Sometimes I wonder if literary & artistic Modernism's grave hubris was neglecting to consider how audiences would experience artworks. Like did Joyce ever go, "Hmmm, I wonder if it's fair to expect folks to read 600 pages of relentless multilingual wordplay as a novel [ahem, Finnegan's Wake]. Oh well, let's go back to typing this manuscript."
@rusty yes, and dammit I love him for it
@frustratedantiquarian what's your fav joyce, btw? i still love dubliners.
@rusty sorry if this is intrusive and weird but... i love dubliners too, and i want to read more joyce and i've got a copy of ulysses sitting on my shelf for months now, but i'm too intimidated to get into it because of its reputation of being this big-brain super-clever classic. i'm afraid i won't enjoy it or miss its themes. 😓 any suggestions on how i should approach it?
@proust Forget the whole "big-brain super-clever classic" reputation that enshrouds it nowadays. Ulysses, I think, is anarchic fun more than anything else. Joyce is all like, "Fuck repressive Irish culture, fuck language, I'm just gonna try out EVERYTHING and see what sticks!"
