[billyhoffman]

During my last semester at Georgia Tech, I had one remaining 3000-level English credit I needed to graduate. During the last week to register, I quickly found an open class titled "Modern Authors" and signed up.

But when I attended the first day, I learned that Gatech's online registration system had truncated the class title. The full title was "Modern Authors: James Joyce", and I was the only engineering student in a semester long class about James Joyce, which I had to take it and pass in order to graduate.

It was... pretty good actually.

Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man was enjoyable, as were his short stories. His style was unlike anything I had read before and it was musical in a way. However, I found Ulysses impenetrable: It rambled, and was difficult to understand what was even being described in the text, let alone the significance of it. Mostly it was just strange. Thankfully the majority of your grade was based participating in class discussion. Talking about it, seeing how confused everyone else was, and trying to make sense of it all together was a fun way to spend an afternoon in Skiles.

[inglor_cz]

I am trying to read Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man right now, but the 19th century Irish-isms keep kicking me off the flow. I can't concentrate on the story with so many unknown words, people and events.

There are explanatory notes, but reading them precludes immersion, and not reading them precludes comprehension.

[number6]

You should try Finnegans Wake. At this point, Joyce feels less like a literary giant and more like an elaborate inside joke among a select few.

[Simon_O_Rourke]

No, for the love of God don't try Finnegan's Wake. Take the 25 bucks you would have used to buy it online and do something better with it, like burning it in the trash can, or buying a North Korean memecoin with it.

[arolihas]

Ugh Skiles, don't remind me. Being confused in that ugly building was a traumatic rite of passage.

[staticautomatic]

The trick with Ulysses is to just let it wash over you. If you try to fully understand each sentence it’s too hard to read.

[yaur]

I'm sure I'll eat some donuts here, but Ulysses is neither an interesting nor a well written story.

[staticautomatic]

I agree wrt it as a “story” and yet i still find it very enjoyable to read!

[optomas]

Oh come on. A snot green nose rag. You can almost taste it, can't you?

If text can make you gag with revulsion, it is, by definition, good communication.