Ulysses

This is audio books at their absolute best. I'm only a quarter of the way through but this is completely captivating. The range of voices Jim Riordan can produce is amazing: it brings the characters to life and helps the listener keep track of what is obviously a difficult 'plot'. He also brings a range of tone to the characters, distinguishing speech and thoughts very helpfully. Perhaps not the best bed-time listening - a fatal combination of mellifluous accents and aimless ramblings that has me dozing off in minutes - but there the fault is entirely my own.

I've listened to 30+ books from Audible now and a few of them have needed a bit of persistence. I was keen to listen to Ulysses as I reasoned that I may be unlikely to finish the book in print if I attempted it.

It seems to me that the audiobook format is excellent for this incredible book. I can see why the book is rated so highly. The narrator is excellent and I found his characterisations worked very well. The pace was just right - quite hard to keep up but I don't think this is the book to read aloud slowly.

Did I understand everything? No. I had to review an online source at the end of each episode to keep up. But it is well worth it and I feel like I have experienced a very special piece of literature.

Jim Norton's performance is the greatest triumph of reading-aloud that I ever expect to hear.

Looking at some of the earlier negative reviews, I feel like inviting these people to grow up a little. It is the rhetoric of the playground to dismiss something as rubbish merely because you yourself do not appreciate it.

The beauty and lyricism, scope and style is undeniable, Norton's voice is somewhat irritating, too insistent, would prefer a more melodic voice. The text sags in places, Joyce's achievement is marred by the text being 'overstuffed' with detail, this great work needed pruning imho

I thought the audiobook was great, I chose to read along as I listened because Joyce writes in such a way that you need to see as well as actually hear the words to get the full effect. I had been putting off reading it for ages because everyone said how difficult it is but in fact this audiobook is a wonderful accompaniment 10/10 would recommend.

I'm studying Joyce as part of my degree. I find his short stories engaging, thought provoking and very interesting. I find Ulysses impermiable, impregnable and impossible to get into. Jim Norton does a great job, but the book itself is a pain in the backside. I would recommend only trying this if you have a long summer of sitting in the conservatory concentrating on everything within the book. Joyce is so dense in writing style that any little detail missed can leave you wondering what everyone's talking about. I found any activity - washing dishes, cycling, even walking could lead to minor distractions which would cause me to lose my train of thought.

The story demands your full attention as you borrow the characters thoughts and feelings. I did try to listen to it while walking, but found that there is no room to be distracted. Having said that it is a rich experience that matches visual media.



Make sure you have time to give listening your full attention, and you will be rewarded.

Jim Norton does an excellent job in reading this Ulysses, he gets the nuances of accent just right and brought the book to life for me. The book itself had some really good bits and then some bits that I struggled with. I will definitely re-listen in a year or two and look forward to getting more out of it.

Very nice to hear Bishop Len Brennan from Father Ted read Ulysses. Worth a punt.

I couldn't follow the audiobook but I believe it wasn't the audiobook's problem and it was due to the difficulty of the Ulysses. The techniques that Joyce uses in his masterpiece make is a difficult "story" if one just wants to listen to or to read a story. Ulysses is a kind of book that must be read with a lot of pauses and contemplation. if you are willing to hear it so, you could use the audiobook. otherwise my suggestion is to read the book in your sanctuary and then after grasping it try to listen to the audiobook.