ArticleThe Irish Homer

Around 1440 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. In the next 582 years or so, Gutenberg's invention helped to produce more than 156 million books. Most of them went unnoticed, many drew some interest, and still quite a few books became popular. Precious few of those managed to squeeze into the coveted “extremely popular” category. A book can be considered extremely popular if thousands around the world choose to spend a night in front of bookstores where that book is about to become available, starting from next morning - just to be among its very first owners. Upon purchasing and reading the book, its devotees join fan clubs, create websites focusing on that book and/or its author, engage in cosplays, and write fanfics including even Encyclopedias. For instance, an Encyclopedia of Tolkien is a “comprehensive illustrated guide to the history, lands and inhabitants of Middle-Earth”. Similarly, “The Encyclopedia of Potterworld” is an “authoritative directory of all the creatures, characters, places and other elements that comprise the Harry Potter universe”. In other words, these guides provide information about the world of the book thus helping its readers to better familiarize themselves with that world and adding to their enjoyment of exploring it. However, almost no guide aims at helping anybody to actually read a book. I say “almost” because there is one book, James Joyce's “Ulysses”, that does require such a guide.

It is beyond belief that a literate person with no reading comprehension problems might struggle to read a book of fiction (specialized scientific books or arcane religious texts is an altogether different matter). Yet, one of the most repetitive sentences in the guide in question is “…here you will be tempted to give up. Don't!” It might sound less surprising if we recall that “Ulysses” is the ultimate example of “stream of consciousness” - a literary style that quite simply has no analogues. Even so, one has to actually try to read from the book, word by word and sentence by sentence, to fully understand the meaning of: “a character's thoughts and feelings are depicted in a continuous flow uninterrupted by objective description or conventional dialogue”. As the author of the guide put it, "reading “Ulysses” is not something you would do on a Saturday morning, with a cup of coffee in your hand". It's hard work, not a pastime; academic studies rather than fun and enjoyment. Unsurprisingly, these studies are undertaken in groups (in person or online), and they are supported by ten or so reference books the guide in question is a streamlined version of. What is not only surprising but outright bewildering is why many people decide to undertake those studies.

“Many” might, in fact, be misleading as “multitudes” seems to be a better word. UlyssesGuide.com is visited by hundreds of thousands a month, and they come from all over the world. Even more stunning, thousands actually come every year from all over the world - to a particular place (Dublin) on a particular day (June 16) - to celebrate “Ulysses” and participate in readings and other activities related to the novel. That tradition alone turns “why” into an even more pressing question- why a novel featuring no knights in shining armor and no damsels in distress; no precocious wizards and no indomitable warriors inspiring their comrades with their own version of the Gettysburg Address? The last thing that can be found in “Ulysses” is “there will be a day…but it's not this day!” - because “Ulysses” as such is all about “this day” - June 16, 1904.  

On the surface, the whole book is about ordinary people running ordinary errands, while engaged in idle conversations or petty squabbles - hardly a recipe for a bestseller. Deeper down, “Ulysses” - though deliberately limited to a particular time and place - reveals itself as timeless and omnipresent, as it's intrinsically connected to the world at large. Its very title (and the titles of all its chapters) and structure echo antiquity and its greatest poet, Homer; its characters coming from “Dubliners” and “A Portrait…” are a tribute to Balzac and the whole French school of social realism; its two protagonists, granting access to their unfiltered thoughts, could serve as a perfect case study for Freud and his school of thought… Equally important, the way the story is told blurs the distinction between past and present, myth and reality, because quite often it's impossible to determine if the narrated events actually happen(ed) - and if so, when.  

The ultimate secret of “Ulysses”' appeal to so many people might be its multifaceted nature resulting in a chameleon ability to offer everyone exactly what that particular person seeks. That ability came at a cost as Joyce had to combine his extensive knowledge and unbridled imagination with ultimate ruthlessness allowing him to depict his characters (essentially all of them had prototypes) exactly as they were. That's why the man on the picture who fully deserved to be referred to as “the Irish Homer” is rather known among his fellow countrymen as “A Prick with a Stick”!