Product Description

Joyce's semi-autobiographical first novel follows Stephen Dedalus, a sensitive and creative youth who rebels against his family, his education, and his country by committing himself to the artist's life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16190 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780451530158
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
Joyce's work is not about the thing, it is the thing itself. -- Samuel Beckett

Customer Reviews

An Impressive Display of Writing Genius
This is a very entertaining book and not difficult to read. Most book lovers will love the book. In my review below I do not give away the plot. That is left for the reader to discover.

I read "Dubliners" and then read the present 250 page book as a warm up to ease into "Ulysses." This is a better book than "Dubliners" and we see the genius of Joyce without being intimidated - as the reader can be with "Ulysses." As a side note, the protagonist Stephen Dedalus has the same name and is similar to one of the three main characters in "Ulysses."

If you are looking for a lot of analysis this is probably not the only book to buy. This Signet version contains the story plus Langdon Hammer's 18 page introduction. I avoided reading that first, because it seems to give away most of the key parts, or at least enough that one does not want to read it until later. Overall, I loved the book and thought the analysis was good but short.

The book starts with Joyce recalling a few childhood memories, and it will probably stir some memories in the reader as well. He has very colourful descriptions of his parents, relatives, and his teachers, especially various Irish Catholic priests.

Is Joyce a genius or just crazy? He seems to have a bit of the crazy streak in him, and perhaps that why the novel is so creative. The prose and writing is among the most impressive that most will ever see. The book contains beautiful descriptions of his childhood, then Catholic schools, and then his college days. The prose and vocabulary is Joyce's own. It is laced with Irish expressions and phrases - not the lengthy descriptive phrases of a Hemingway, but dense, and expressive, sometimes quickly changing as we read. Sometimes it is long and rambling as he describes a scene beside the ocean or brings us into one of his dreams. It is a wonderful experience, and I found myself being thankful that I had decided to read this Joyce novel. It is probably in the top 10 for writing and creativity, weak on structure.

People looking for a story and structure will be annoyed as was the person who rejected the first publishing. It is a superb mixture of memories, dreams, and fiction, all blended together.

Joyce provides no narration; he writes as if we are watching a movie, mostly going forward in time but not always. The reader is left to sort out the time and place or if it is real or just a dream as we travel from scene to scene through the book. As noted in the analysis, Joyce is in direct contact with the reader. There is nobody in between to guide the reader and explain what it means. You determine that from the dialogue. In any case, we follow him from a young school lad to his college days. We learn of his struggle to whether embrace the Catholic Church and be a priest, or whether to take another path.

This is superb writing, and one appreciates why Joyce is famous. As a novel it is a bit lacking but few will notice any flaws.

The Hobo Philosopher
I bought this book but it took me a long time to get into it. The "Moo-cow" business I didn't get. It seemed so silly and trivial and I, of course, was very, very serious. But one day I don't know why I just sat down and started reading it. Being Irish and Catholic the book became very pertinent in a short number of pages. At the time I read this book I was shocked that somebody should know my personal story and personal thoughts so vividly. I realize now that this is the personal story of a myriad of young Irish Catholic boys. This was a very good book and it tackled some very serious issues regarding faith, religion, and the Catholic Church.
This book was partially responsible for my life long interest in reading. Once I understood that the people who wrote books were the people who were speaking my language and translating my thoughts, I was hooked. Books were not all Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland.

Books written by Richard Noble - The Hobo Philosopher:
"Hobo-ing America: A Workingman's Tour of the U.S.A.."
"A Summer with Charlie"
"A Little Something: Poetry and Prose"
"Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother"
"The Eastpointer" Selections from award winning column.