Thursday, June 18, 2009

Joyce

Call me a philistine, but Sarah's post on Joyce reminded me that I've read very little of him. I just don't have the patience or tenacity to work as hard as I would need to in order to get through Ulysses or Finnegan's Wake.

It does remind me though of an argument I used to have with people. If it took one a whole year to get through Joyce and understand it, would it be worth it? Is it worth a year of someone's life to understand any book at all? I generally say no, though I suppose for all the religious, social, and cultural references, the Bible might be an exception. Anything else, I don't know.

And again, feel free to call me a philistine.