Can we talk about how much I hated 'Ulysses' until month three of my book club?

I joined a book club 6 months ago that focuses on classic literature, and they assigned James Joyce's 'Ulysses' back in March. I spent the first two months rolling my eyes at every long sentence and confusing chapter, thinking it was just pretentious nonsense. Then our moderator shared a guide about the Homeric parallels in Chapter 4 (the Calypso section), and suddenly the whole thing clicked for me. Has anyone else had a book flip from annoying to amazing after a good discussion breakdown?

2 comments

2 Comments

jones.blake1mo ago

Stumbled into a Joyce lecture at the local library by accident right around the same time I was struggling through 'Ulysses'. Some old professor spent twenty minutes explaining how the newspaper office chapter works as a parody of Irish nationalism.

hugobarnes1mo ago

thinking it was just pretentious nonsense" - that was me for the first 50 pages. I almost bailed twice before someone explained the whole "wandering around Dublin" thing is actually a mirror of Odysseus wandering. The Calypso section is where it clicked for me too, especially when I realized Bloom's cat is basically a Homeric symbol. What line or scene in that chapter made your brain flip from annoyed to interested?