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Ulysses

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Ulysses

By: James Joyce
Narrated by: Donal Donnelly
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About this listen

The first authorized, unabridged release of this timeless classic and exclusively available from Recorded Books. Ulysses records the events of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland.

Public Domain (P)1995 Recorded Books Classics

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All stars
Most relevant
I listened to three performances before buying thuis book. Ulysses was not an easy read for me, being dutch. listening to mr. Donnelly made it not only easier but also a joyous experience. I am in awe of the performance as well as the boom. Such originality, beauty of language. Go listen!

brilliant boom, geest performance

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It took me a number of phases, going quiet for a while before getting back into it. I listened and read at the same time to assist with understanding and then used the new bloomsday book by Harry Blamires to help with the basic narrative.
Favourite word " Topnobber" - a social climber, someone who tries to only associate with those perceived to have influence and / or wealth!

Worth the effort - what an education !

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both narrators were superb, and with lovely singing too. my first time 'reading' Ulysses was good, although long parts were indigestible, other parts were great, especially the ending. Will read again in book form one day

fantastic narrators

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Contains much symbolism and references to Homer's Odyssey. To better understand what is going on, you really need to read that book first, or do what I did and follow Spark Student Notes which explains chapter by chapter.

Donal Donnelly as narrator does a great job of helping us differentiate between the actual narration and what the characters are just thinking. He seems to completely understand Joyce's poetry & prose and relishes the sound of every word that he reads. That all helps. He does read rather slowly though, hence the book lasts over 42 hours. I'm pleased a went for this version. It is clear that a lot of work has gone into making this the definitive recording of the book.

The story is superficially quite simple, following just one day (Thursday, 16th June 1904) in the life of the 3 main characters in Dublin. Our main, main-character, Bloom, goes to the butchers, buys a kidney, comes home makes breakfast, goes to the toilet, then off to church, then a funeral, then a pub, then the beach... (hope that isn't too much of a spoiler!) Paths cross with the other two main characters.

Mainly, I think, James Joyce just seems to be exploring the possibilities of the English language and its sounds. At times he doesn't even bother to use sentences. A real challenge to follow, especially episode 14 where the author is playing with all kinds of writing styles (alliterative Anglo-Saxon, Medieval prose, seventeenth century prose, etc.) Each of the 18 episodes of the book are different in some way. Very clever writing.

5 stars on the basis of a good intellectual challenge. For me, a refreshing change from the usual over-commercial, domestic thrillers.

A Challenging Read, but Clever Writing

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Brilliant! Completely brought the text to life in a hugely meaningful, emotionally connected and relevant way.

Fantastic way to read this classic

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