Review: Ulysses Unbound: A Reader's Companion to James Joyce's Ulysses

Ulysses Unbound: A Reader's Companion to James Joyce's Ulysses by Terence Killeen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

An excellent guide to a notoriously difficult classic. I re-read Ulysses earlier this year ahead of a family holiday in Dublin, timed to coincide with Bloomsday - the day the book is set in.

Killeen provides an easy and enjoyable way to distil the essence of Joyce’s masterpiece. His systematic approach to each episode (chapter) with a good and clear description of the Homeric parallels, should appeal to the novice Joycean (me) as well as more learned students of literature. I enjoyed walking through this book, as much as I did walking the scenes for real this June. We started off at the Martello tower - and after lunching in Sandymount, progressed through to Davy Byrnes for a glass of Burgundy. The book, of course, carries on to 2am, which is past my bedtime.

I have read Ulysses twice, in full chronological order, and collapsed exhausted at the end. A bit like travelling across Europe on an Inter-rail pass in my youth. Having now read the guide, I think I will dip into each episode again someday, as each episode is like a country that can be explored one at a time.

I liked the book a lot and gave it Five Stars.

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