Shoutout to this remarkable book. It offers brief yet incisive summaries of each chapter, which serve as excellent reminders of the trends that pervade throughout the entire work. The professor's description of Ulysses as a symphony, with individual themes being like specific instruments, is truly apt. At one moment, these themes drive the movement forward, while in the next, they add just a small layer to the overall piece. This book does an outstanding job of keeping track of those trends, themes, and details, whether they are in the foreground or background of each respective chapter. It provides a comprehensive and detailed analysis that allows readers to fully appreciate the complexity and depth of the work.

I had expected that the primary purpose of this book would be to identify patterns and uncover obscure references, as well as to clarify the more challenging passages within Ulysses.

To a certain extent, it does fulfill this to some degree. However, in reality, it is more akin to Cliff's Notes, as the main objective appears to be to summarize the book.

For some chapters of Ulysses, I discovered that this summary was rather useful. It helped me to quickly grasp the essence and key points of those particular sections.

Nevertheless, for other chapters, I felt that the summary was unnecessary. The original text was clear enough on its own, and the summary did not add significant value or enhance my understanding.

Overall, while this book does have its merits in terms of providing a summary, it may not be the most comprehensive or in-depth resource for truly understanding the complexity and richness of Ulysses.

It is an indispensable companion to Ulysses.

One might not be able to understand the subtle symbols and links within Ulysses without this incredibly easy-to-read book. Even if you manage to grasp the techniques employed in the original work, the vastness of its vocabulary can be sufficient to discourage your reading experience and, consequently, your overall understanding of the story.

However, Mr. Blamires offers a page-by-page guide that not only explains each and every episode but also, at times, provides food for thought regarding the subtle and possible allusions and links. He doesn't overuse this approach, which is to our advantage and enjoyment.

But who am I to speak here? He himself says all of this and manages to justify himself in his own introduction.

TL;DR: It is indispensable, and I highly recommend you read it after each episode of Ulysses. This companion book serves as a valuable aid in deciphering the complex and rich world of Ulysses, enhancing your reading experience and deepening your understanding of this literary masterpiece.

Mostly, he did a fabulous job of helping me understand the parts I had trouble with.

However, there were occasions when I found he got almost as confusing as Joyce.

Perhaps it was just that I was in a state of boredom.

In the end, though, it's not his fault that the story behind Ulysses is so uninteresting.

It could be that the complexity of the work itself is the main culprit.

Despite this, his efforts to clarify and explain were still valuable.

Maybe with more time and patience on my part, I would have been able to fully appreciate the nuances of the story.

Nonetheless, I have to admit that the experience of reading Ulysses was not as enjoyable as I had hoped.

But that doesn't mean I won't give it another try in the future.

After all, great works of literature often require multiple readings to truly understand and appreciate.

Blamires is like Virgil guiding me through Joyce's "Inferno" in Ulysses. He is an indispensable companion.

My only gripe is that although he brought the Baedeker, he failed to bring a dictionary, which could have been twice as useful. Nevertheless, his teaching method is flawless. He provides the student with a wealth of information at the start, immersing him in the environment, and then gradually reduces his dependence as the journey progresses. But he doesn't neglect to have a lively conversation at the end, precisely when it is most needed.

If I were to undertake the journey again, I might do it alone or with another traveling partner. However, as a pioneer, Blamires is extremely difficult to surpass.

This is the be-all, end-all of Ulysses texts for our Skylight bookgroup. However, I have to say that I find it to be overly summary-oriented and lacking in truly interesting content. What I mean is that if I simply want to know what's happening in the story, I might as well just read Ulysses itself. The Cliff Notes provide all the summary I really need, and this particular text doesn't have the great annotations like those found in the online Columbia text (http://www.columbia.edu/~fms5/ulys.htm), nor does it have the "insight" that comes from the James Heffernan lectures.

I've gathered that this book is actually out of print. So, if you're taking on the challenge of reading Ulysses, don't go to great lengths to try and find this particular text.

On a side note, I can loan it to you in pdf format if you're interested. This way, you can still have access to it without the need to search high and low for a physical copy.

Perhaps you might want to explore other resources that offer more in-depth analysis and interpretation of Ulysses to enhance your reading experience.

A really helpful guide for my reading of Ulysses this month, which is my first experience in a non-classroom setting. There isn't really much point in writing an overly long review of Ulysses. I do love it, but as I grow older, I start to wonder if it's all just bait with no real hook. However, the elegant simplicity of the Blamires guide is truly worth recommending. When I was in college, I was far too self-important to make use of "guides". Now, I deeply regret that decision. It's amazing how a good guide can enhance one's understanding and appreciation of a complex work like Ulysses. The Blamires guide provides valuable insights and explanations that make the reading experience much more enjoyable and rewarding. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is planning to read Ulysses or who is already in the process of reading it.

This book is a guide specifically crafted for the first-time reader of "Ulysses," just like I was.

I discovered it to be extremely useful in deciphering the text, and it significantly enhanced my understanding of this challenging yet highly rewarding novel.

Blamires delves right into the core of what is crucial for a frequently perplexed reader to comprehend.

However, I do have one significant caveat. If you're not a white male Christian (and this is particularly astonishing considering that the main character of the novel, Bloom, is a Jew), be prepared to feel like an outsider.

Just one quote from Blamires (p.233): "But the waters are also the waters of Baptism...reminding us of our double inheritance, as natural men born into the order of nature and as Christians saved by the redeeming Blood."

Joyce, who was essentially a nonbeliever, might have cringed at this interpretation. As a Jew, I most definitely did.

I don't envision that women will find it overly helpful either.

This guide to Ulysses is truly amazing. I highly recommend it to anyone who is reading Ulysses by James Joyce.

However, I would suggest reading this book AFTER you have read the entire book of Ulysses. The reason is that this guide pulls together information that is scattered throughout the novel into a more linear and coherent fashion. But this can sometimes result in spoilers if you have not yet read the full novel. If you don't mind this, then feel free to read this guide alongside Ulysses.

I agree with some others that reading "The Annotated Ulysses" with a million footnotes is not the best way to enjoy reading Ulysses. You will get too buried in the minutiae and miss the larger themes, as well as the humor and wit that James Joyce has inserted into the novel.

This book is organized into the 18 episodes within Ulysses. Most importantly, it has page numbers corresponding with two separate editions of Ulysses in the margins. This allows you to zero in on the exact page where something is occurring and get an interpretation or translation of it.

The style in which this book is written is very accessible, down-to-earth, relatable, and not pompous or overly academic. It felt to me as if one of my favorite and relatable college English professors were discussing the book with me one-on-one over a coffee or beer. In other words, it was not a chore to read through this guide, and yet it provided me with a great deal of value and understanding of the novel Ulysses. It helps the reader to gain the "culture" of having read Ulysses and understand the larger themes and messages from the author (Joyce), without being overly technical and bogging you down trying to become an expert. In fact, this book is so well written and easy to read that I was able to read it in less than 2 weeks and quite enjoyed it. It really helped me to enjoy Ulysses much more than I might have just slogging through it on my own. I highly recommend it.

It would have been nice to have a kind of "character map" or list of characters as a part of this book. But the structure of this book is to summarize each of the episodes in Ulysses separately and not provide any overall framework. You can also find Joyce's matrices (2) of the 18 episodes and various character maps that readers have created online. This book's best asset and purpose is to help the reader understand each episode individually and how each relates to the plot of Homer's Greek epic, The Odyssey.

It is essential to have a good understanding of Ulysses by James Joyce. In the sequence of my own reading, I would read this particular work right after every chapter of Ulysses and before any other books. The reason for this is that it offers the simplest perspective. It would neatly summarize the events that took place within the chapter. Moreover, at times, it would even hint at the themes or tricks employed by Joyce, but without delving too deeply or straying too far from the main narrative. This approach helps in building a better comprehension of the complex and multi-layered text of Ulysses. By having this concise summary and analysis after each chapter, it becomes easier to keep track of the story's progression and to notice the subtleties and nuances that Joyce has incorporated into his masterpiece.

I'm delving into James Joyce's Ulysses. I've always thought that no English major who values herself can claim to be a true English major without reading this book. And this particular book I'm using as a guide has been quite useful.

At first, I was let down. The author doesn't devote a great deal of time to dissecting Joyce's art and technique. Mostly, he offers a summary of the key events in each chapter. However, as I've progressed through the book, I've come to understand that this service is more than sufficient. This guide isn't intended to be a work of literary criticism. Instead, it is, as it ought to be, an assistance for the first-time Ulysses reader. And if you have an interest in the book, it's inevitable that there will be multiple readings. Since the first reading can scarcely be more than an appreciation of the "plot," characters, and major themes, effectively whetting the appetite for more. In this regard, The New Bloomsday Book accomplishes its purpose admirably.

It provides a solid foundation for readers to begin their exploration of the complex and profound world of Ulysses, allowing them to gradually uncover the hidden layers and meanings within the text.

Unfortunately, this work serves as a necessary supplement not only for any first reading of Ulysses but also likely for a second and third reading as well. It neatly rounds up the consensus opinion on what Joyce intended in each chapter in an efficient manner. By presenting the collective understanding of the various interpretations, it provides readers with a valuable resource to enhance their comprehension of this complex and profound literary masterpiece. Whether one is a novice exploring Ulysses for the first time or a seasoned scholar delving deeper into its intricacies, this supplement offers insights that can help unlock the mysteries and meanings hidden within Joyce's text. It simplifies the often-daunting task of grappling with the novel's numerous themes, symbols, and allusions, making it more accessible and understandable to a wider audience.