I'm on my 4th attempt at Ulysses. It's just two dense. Too many niche references that only an educated early 20th century Irish citizen would understand.
[1] Ulysses took place all on June 16th 1904. Most of the book is stream of consciousness from Leopold Bloom. Bloom's Day is now a celebration of Joyce in Ireland
I remember listening to a Robert Anton Wilson talk, where he claimed that he had read letters that Joyce wrote to a lover. These letters were only released many years after Joyce's death. Apparently they revealed that Bloom's Day occurs on the date corresponding to Joyce's first ever sexual experience for which he didn't have to pay money (a hand job, for which he was very grateful). Wilson thought it was funny because the common narrative (and that supported by the church) was that the date corresponded to his first kiss with his girlfriend. But actually the church was celebrating a hand job.
I have this site [0] bookmarked in case I ever get around to reading it again. I like the use of hypertext so that you can follow the explanations you want and ignore others, and the inclusion of pictures and videos reminds me of the breathless anticipation of new multimedia experiences back when CD-ROMs started becoming common.
It took me a few tries to get through Ulysses, but I enjoyed it when I finally figured it out.
What helped for me is first reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, which is kind of like an easier version of the same style that introduces some of the characters in Ulysses. And then following along on ulyssesguide.com when I was reading it. Some of the parts (the fake quasi latin) are extra difficult and it helps to have a guide so you don't get completely lost as to what's going on.
I had a few tries at Ulysses in my 20s and always abandoned it.
I tried it again aged 38 and I found it flowed much more easily. The protagonist Leopold Bloom, who I remembered as an old man from earlier attempts, was relatable. It turns out Bloom is exactly 38.
I find side notes too disruptive when reading so my crutch for the middle was to skim a short chapter summary before a starting each new chapter. This let me enjoy the dreamlike qualities of the text without needing to catch every reference.
I'm on my 4th attempt at Ulysses. It's just two dense. Too many niche references that only an educated early 20th century Irish citizen would understand.
[1] Ulysses took place all on June 16th 1904. Most of the book is stream of consciousness from Leopold Bloom. Bloom's Day is now a celebration of Joyce in Ireland