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thebobsphere's review
5.0
In Rónán Hession’s introduction to this essay collection, he talks about, amongst other things, his relationship to Joyce’s literature and there’s a small similarity to my baptism of fire with Joyce as well.
Like Rónán Hession, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was my first taste of James Joyce. I was 18 at the time and trying to build a solid literary foundation for further study (never happened) I did not find it easy going but I did admire it. Many years later on I bought Ulysses and whenever I start it, I read the first page, I absorb it and languish in it but then I find it so powerful that I close the book, only to open it and find myself stuck on that one page ( funnily enough I do the same thing with Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon – another memorable opening if there was one)
Now that I got my Jocyean demons out of the way, I can review this Anthology.
Writing 100 essays on Joyce may seem like a daunting task but David Collard pulls it off and the result is an entertaining, informative and very funny collection. If you want to know how Joyce influenced the web cartoon Monster High or his connection with Italo Svevo, look no further. Maybe you’re interested in the type of spectacles he wore or his approach to wordplay (and there’s tons of puns here) there’s some essays about that too!
Not only are there essays about Joyce but David Collard delves into other aspects: James Joyce literary tattoos, what it means to read adventurous work (a big THANK YOU for essay 89), the lack of a comma in Finnegans Wake, the power of independent presses, how Joyce translates on audio and film and the famous Mrkgnao.
However, my personal favorite essay is number 50, which is called Confession, in which David Collard writes about he cannot read Finnegans Wake in it’s entirety. It’s a personal memoir involving religion and it’s role in David’s Collard’s view of the arts. I will say that every essay in this collection is an enjoyable read but Confession resonated with me.
After reading Multiple Joyce and I don’t suggest dipping in and out of it. One realises how integral James Joyce is to culture, both popular and underground: There’s a Joycean link to Star Wars, Anthony Burgess, Galley Beggar Press (two in fact) , Johnny Depp even Paolo Coelho (that’s another highlight, anyone who dislikes his writings gets a thumbs up) all have a trace of Joyce in them, which truly makes him a cultural wunderkind. Does one need to be a Joyce scholar to enjoy this book? – definitely not but it is an excellent launching pad for a budding Joyce fan (if I had this book when I was 18! I would have worn it out) or maybe a Joyce fanatic will tick off the things they did know, or be flustered at the title quiz (essay 100, naturally)
Since puns are a big thing I’d like to end on one, which also is a tribute to another adventurous author:
The Bloom of the System
Like Rónán Hession, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man was my first taste of James Joyce. I was 18 at the time and trying to build a solid literary foundation for further study (never happened) I did not find it easy going but I did admire it. Many years later on I bought Ulysses and whenever I start it, I read the first page, I absorb it and languish in it but then I find it so powerful that I close the book, only to open it and find myself stuck on that one page ( funnily enough I do the same thing with Pynchon’s Mason & Dixon – another memorable opening if there was one)
Now that I got my Jocyean demons out of the way, I can review this Anthology.
Writing 100 essays on Joyce may seem like a daunting task but David Collard pulls it off and the result is an entertaining, informative and very funny collection. If you want to know how Joyce influenced the web cartoon Monster High or his connection with Italo Svevo, look no further. Maybe you’re interested in the type of spectacles he wore or his approach to wordplay (and there’s tons of puns here) there’s some essays about that too!
Not only are there essays about Joyce but David Collard delves into other aspects: James Joyce literary tattoos, what it means to read adventurous work (a big THANK YOU for essay 89), the lack of a comma in Finnegans Wake, the power of independent presses, how Joyce translates on audio and film and the famous Mrkgnao.
However, my personal favorite essay is number 50, which is called Confession, in which David Collard writes about he cannot read Finnegans Wake in it’s entirety. It’s a personal memoir involving religion and it’s role in David’s Collard’s view of the arts. I will say that every essay in this collection is an enjoyable read but Confession resonated with me.
After reading Multiple Joyce and I don’t suggest dipping in and out of it. One realises how integral James Joyce is to culture, both popular and underground: There’s a Joycean link to Star Wars, Anthony Burgess, Galley Beggar Press (two in fact) , Johnny Depp even Paolo Coelho (that’s another highlight, anyone who dislikes his writings gets a thumbs up) all have a trace of Joyce in them, which truly makes him a cultural wunderkind. Does one need to be a Joyce scholar to enjoy this book? – definitely not but it is an excellent launching pad for a budding Joyce fan (if I had this book when I was 18! I would have worn it out) or maybe a Joyce fanatic will tick off the things they did know, or be flustered at the title quiz (essay 100, naturally)
Since puns are a big thing I’d like to end on one, which also is a tribute to another adventurous author:
The Bloom of the System
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