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Title: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce Archive) by James Joyce, Hans Walter Gabler, Walter Hettche ISBN: 0-8153-1278-4 Publisher: Tuttle Publishing Pub. Date: June, 1993 Format: Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $99.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.84 (185 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Hooked by the first line...
Comment: The best first line every written in any novel. Read it and see. =)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Different Kind of Poetic Portrait
Comment: This man's writing is GENIUS. I read this book about seven years ago; and, it still impresses itself upon my mind as a favorite.
Some people have trouble with his writing: they find it hard to understand.
(With the obvious exception of Finnegan's Wake) I find Joyce's writing to be more understandable than most. I relate to his style very easily. He SAYS more than most writers using the same amount of words. In "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man", there is a lot of depth here in terms of metaphors and all sorts of sensations the writing invokes from your being.
I think Joyce was able to transcend the typical semantic limitations of the English language and add motion as well as layers of understanding to his composition. The connections between the words ... phrases... all of their subtle meanings ... their INTERACTIONS ... their colors and sounds... this is like music in writing!! I don't know of any other author capable of this. When I read James Joyce, the pages come to life. His rhyming style in "A Portrait..." particularly fancies my attention. ;) I am sensitive to that rhythm. It is very child-like and fun - but not to be read superficially or you'll miss something...
This book discusses themes including struggling with the sensual world versus perfectionistic ideals ... within the context of Old Irish Catholic upbringing and the struggles inherent therein. Tied in with that are also issues of rebellion/going your own way versus trying to "fit in". Perhaps the latter of that is not so clearly stated in the book; but, I see it in there. These issues are explored - most appropriately - through the story of a maturing, intelligent, adolescent boy in Dublin who no doubt parallels Joyce himself. This is a story about personal growth: some of the metaphors illustrate the sensation of being born again and again and again ... cold, wet and naked into the world ... with each new experience and insight. These insights - epiphanies - are explored in a way that resonated greatly with me, impressing that deep, joyful sense of appreciation of this beautiful element in Life.
I particularly enjoyed the point in the book in which the main character, Stephen Dedalus, begins indulging in Aristotle's theory of aesthetics. This is where the book peaked for me because the very style of writing ... as well as its descriptions of how life interacts with itself ... all of these layers were explained from an aesthetic context in Stephen's conversational discourses on the nature of beauty. I guess I could most simply describe the sensation as the old idea of a mirror reflecting (something) within a mirror reflecting within another mirror, and on ... or perhaps "waking" from a dream successively ... this is part of the effect it has on you. The reason for this is because you are forced back from the text and see a crystallization of the writing style itself that the main character of the book expounds in the theory. The beauty of the book is consummated at this point because of the understanding - the definition of it. I don't think I have explained it sufficiently here; but, I'll say that there was great irony at this point in the book for me. Oh, I loved this book...
Not for everyone, I still think everyone should be exposed to this style of writing at some point. I think that perhaps the people who are deep-thinking artists (of all varieties) might get the most from this book, on average. This is still definitely a classic.
Rating: 5
Summary: The best edition of "A Portrait"
Comment: Depending on one's taste and level of concentration, James Joyce's "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" is either tedious flop or a wonderful cornerstone of world literature. (I believe the latter.) I won't go into a discussion of "A Portrait" here because if you are looking at this particular Viking Critical edition, you've already committed yourself to reading it. The value of this edition lies in the critical essays and notes at the end. The notes will help the reader along, as they explain some of the terms and/or conditions that are particular to Joyce's Ireland. The essays are, each and every one, valuable tools. Whether it's an examination of Joyce's life, the creation of "A Portrait", the influences it would have, etc., every essay is a heavy-weight that enchances an understanding of the book. (At least it did for me.) If you're seriously considering reading "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" this is the edition to use.
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Title: Ulysses by James Joyce ISBN: 0679722769 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 16 June, 1990 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Dubliners by James Joyce ISBN: 0486268705 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 May, 1991 List Price(USD): $2.00 |
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Title: Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad ISBN: 0486264645 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 01 July, 1990 List Price(USD): $1.50 |
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Title: Joyce's Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man (Cliffs Notes) by Valerie Pursel Zimbaro ISBN: 0822010577 Publisher: Cliffs Notes Pub. Date: 27 November, 1964 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Finnegans Wake (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) by James Joyce, John Bishop ISBN: 0141181265 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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