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Loading... The New Bloomsday Book: A Guide Through Ulysses (original 1966; edition 1996)by Harry Blamires
Work InformationThe New Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires (1966)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Waste of time, even a cursory glance at Ulysses using your own res cogitans will give you the same insights this gives. Additionally it loves telling you things that happen 200 pages later making sure you get no satisfaction discovering anything yourself. This book carries the well worn trope of 'It's ok for a Jew to insult a black man for any derogitory reason but if Jews are genuinely critisised for doing anything at all, your brushed off with the misnomer anti-semitic. A plus for Blamires is that he doesn't descend into analysing things that aren't there and sticks fairly well to the text, but as I've already noted you will find reading Ulysses yourself will substitute for reading Blamires book. Life is short and you have only a limited amount of books you can read, don't make Ulysees or Blamires book two of them. no reviews | add a review
Reference guide/companion to
Since 1966 readers new to James Joyce have depended upon this essential guide to Ulysses. Harry Blamires helps readers to negotiate their way through this formidable, remarkable novel and gain an understanding of it which, without help, it might have taken several readings to achieve. The New Bloomsday Book is a crystal clear, page-by-page, line-by-line running commentary on the plot of Ulysses which illuminates symbolic themes and structures along the way. It is a highly accessible, indispensible guide for anyone reading Joyce's masterpiece for the first time. To ensure that Blamires' classic work will remain useful to new readers, this third edition contains the page numbering and references to three commonly read editions of Ulysses: the Oxford University Press 'World Classics' (1993), the Penguin 'Twentieth-Century Classics' (1992), and the Gabler 'Corrected Text' (1986) editions. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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A question that did come to mind in reading Blamires was what is the distinction (if any) between providing information/context on a work and interpreting a work. Blamires does both.
In all honesty, I lack the expertise, intellect, and/or credentials to credibly challenge Blamires' interpretations of Ulysses. Yet, I do begin to chafe when Blamires begins to "interpret" and provide the "meaning" of sections. One could say, reasonably, that if I don't want interpretation, don’t read a "guide". I accept that charge.
However, that does leave me with another question. What is the validity of "interpreting" works of fiction? And, is a novel meant to be decoded or simply experienced? Is the author simply dressing up for show her/his theories and/or perspectives in the wardrobe of elaborate prose and plotting? Or, could it be that the author actually intends the ambiguity produced in their work as it reflects the ambiguity of life/experience? Do we do a disservice to the author and the work when we provide exegesis? Do we create the illusion of orthodox and heterodox interpretations of a work?
I lean to the position of experiencing the work. But I also realize that my extremely meager formal education in literature probably both supports and requires that position. ( )