March 20, 2011 - 4:37pm
Book of the Week: 'Ulysses'
BY ANDREW LAPIN
Look at that book cover. Just look at it. Isn’t this exactly the kind of book you want to be reading in-between pitchers of green beer at the Blue Lep? Don’t laugh yet; after all, “Ulysses” is the crowning achievement of James Joyce, the most celebrated Irish novelist of all time. It’s widely considered the greatest novel of the 20th century. And it’s so long and impenetrable that most of us would never, ever work up the courage to tackle it head-on.
But hell, no better time than St. Patty’s Day to immerse yourself in the stream-of-consciousness retelling of Homer’s “Odyssey” through the eyes of hallucination-prone Dubliner Leopold Bloom. Don’t make any excuses about needing more than a day to get through this monstrosity – the English Department’s class on James Joyce reads the whole thing in 24 hours for their final, hopping from bar to bar as they do so. And things get fun in the wee hours of the morning when everyone starts really getting into their speaking roles. I haven’t taken the class, but I’ve heard stories. If they can do it, so can you.
You think putting on a leprechaun costume and vomiting onto ADPhi’s volleyball court in the middle of the day makes you Irish? Think again, hotshot. Nobody’s really Irish until they’ve read “Ulysses.” And kissed the Blarney Stone. But we’ll take it one step at a time.
