So I'm about to start Ulysses. I'm assuming it's fairly overrated but I still have high hopes for it...

So I'm about to start Ulysses. I'm assuming it's fairly overrated but I still have high hopes for it. What am I in for Veeky Forums

pretty much stunning genius at every turn. i wish i were meming, could tell you it's trash and that you shouldn't bother, but this is definitely non-trash bothering material.

definitely got me excited now, it's gonna be hard to read with a massive workload from school but I'm sure I'll survuve

canon of western literature condensed into one book

I wouldn't say it's an entertaining book, nevertheless it will change the way you read all post-Joyce 'high literature'

>I wouldn't say it's an entertaining book
Read it again. First time can be a slog, but the second time's the charm. It's one of the funniest, most entertaining books out there.

Be prepared to not understand it, or really even follow the story for that matter.

>Read it again.
Will do.

first post guy here, what he says is true. you might get a small summary of what's taking place (no more than a paragraph or two) as you go through each chapter. it doesn't hurt the reading experience like reading an incredibly detailed analysis of the allusions on each page would, but it lets you appreciate more than you would just diving in blindly. it's incredibly fun though, i thought so anyway.

The chapters were designed to be read in a shuffled order.

So should I take notes?

if you want, why not? just don't worry so much! you have plenty of time to read it again.

>I wouldn't say it's an entertaining book
Funny, I'd say its greatest characteristic is the sheer potential to entertain anyone who is literate.

I bought the pic related students edition which has a lot of notes at the back as well as introductions to each chapter. It's definitely no harm to have some additional material if you feel you're losing the plot a bit.

Some chapters are a breeze while others are dense as fuck.

>fairly overrated
Not quite. It's more along the lines "most people who read it don't get it enough to like it as much as they claim to, but the book actually is as good as they claim it is". I'm in no way implying I get Ulysses more than most people.

Wait until summer break (or spring/Mardi Gras break) to read it. I made the mistake of packing Gravity's Rainbow, all of Nietzsche's works, and a bunch of other books into my freshman year at college and my grades took quite a hit.

>What am I in for Veeky Forums
Godawfully juvenile and shallow characterizations. Read it only if you're an autist.

i loved it. its a unique experience, seriously. not trying to be pretentious, but I did not feel like I was reading a book, it was a very weird feeling. I read it translation and still it was very funny and entertaining, laughed out loud several times. already ordered the original to re-read it.

and man, what a fucking ending. last chaper is ggggggggggggrrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeaaaaaatttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

yes you should but ONLY on your second read. in your first, just go through it and enjoy the ride, dont' worry about understanding it all, the second time you read you will get so much more out of it, and then you take notes if you want.

>anyone who is literate

as if

I've heard people go back and read the last chapter and the start from the start. Obviously I won't do it on my first read but is it advisable to go back and read it like that?

If you want to cheat check out Frank Delaney. He has a podcast that runs through the whole book.

will do

In fucking detail!

>reading Modernism as a Victorian traditionalist

There is literally not a single redeeming quality to modernism. It's all shit, uniformly.

the only awful thing about modernism is the fact that it paved the street for postmodernism.

>muh classics