Just read: “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man”

This is a tough little novel capturing scenes from a few points in young Stephen Dedalus’s life relating to his decision/conviction to become an artist.

In between arguments full of slang/references to events in turn-of-the-century Ireland and highly technical musings on certain details of theologians (much of which was lost on me, even with the copious footnotes) there was some of the most unique and lyrical prose I have ever come across and some of the most stunning chunks of writing generally.

This novel deals with duty, shame, and the role of the artist (both inward and outward). It is thematically rich without feeling preachy and it contains a lot of very inventive writing without seeming overdone.

Admittedly, much of the plot is quite vague and it takes a minute to really catch up with what is going on, especially between chapters. Of course, here it isn’t terribly important to the work as a whole but it adds a level of difficulty to an already challenging novel.

I’m glad I read this and enjoyed many parts of it–but this might have been a little beyond me to tackle without guidance.