top of page

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Writer: Kathy Miller
Kathy Miller
Nov 4, 2021
1 min read

James Joyce, 1904-14 Read 9/23/21





This isn't a story so much as a series of almost-connected vignettes. There is also a lot of sex-obsessed Catholic guilt, which is unsurprising considering the author was Irish.


As this is obviously semi-autobiographical, I can say that Joyce was obviously extremely impressed by his own education and intelligence. There were many sermons, but they didn't stop the action as much as the political preaching in Atlas Shrugged.


One thing I can say is that Joyce did an amazing job of showing exactly how Stephen feels and why. Very immersive into the character's eyes. However, he was not at all clever with naming his character Stephen Dedalus. That's not remotely subtle.


Rereadability: Nah.

Time to Read: 2 days

Classic: I can see why this is considered a classic. It is very well written.

Recent Posts

See All
Effi Briest

Theodor Fontane, 1895 Date read: 10/31/26 🎃 This is Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina all over again. Same sort story again. Young woman marries an older man, cheats on him, dies dramatically. This one

 
 
 
The Power and the Glory

Graham Greene, 1940 date read: 10/27/26 First impression: Mexican Les Mis? Yes, actually. It is the same basic premise: dedicated police officer seeking a prisoner. Except the prisoner in this is a C

 
 
 
The Naked and the Dead

Norman Mailer, 1948 Date read 10/13/26 This is one of the best novels I've ever read. Bar none.

 
 
 

Comments


Subscribe Form

Thanks for submitting!

©2021 by Lengthy Literary List. Proudly created with Wix.com

  • Instagram
bottom of page