Ulysses by James Joyce - How I Came To Love This Book (and how you can too!)

Today (2nd February 2022) is not only James Joyce's birthday, but also the 100th anniversary of the publication of THE novel of the 20th century: his incomparable, inimitable, unstoppable, virtuosic, bewitching, life-affirming ULYSSES. A book of books, to say Yes to again and again and again.
I wanted to make a short video to encourage people to stick with this book, and to read it AT LEAST twice before writing it off as incomprehensible.
Forgive me for veering into the territory of literature with this video. Normal service will resume soon, with an original piano composition coming your way in a week or two!
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#ulysses #jamesjoyce #books

[@steveschramko2386]

What helps breaking past the 'Ulysses Barrier' ? Here's what I found...1) Getting a sense of the over-all architecture of the book. How it's constructed, how the different pieces fit together and relate to one another, it's temporal, dramatic trajectory. 2) You must TRY to get into the minds of the principal characters and the dramatic situations in which they find themselves. What do they want, what do they fear, what do they misunderstand about themselves, where do they want to be etc. where do they really live 3) You must separate the wheat from the chaff. There's lots of 'irrelevancies', asides, digressions, detours and so on. Don't get distracted and lose your way...brush must be cleared, thickets cleared away. Liberal use of a machete may be required. 4) Most of all, you must be willing to make the assumption that something of GREAT value lies before you and that it will greatly repay you for the time and effort you will invest. It will be a journey, literally an 'odyssey'. There will be many surprises, revelations, sublime moments, raw emotions, recriminations and finally transcendence...'striving, seeking, and finding'....Don't give up !

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Good advice! Although, the thickets that must be cleared away, the digressions, often contain some of the most wonderful sentences, the most interesting ideas. Similarly to the digressions in Moby-Dick, another glorious behemoth of a novel.

[@dac-kd9kr]

just recently came across your beautiful piano miniatures on reddit --absolutely agree with your thoughts on Ulysses, which I devoted a summer to reading and found it an extraordinary reading experience. Now reading Finnegans Wake and it is like walking into a dream-mystifying, often impenetrable, but a book that amazes with its depth and when read aloud, its musicality!

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thanks, great to connect with piano music + James Joyce! I applaud you for taking on Finnegans Wake. I haven't dare to yet, but I know there will come a time in my life when I will take the plunge. One thing is for sure, Joyce was an intensely musical man and that certainly suffuses most of his prose. We named our second daughter Anna, which in my mind (my wife may disagree) has something to do with Anna Livia Plurabelle!

[@raybrouitt2918]

Agreed! The audio is the key to the novel. It can never be finished because it consistently provides a different experience every meal.

[@reaganwiles_art]

For those of you who would like a little extracurricular reading about Joyce, Henry Miller's essay "The Universe of Death" is worth reading. Millers essay contains remarks about both Joyce and Proust.

[@marcolopez8087]

OMG!! So encouraging to know it was not only me not understanding it. I tried the first time and also quit, but something wonderful stuck with me, like a closed door that promises something incredible hides behind it if you find the key and are able to open it. So, I am now (more than a year after my first try) reading it again. I am half way now, and just like you say, even if I do not understand it completely, I am now in love with it. What a brilliant writer! I promise to finish it, I do, so when someone asks me if I went through the whole thing I can answer: Yes!

[@GregHarradineComposer]

So glad you are enjoying it this time. Persevere, persevere, and the rewards will be great!

[@ryanand154]

I read this with my favourite English prof and we figured out how to read. I did.

[@ryanand154]

He fucked you up with Walter Benjamin and then you were done.

[@user-wm2fv3sp3x]

I failed to finish Ulysses too at my first and only reading so far. I was too young anyway, and the book is difficult with so many allusions to other literary sources and symbolisms. I know even then, and I can not pinpoint what, but there is something drawing me to it. After I came across some stories of other people's experience of reading the book like yours, I intend to read it again soon. It is just resting on my bookshelves waiting for me. One tip I've got is listening to an audio helps immensely, and to read it aloud helps understanding, too. I actually think you don't get everything in a reading is a good thing because you can read it again and gain some more in each and every reading. Reading is a subjective experience, of course. Some books you read once and you enjoy it, but you don't want to read it again because you know you can't get anything more out of it. Really good books, what we call classics are those you come back to read it again and again throughout your life. Every reading is different because of your own knowledge and insight gain at different stages of your life. Your reading and understanding ability also improves with age simply because you have read more and more books throughout your life. I think I am ready for doing Ulysses justice this time. I don't think I will fully understand everything, but at least it will make some sense to me, and I will enjoy the reading experience and have some fun. Books like people need to have some depth to draw you in for a long or even lifetime relationship. The more you know, the more you want to know. It is knowledge and undestanding that creates closeness and meanings. And a good book is like a good friend and some books like some people, they are worth paying a little bit extra effort because the reward can be very satisfying and precious.

[@havefunbesafe]

With most “difficult” books, you have to unlock the authors code before it becomes accessible. This happens by reading, thinking about reading, thinking about what you read, thinking about thinking; wash, lather, rinse, repeat…and then maybe you have a chance.

[@37Dionysos]

Maybe so, but at least Joyce pretty much gives you a better laugh each time through!

[@alohm]

Wholeheartedly agree - Mortimer Alder would as well - You read once, a book, to familiarize, then read again and again looking deeper and deeper...

[@sheilaoneil18]

Hello there! I have had this book on my shelf for ever. I am eighty, raised a catholic and of Irish heritage...so...here we go, better late than never, I must have a go! AND, wow! I am hooked. I read Episode One and liked it! I understood it! Then Episode Two and likewise. I was into that chapter also. Episode Three. Oh dear! So found an audio book and how that helped. Then I saw a short film with some actors I admire and the hook was secure. I watched a lecture on KZbin from the Takoma book club and that was so helpful. I am delighted and agree with what you say. Thanks.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

That's great to hear, Sheila! I agree, Episode Three was a stumbling block for me, too. Audio books can help hugely. Glad you're hooked!

[@sean_d]

Great stuff. You have convinced me to read it again I have read it once as a book as an Irishman (Dubliner) in England in my twenties. Homesickness was an added sauuce that helped it go down as I glossed over the hard bits and savoured the dialogue. In my forties I drove a lot and enjoyed the audiobook (narrated brilliantly by the actor who played Bishop Brennan on Fr Ted). Now in my sixties, back in Ireland but still away from Dublin you have tempted me to put aside Patrick O'Brian for a bit and read it again as an older wiser man. I suspect I'll get a better handle on the relationship with Molly this time. Thank you.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

That's great to hear! Wonderful to return to it at different times of life.

[@youjinmusic]

Thanks for sharing your recommendation, very informative content. Thanks for sharing! 🤗👍👍👍👍👍

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thank you YouJin!

[@ColourfulEnergy]

Great presentation.👍

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thank you!

[@versey2]

It’s a beautiful and wondrous book. My top tip is to read and reread the first chapter (It’s one of the best,) then do a little research on that chapter. As you familiarise yourself with the various references the language will start to flow and you will understand why James Joyce is one of the greatest artists of all time.

[@OmnivorousReader]

That you for sharing. I tried this book for the first time when I was about fifteen and I had no chance at all. I have tried it about once a decade ever since, the last time was last year and I got further than ever before, about 5 -7 chapters in. I feel like there are many gourmet books out there, many that are easy to consume, though I am glad that so many people enjoy this book. It seems to me that a book that was written with the purpose of confounding readers and critics alike could not be the most important novel of it's era.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thanks Deb. That's great that you got 5-7 chapters in! I'm not sure Joyce wrote Ulysses only to confound readers and critics - although he did say "I've put in so many enigmas and puzzles that it will keep the professors busy for centuries arguing over what I meant"! However, he also wanted to deeply and truly represent a day in a life of one man in Dublin, and to push literature as far as it could possibly go. As for Finnegans Wake, now THERE'S a confounding book! Not that I've read it...but perhaps I'll try one day!

[@samuelvilz]

4:27 "titilate your taste buds" I love it 😄 Thank you for the recommendation, Greg! I feel I'm slowly getting ready to read this book at some point, and watching you talk about it is definitely another step in that direction :) (also, your whole relationship with it strongly reminds me of my relationship to David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest" ^^)

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thanks Samuel! You must read it! But, as I said in the video, don't be put off by the difficult sections on your first read. I highly recommend listening to an audiobook version too. As for Infinite Jest - another supremely great novel! Although, I have only read that once. I think I should line it up for a reread pretty soon.

[@samuelvilz]

@@GregHarradineComposer Oh, yes, I only listen to audiobooks tbh 😄 Sure, if you feel compelled to do so 😁 Either way, enjoy this next reread of Ulysses! 😊

[@37Dionysos]

Thank you---great advice for beginners. Best key to "Ulysses" I ever found is Richard Elmann's "Ulysses on the Liffey," a small but incisive detailed analysis of Joyce's aims chapter by chapter---worth the effort to find it in every way! Best aspect of it documents Joyce's "propositions" about ethics, art, nature, humanity and (yes) Love, and his dramatic discriminations among them that aim to set us free from so much oppressive hypocrisy, cruelty and sentimentality. When you know the "arguments" between the lines you enjoy the action 10 times more!

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thank you! I need to read "Ulysses on the Liffey". I've read Ellmann's superb biography of Joyce, a truly outstanding portrayal of his life and work.

[@37Dionysos]

@@GregHarradineComposer Yes, RE's Joyce biography has been called the greatest in English and that's over Boswell's bio of Sam Johnson. Also rich fun is Anthony Burgess' "ReJoyce" which is a good key into the "Wake" as well...

[@GregHarradineComposer]

@@37Dionysos I need to read ReJoyce too. I love Anthony Burgess' own works. Currently on his Enderby novels, great fun! I read Boswell's life of Dr Johnson last year, a masterful biographical work.

[@subwayjrod1]

“Why would I want to re-read anything?” LORD OF THE RINGS HAS ENTERED THE CHAT*

[@damianop100]

This young man is adorable.

[@JanetBeebe-nh9re]

Reading Ulysses, spend the money on a good annotated translation, watch the 1967 movie, and go to the James Joyce Project for identifying terms, Irish words, history... There have to be over 100 themes covered by Joyce. Most recommend reading, Dubliners and Portrait of an Artist as a young man. It's well worth it.

[@deirdre108]

Scrolling down the comments I see in your post that "Ulysses" was made into a movie? Really? I never knew that, and didn't know it would be possible. I'll check for it on YT. I've read the book but not an annotated edition. Do you have a recommendation for one? Thanks!

[@kajalmandal6]

Here I'm for 1000 when it was 999 views. Btw top quality content. Actually I was thinking of giving this up but before that I will try my best version to understand the book. Thanku

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Thanks for getting this to 1K views! Don't give up, it's truly a magnificent, life-affirming book. It's like an old friend to me now. But it does take a lot of commitment and dedication - keep going!

[@zamiadams4343]

"Finegans Wake" is his true masterpiece in my opinion, "Ulysses" I find equally interesting and inspiring.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

I'm yet to work up enough courage to read the Wake. One day. My impression is that it makes Ulysses look like The Cat in the Hat in comparison...

[@FatedRefrain]

I appreciate you sharing your book recommendation, Greg! Honestly, it's been quite some time since I've even read a proper book. Shameful, I know. Though, I've recently began reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë much to my delight. It was also a book recommendation from another music channel, as it happens. I find diving in and 'reading around the book' is a fantastic way to make it memorable and better appreciate the work that goes into creating that world. It might be some time before I tackle Ulysses, but now at least it already holds a special place in my mind. Thanks again!

[@GregHarradineComposer]

It can be hard to get into the habit of reading regularly, I know. I've never actually read Jane Eyre, I really should redress that wrong pretty soon! I totally agree that reading around a book is a wonderful way to immerse yourself in its world and in that of the author.

[@nicholashill9302]

Try: Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Agnes Gray. Read them on recommendation from my piano tuner! Well worth it.

[@AnalogShell]

Hey Greg, thanks for connecting! I'm coincidentally going through Ulysses as well, and it may be difficult, but no match for Finnegan's Wake! 😄

[@GregHarradineComposer]

You’re dead right about that! Not sure if I’ll ever read FW…maybe one day.

[@apollonia6656]

I remember for 'A' Level Eng.Lit one of the books was "The Dubliners" and we were told to read "Finnigans Wake" as an introduction to James Joyce. So,off I went to the bookshop to buy a copy of FW,the result was most embarrassing ! I took nearly every copy from the shelf and put them by, holding my copy I went to the lady behind the counter and whispered to her: " All the FW s on the shelf have misprint ! Took the one I was buying and showed her ! She started laughing and said this : " My dear,I wish that were true, but no this is James Joyce. " ! I did my best,tried to read it and have up. Years later,I did the same with "Ulysses" with the same result. I am not a person who gives up easily and I remember these were the only two books that defeated me. Guess what I intend to do next week ? Yes, operatively try to read "Ulysses" ! Kind regards from Cheshire,UK.

[@apollonia6656]

PS: Apologies for typos but UT is most annoying.

[@fmellish71]

@@apollonia6656 Whoever told you that about FW is a sadist lol

[@apollonia6656]

@fmellish, 😂😂😂 The Voynich MS makes more sense; at least it is interesting !

[@Michajeru]

I have failed twice to read the book. With my second attempt I used a reader's companion called "Ulysses Unbound" as an aid to understanding. It was very helpful, but nonetheless I still gave up. It seems that I am not alone, so many people attempt to read Ulysses and give up in frustration. I intend to give it another go, but honestly I think it will be a waste of time because even if I manage to finish the book I am certain that I wont understand it.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

I have sympathy! But I would say, the goal isn't to understand every sentence: in that case, every single reader would fail. The goal is to enjoy what you do understand, and, on repeated readings, you may understand more and more each time. I would say to you: try listening to an audiobook of Ulysses. It can really help to bring the meaning to life.

[@CameronWattMusic]

I have attempted to read Ulysses before, and failed. It seems like the sort of book that would open doors for me musically but I found it really hard to stick with it. I may give it another go.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Give it another try! When you feel the time is right. As I said in this video, it took me a few goes, but now I'm a total convert and, if forced to choose, I'd say this is my favourite book.

[@chrisdurhammusicchannel]

My Mom taught English Literature in College and I remember she had a copy of Ulysses that she had written notes on almost every page. I think I tried to read the first page and just went and played piano. I should give it a second chance. I wonder if my English Professor Mother's annotated version is in the books that I inherited... 🤔

[@GregHarradineComposer]

Fascinating, Chris. I'd love to see what she wrote!

[@soichirosounds4322]

Hi Greg 🤩thank you for your recommendation ✨I tried to read this in Japanese and failed when I was a college student . Now I am reading some English literature in original. I will give it a try in the future. Let me know other your recommendation if you have time ✨👍🏻thank you ✨Soichiro

[@GregHarradineComposer]

In Japanese, wow, I'd love to read this in another language if I could. I think it must be one of the hardest books to translate. Other recommendations: my personal favourite authors include Vladimir Nabokov (Lolita, Pale Fire), Herman Hesse (The Glass Bead Game, Siddhartha, Steppenwolf), James Joyce of course, Tolstoy and Dostoevsky are both profound - Dostoevesky is both darker and funnier in my opinion - I could go on. You can see that most of my favourite authors didn't actually write in English! Except for Joyce and some of Nabokov. I've often been drawn to translated fiction, for whatever reason.

[@soichirosounds4322]

@@GregHarradineComposer Hi Thank you for your recommendation. 😀 You like foreign language literature !! I have read Hesse's one and Dostoevsky's one. I might read Vladimir Nabokv as you recommend. It is in the my list now. Thank you for your sharing 😄 Have a nice day! Have a good weekend ✨

[@davidthom7127]

As I grow older I re-read fewer and fewer books.

[@ryanand154]

As I grow older I find myself going back to books and rereading bits and pieces where the prose or poetry struck me as sufficient to my days. Enriches my sense of self and others as I winnow it down to the language I still live.

[@jrpipik]

I've never met anyone who's read Ulysses all the way who wasn't literally a PhD in literature (besides me). A novel read by so few people just can't be the most important book of the 20th century. Moreover, most of the writers that followed Joyce seem to show not much if any of his influence. Ulysses is a great book, to be sure, but more an anomaly in the world of literature.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

You have met someone - me! I know plenty of folks who have read and enjoyed it without having a PhD in literature. As for the influence of Ulysses - it was huge! T.S. Eliot said "...it is a book to which we are all indebted, and from which none of us can escape." And he should know! But you're right when you say it's an anomaly, there is absolutely nothing like it in all of literature. Each of us must choose our own most important book of the 20th century. Ulysses often comes at, or near, the top in polls. What work would you choose?

[@jrpipik]

@@GregHarradineComposer You're the first, then. When I've mentioned to people that I've read Ulysses, they either groan or shrug. I can't imagine that these polls are taken of ordinary readers. Perhaps things are different in Britain. If we're talking about "serious" literature, I imagine most Americans would say the most important book of the 20th century was The Great Gatsby, A Catcher in the Rye, or To Kill a Mockingbird, which everyone had to read in high school and the paradigm of the mythical "Great American Novel" everyone tried to write in midcentury. Probably the most influential writer in terms of having people write like him was Hemmingway, though it's harder to cite a single novel of his; I think his early short stories were more important. Few authors seem to write like Joyce or authors more directly influenced by him like Faulkner (and even he wrote less like Joyce as time went on).

[@GregHarradineComposer]

@@jrpipik Maybe you're right that most Americans would choose one of those novels. They are examples of "serious literature", true, and they're also easy to read. Suitable for high school students, as you said. Being influenced by Joyce doesn't mean writing like him. Ulysses really did send shockwaves around the world of literature. Arguably it was the last word in modernism, and paved the way for new approaches to writing which were nothing like Joyce's style. Nevertheless, many authors demonstrate a huge debt to Joyce: Anthony Burgess, Flann O'Brien, Salman Rushdie, David Foster Wallace, to name four of my personal favourites.

[@jrpipik]

@@GregHarradineComposer All true, and as I said above it's a great book, the last word in modernism and arguably the first word in postmodernism. Just not as impactful on literature on a wide scale as many would make it, as far as I can see.

[@lukemorley3899]

Wayyy too difficult for me

[@GregHarradineComposer]

That’s what we all think until gradually, imperceptibly, it isn’t.

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

Still you aren't really saying why you love this book specifically. Are you sure it is not because it is deemed as 'the..dense book for intellectual minds' and maybe you -and others - squeeze themselves into that paradigm? If it did not have that cloud of elitism hovering over it..would you have tried and tried again? Its hard to be unbiased with this..but try..and try again ;)

[@GregHarradineComposer]

I hope I did give a few reasons in this video why I love this book specifically: mainly because of the incredible beauty and creativity of the language. There are plenty of critically acclaimed "intellectual" books which I have tried and have not connected with, such as The Sound and the Fury, and - to a lesser extent - À la recherche du temps perdu. So, please take me at my word when I say how much I love this book! I was willing to work hard at it because many people I respect adore this book, and even on my first read I sensed the genius of this novel, even though I found it mostly impenetrable. Have you read Ulysses?

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

@@GregHarradineComposer Ah ok, my bad for doubting, but reading the references of the people you respect makes sense for you to want to read the book. I have not read Ulysses. I didn't know it existed until a few days ago. I am curious about it now, but also I'm dwelling in my own novel called life. So much to read everyday, too tired to write it down. Also, I feel everyone is shouting in this modern day world, and that makes me wanna whisper and shut up. So I stay silent mostly. Living between dissonance and moments of harmony.

[@GregHarradineComposer]

@@Stoney-Jacksman What you said reminded me of this quote by Edith Sitwell: “My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music, and silence." I think more people (myself included) should try to stay silent more often!

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

@@GregHarradineComposer Yeah silence is good, and there are many types of 'silence'. You need to start quoting your own mind, to other parts of your mind. If you come to travel your own mind without the guidance of other people's words, you come to certain thoughts that are specifically yours. You might find some gems, or darknesses to overcome. There is one thing I can't (under)stand, and that is living as if it normal to live. It is often the result of fear and too much privilege. It's also a sad life, to never truly wonder or be amazed, just by standing silent and still. Peace to you Greg, from this weirdo in Amsterdam. ;)

[@GregHarradineComposer]

@@Stoney-Jacksman I agree that if all we do is to be guided by other people's ideas, then we never truly discover our own sense of who we are. I also agree about living "normally"; life is bizarre and wonderful, and we should be astonished at every day we are lucky enough to live. I've never been to Amsterdam...one day I hope!

[@OCD_MAN]

i tried to read to see what this book is all about it was really hard nothing interested me and gave up immediatly Why should people suffer so much to read this book or books like this in general postmodern type obscure novels what value do they have other then “i did it?”reading religious scriptures or philosophy is much easier to read than this why should someone waste time reading over and over this novel instead he can just read philosophy almost any philosophy is easier read than this book,even religious scriptures bible,quran,upanishads,tao te ching,bagavat gita.. are easier and much more rewarding and if you just want novel there are many great novels with less dificulty of comprehention just why?(and i dont even want to talk about joyces finnegans wake i think he was lunatic or massive troll or both i think both)

[@GregHarradineComposer]

There is no "should" - you are, of course, perfectly welcome to not read this book, just as I and others are have done the opposite: read and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is not a postmodern novel, by the way, it is a prime example of modernism. What I do love is your idea that Joyce was either a "lunatic" or a "massive troll" - I think there is some truth to that!