Ulysses

Tonight I have just finished reading James Joyce's epic Ulysses. Wow! Wow for two reasons - one: I managed to finish this, and two: I actually enjoyed it! Well, parts of it. I enjoyed some narrative voices more than others, I'll have to admit, but there were parts of the book that I couldn't put down. It's a very risque book, and must have been very controversial in its day. I was surprised that the final chapter (section?) of the book contained a female narrative voice, having got used to following Mr Bloom around with his various voices: question and answer, hallucination, religious prose etc, it was a bit of a shock to end the book with the rambling thoughts of Molly Bloom, the wife who is alluded to but often absent from Bloom's day. The final chapter was written as a stream of consciousness, rambling sentences that don't have any punctuation, endless sentences that roll into one - thoughts that merge and then move on. Ulysses is one of the most complicated novels I've ever read. This might have something to do with my lack of knowledge of Greek mythology (Ulysses being based on Homer's Odyssey) but possibly on the acknowledged fact that Joyce wrote this epic as a challenge for his academic peers. Having managed to complete this - I think it might be time to read something a little bit lighter! Comedy anyone?