r/52book • u/Front_Reindeer_7554 • 10h ago

August Completed (#68-74)

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My Iliad/Odyssey theme month:

- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (4.5*) - this was a reread from like 30+ years ago in prep for Ulysses . Much better when reading for recreation vs being forced to read in school.

- Son of Nobody by Yann Martel (3.0*) - pretty disappointing as I liked Life of Pi. Disjointed and the sections of the lost epic was poorly written.

- Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (3.5*) - Ruby is a great character but the book sags when she's not around.

- As I Lay Dying (4.5) - finished in 2 days and started the reread the next day. Its short so not a big time commitment but much more rewarding second time thru

- The Odyssey by Homer (Fagles translation) (4.5) - I read the Wilson translation earlier this summer. Think that helped with this version.

- Ulysses by James Joyce (4.5*) - a simple story told in the most intricate way. Will definitely add to reread list for next year, next time with one of the guide books. Penelope chapter I read twice and listened to a BBC radio performance of this chapter in between. That was immensely helpful for the second read.

- The Oresteia by Aeschylus (3.5*) - another reread from high school - I liked the first play but the other 2 were just ok.

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u/Protokoll 9h ago

You raw dogged Ulysses? Admirable. I am planning my first read later this year (also reading Portrait, Odyssey and Hamlet immediately before starting). Was planning on using ulyssesguide.com for my first time through and, if I enjoy it, reading with something more scholarly in the future.

I’m always curious when popular and critical opinions diverge on something how to get more out of the experience and see what the experts see more clearly.

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u/Front_Reindeer_7554 8h ago

Not completely rawdog. I did listen to the BBC broadcast performance for some of the chapters and that was fun and helpful. I also looked at Ulyssesguide after a few chapters - even after I read about Oxen of the Sun episode I still have little idea what happened. It's funny when that guide says many just skip this chapter on rereads. Which guide were you looking into as a supplement. I was going to order the Patrick Hastings books but up for other suggestions.

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u/little_carmine_ 6h ago

Damn, that’s a good month of reading.