Ulysses (novel)

Ulysses is a novel by James Joyce. The complete book was first published in 1922, although parts of it had appeared earlier. It was an early example of "stream of consciousness" writing. This attempts to give the written equivalent of the character's thought processes, either in a loose interior monologue (see below), or in connection to his or her actions. Stream-of-consciousness writing is usually regarded as a special form of interior monologue.

The story takes place on 16 June 1904, and is about a man named Leopold Bloom, who walks around Dublin. The book also tells the story of Molly Bloom, his wife, and of Stephen Dedalus, a school teacher.

The book became famous for several reasons, but mainly because it is written in a new this style. The book is now thought to be important modernist literature. Many professors and teachers teach this book in universities and colleges.

 Background 
Joyce first encountered Odysseus in Charles Lamb's Adventures of Ulysses - an adaptation of the Odyssey for children. This seemed to establish the Greek name in Joyce's mind. At school he wrote an essay on Ulysses as his 'favourite hero'. Joyce told Frank Budgen that he considered Ulysses the only all-round character in literature. He thought about calling Dubliners by the name Ulysses in Dublin, but the idea grew from a story in Dubliners in 1906, to a 'short book' in 1907, to the vast novel which he began writing in 1914.

Related pages
Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century

 Other websites 

A brief satirical summary of Ulysses with illustrations 
A large website discussing Ulysses 
The text of Joseph Collins's 1922 New York Times review of Ulysses
A hypertextual, self-referential, complete edition of Ulysses 
Daedalus and Odysseus: Two Mythic Heroes Influencing Fatherhood as Represented in James Joyce’s Ulysses 
Group audio recording of novel

Category:1920s books

Category:Fiction set in the past
Category:Irish novels
Category:Works of James Joyce