So it’s June 16, does anyone else recognize what day this is?
It may not seem like an important date, in fact, nothing extraordinary happened on this day at all, but June 16, 1904 was the date chosen by James Joyce as the setting for his penultimate novel, Ulysses.
A novel infamous for its difficulty and obscenity while also being praised as the greatest novel of the 20th century, Ulysses has been one of the most controversial books since its publication in 1922.
In the simplest explanation, Ulysses is about a single day in the life of three characters in Dublin, Ireland and the story takes inspiration from Homer’s epic poem, The Odyssey.
Personally, it’s one of my favorite books. I think the characters of Leopold Bloom, Molly Bloom, and Stephan Dedalus are three of the most human and interesting characters in all of literature. Joyce also writes some of the most beautiful prose I’ve had the pleasure of reading and I think Ulysses is one of the greatest celebrations of life to ever be written.
So what do you think? Love it? Hate it?! Been planning to read it after you've read just one more book to prepare yourself? Reread it 6 times and still can't get enough? Couldn't finish the first fifty pages? Well, all are welcome to discuss it in this thread!
(I think this is also my first post here, I hope nobody minds...)