses you'd know better.
I missed the part in her post where she said that she didn't.
Are you assuming that because she has a differing opinion on Ulysses that she didn't read it? That seems to imply that everyone who read Ulysses must love it, or at least have a value-neutral opinion on it. *That* is ignorant.
Polter-Cow - Jun 16, 2008 9:03:23 am PDT #6147 of 28370
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
I'm with Steph.
I did read all the way though Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man in high school, and didn't particularly enjoy it.
That's the only Joyce I've read, I think (or...is there a story of his that's about going to some sort of crowded open-air marketplace?). I loved it, though. I liked watching the language of the book change and evolve as the character did.
Connie Neil - Jun 16, 2008 9:03:55 am PDT #6148 of 28370
brillig
Wow, that's freakin' ignorant, Connie.
Wow, that's freakin' condescending, Hec. I don't like Joyce. I think it's gibberish. But thanks for your opinion of my intelligence.
DavidS - Jun 16, 2008 9:04:17 am PDT #6149 of 28370
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
That's pretty harsh, Hec. People are allowed to have differing opinions on books. It doesn't make them ignorant.
Anti-intellectualism is ignorant. It surely is. And that was the jist of her comment, not an opinion on the book.
Jars - Jun 16, 2008 9:04:37 am PDT #6150 of 28370
I've been on page thirty of Ulysses for five years. And he's my peeps. I grew up a few miles from the Martello tower the book starts at. And I've done Bloomsday stuff. But it's way easier to read passages and enjoy them than it is to read the book cover to cover. Unless you have a bunch of free time and no commitments. IMO.