"Ulysses" is a novel published in 1922 by Irish stream-of-consciousness literary writer James Joyce.
In chronological order, the novel describes the protagonist, a depressed and hesitant citizen of Dublin, advertising salesman Leopold Bloom, and his various daily experiences in Dublin during one day and night on June 16, 1904.
Joyce compares Bloom's day wandering the streets of Dublin to Odysseus's ten years of wandering overseas, while simultaneously portraying the psychology of his unfaithful wife Molly and Stephen's search for his spiritual father.
The novel makes extensive use of detailed descriptions and stream-of-consciousness techniques to construct an intertwined and messy time and space, forming a unique style in language.
This book is a representative work of stream-of-consciousness novels and is known as the top one hundred best English novels of the 20th century. June 16th every year has been commemorated as "Bloom Day".
Reader comments
After picking it up and putting it down within six years, I finally went from "laborious" to "free". When I first read it, I found it boring and the content was incoherent. It was very strenuous to read, so I put it down. When I read it again, I felt that it was Joyce's pretentiousness - he was clearly deliberately showing off his literary skills, and everything was deliberately designed. It wasn't until the third time that he finally realized that it was Joe's resistance to traditional realism. There was no need to understand, as long as he took it upon himself to let his consciousness collide and merge with the subconscious in Joyce's works, creating infinite free associations and abandoning all logical reasoning.
Thanks to Xiao Qian and Wen Ruojie for their translation. Stephen's philosophy and Bloom's kindness are all fighting against mediocrity and seeking eternity with the soul. Molly's desire plunges from the physical body into struggle, the stench of the funeral, and the noise of the bar. It is "bringing beauty out of the darkness"... It does not rely on "simulating" Faulkner, but letting consciousness break free from the syntactic prison. The chattering undercurrent is exactly "the collective subconscious of mankind." The Romans and the British brought sewers, but the "rightness" that the Jew Bloom was looking for in the wilderness was a futile desire for a spiritual home.
Everyone's inner world is a novel. It is as if you are in a world where groups of people gather without limit, and you feel the pain carried by each character. Accept these pains through feeling - because the human mind is always striving for eternity and perfection, while the human body is always struggling and trembling to bring out some beauty from its own darkness.
A day in the life of Stephen Dedalus and Bloom forms a holographic map of Dublin in 1904, among the "moveless figures" and "ghostly" beings. In the confusing language, we see people in the biological sense, but not in the human sense. Stephen's philosophy and Bloom's kindness are all fighting against mediocrity, and the soul seeks eternity. Molly's desire turns from the physical body into struggle, the rancid smell of the funeral, and the noise of the bar are "beautiful things brought out from the darkness."
Thanks to Xiao Qian and Wen Ruojie for their translation. Be interested every moment and be ready to accept anything; something unexpected will happen every moment. Even during the long and intense speech, which contains the most names of things, the reader remains interested. It is their translation that allows Chinese readers to enter this language maze without getting lost.
The final chapter is truly a carnival sonata that enters Dublin's collective consciousness. Joyce's description of the chattering, uninterrupted way of speaking makes people marvel and admire it - how can a man's head present a woman's thoughts so vividly? What he relies on is not to "simulate" Faulkner, but to let his consciousness break free from the syntactic prison. The chattering undercurrent is exactly the "human collective subconscious".
What is their civilization? Huge, I admit; but dirty. Sewage, sewer. The Jews went into the wilderness and climbed to the top of the mountain and said: This is a suitable place. Let us build an altar to the Lord. The Romans, like the English who followed them, were bent on sewage wherever they set foot on new shores (which never reached our shores). He was wrapped in a Roman robe, looked around and said: This is a suitable place. Let's build a toilet. ——The Romans and the British brought sewers, but the "appropriateness" that the Jew Bloom was looking for in the wilderness was a futile desire for a spiritual home.
Because I belong to this place called Ireland... And he said: There is no way we can change the country. Let's change the subject. ——Yes, change the subject. But after it, your view of the world has quietly changed - with Bloom's stomachache and Molly's breathing.
The writing style of this book is very unique, and the stream-of-consciousness technique makes people feel like they are in the world of the book. The writing is delicate, and the large amount of detailed descriptions make the characters and plot come alive. It feels a bit similar to "In Search of Lost Time", both showing the story through the inner world of the protagonist. But "Ulysses" is more modern and feels fresh to read. I really admire the author's imagination and creativity!
Regardless of whether you read it or not, it is really helpful for writing. Basically, each chapter is a style of writing, and the writing style is not at all said. Writing about hallucinations and subconsciousness is really amazing. It can open up a lot of ideas and get a lot of inspiration for your writing.
After picking it up and putting it down within six years, I finally went from "laborious" to "free". When I first read it, I found it boring and the content was incoherent. It was very strenuous to read, so I put it down. When I read it again, I felt that it was Joyce's pretentiousness - he was clearly deliberately showing off his literary skills, and everything was deliberately designed. It wasn't until the third time that he finally realized that it was Joe's resistance to traditional realism. There was no need to understand, as long as he took it upon himself to let his consciousness collide and merge with the subconscious in Joyce's works, creating infinite free associations and abandoning all logical reasoning. Thanks to Xiao Qian and Wen Ruojie for their translation. Stephen's philosophy and Bloom's kindness are all fighting against mediocrity and seeking eternity with the soul. Molly's desire plunges from the physical body into struggle, the stench of the funeral, and the noise of the bar. It is "bringing beauty out of the darkness"... It does not rely on "simulating" Faulkner, but letting consciousness break free from the syntactic prison. The chattering undercurrent is exactly "the collective subconscious of mankind." The Romans and the British brought sewers, but the "rightness" that the Jew Bloom was looking for in the wilderness was a futile desire for a spiritual home. Everyone's inner world is a novel. It is as if you are in a world where groups of people gather without limit, and you feel the pain carried by each character. Accept these pains through feeling - because the human mind is always striving for eternity and perfection, while the human body is always struggling and trembling to bring out some beauty from its own darkness. A day in the life of Stephen Dedalus and Bloom forms a holographic map of Dublin in 1904, among the "moveless figures" and "ghostly" beings. In the confusing language, we see people in the biological sense, but not in the human sense. Stephen's philosophy and Bloom's kindness are all fighting against mediocrity, and the soul seeks eternity. Molly's desire turns from the physical body into struggle, the rancid smell of the funeral, and the noise of the bar are "beautiful things brought out from the darkness." Thanks to Xiao Qian and Wen Ruojie for their translation. Be interested every moment and be ready to accept anything; something unexpected will happen every moment. Even during the long and intense speech, which contains the most names of things, the reader remains interested. It is their translation that allows Chinese readers to enter this language maze without getting lost. The final chapter is truly a carnival sonata that enters Dublin's collective consciousness. Joyce's description of the chattering, uninterrupted way of speaking makes people marvel and admire it - how can a man's head present a woman's thoughts so vividly? What he relies on is not to "simulate" Faulkner, but to let his consciousness break free from the syntactic prison. The chattering undercurrent is exactly the "human collective subconscious". What is their civilization? Huge, I admit; but dirty. Sewage, sewer. The Jews went into the wilderness and climbed to the top of the mountain and said: This is a suitable place. Let us build an altar to the Lord. The Romans, like the English who followed them, were bent on sewage wherever they set foot on new shores (which never reached our shores). He was wrapped in a Roman robe, looked around and said: This is a suitable place. Let's build a toilet. ——The Romans and the British brought sewers, but the "appropriateness" that the Jew Bloom was looking for in the wilderness was a futile desire for a spiritual home. Because I belong to this place called Ireland... And he said: There is no way we can change the country. Let's change the subject. ——Yes, change the subject. But after it, your view of the world has quietly changed - with Bloom's stomachache and Molly's breathing.
The writing style of this book is very unique, and the stream-of-consciousness technique makes people feel like they are in the world of the book. The writing is delicate, and the large amount of detailed descriptions make the characters and plot come alive. It feels a bit similar to "In Search of Lost Time", both showing the story through the inner world of the protagonist. But "Ulysses" is more modern and feels fresh to read. I really admire the author's imagination and creativity!
Regardless of whether you read it or not, it is really helpful for writing. Basically, each chapter is a style of writing, and the writing style is not at all said. Writing about hallucinations and subconsciousness is really amazing. It can open up a lot of ideas and get a lot of inspiration for your writing.