I haven't read The Dead but I greatly enjoyed John Houston's film adaptation of it. I also never read Ulysses but the BBC produced a very listenable book at bedtime of it that I can remember listening to in the Summer of 1991 as the coup was underway in Russia (I wasn't there btw)
Re: 'The Dead', I got a copy of it as a present last christmas after boring people for years about what a good film it is, though I hadn't seen it in years.
AFAIK it was John Huston's last film and a labour of love (his daughter Angelica is in it).
It's a bit dated now (made in the 80s) and low budget but it still holds up imo. The main character has some long thoughts to himself about life, death and how little we really know those closest to us, that are very moving imo.
The Dead is a good film, undeniably, but its basis is the final short story of Dubliners, which is Joyce's most approachable work; everything afterwards was increasingly avant-garde, but Dubliners is at least written according to conventional rules of both English grammar and literature (though there's a lot going on behind the scenes).
(I personally very much enjoyed Portrait... and Ulysses - the latter is very difficult in places, but on the whole an astonishing achievement. I'm saving Finnegans Wake for my retirement.)
I'd recommend John Huston's film 'The Dead' to anyone who would like experience something by Joyce. I did read a bit of 'A portrait of the artist as a young man'. He really got into the head of a small boy who was being bullied in one part. I never finished it though, I can't remember why.
I don't think that I could ever read Ulysses, I did listen to a reading of it on the BBC's book at bedtime many years ago and liked parts of it.
Finnegan's Wake would drive me insane, I'm certain.
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I haven't read The Dead but I greatly enjoyed John Houston's film adaptation of it. I also never read Ulysses but the BBC produced a very listenable book at bedtime of it that I can remember listening to in the Summer of 1991 as the coup was underway in Russia (I wasn't there btw)
Glad you found it amusing.
Re: 'The Dead', I got a copy of it as a present last christmas after boring people for years about what a good film it is, though I hadn't seen it in years. AFAIK it was John Huston's last film and a labour of love (his daughter Angelica is in it). It's a bit dated now (made in the 80s) and low budget but it still holds up imo. The main character has some long thoughts to himself about life, death and how little we really know those closest to us, that are very moving imo.
The Dead is a good film, undeniably, but its basis is the final short story of Dubliners, which is Joyce's most approachable work; everything afterwards was increasingly avant-garde, but Dubliners is at least written according to conventional rules of both English grammar and literature (though there's a lot going on behind the scenes).
(I personally very much enjoyed Portrait... and Ulysses - the latter is very difficult in places, but on the whole an astonishing achievement. I'm saving Finnegans Wake for my retirement.)
I'd recommend John Huston's film 'The Dead' to anyone who would like experience something by Joyce. I did read a bit of 'A portrait of the artist as a young man'. He really got into the head of a small boy who was being bullied in one part. I never finished it though, I can't remember why. I don't think that I could ever read Ulysses, I did listen to a reading of it on the BBC's book at bedtime many years ago and liked parts of it. Finnegan's Wake would drive me insane, I'm certain.