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

Description

An illuminating reader's guide to Ulysses, with a new foreword by Colm T ibin, publishing to celebrate the centenary of the novel's first publication Ulysses is one of the foundational texts of modern literature, yet has a reputation for complexity and controversy. In Ulysses Unbound, Joyce expert Terence Killeen untangles this seemingly knotty classic to reveal the wonders beneath, in a clear and comprehensive guide which will provide new and vital insights for everyone from students to specialists. In this new edition, published to celebrate the centenary of Ulysses' first publication in 1922, Killeen seamlessly combines close literary analysis with a broad account of the novel's fascinating history, from its writing and publication to its long contemporary afterlife. We get under the skin of the text to discover the joys of Joyce's remarkable range of themes, styles and voices, as Killeen reanimates the real people who inspired many of the characters. Ulysses Unbound is an indispensable, illuminating and entertaining companion to one of the twentieth century's great works of art.

Terence Killeen is Research Scholar at the James Joyce Centre, Dublin. He has published in the James Joyce Quarterly, the James Joyce Literary Supplement and the Joyce Studies Annual. A former journalist with the Irish Times, he continues to write on Joyce-related matters for the newspaper. He is a former trustee of the International James Joyce Foundation. His most recent publication is an essay on Joyce's early A Portrait of the Artist in the volume Joyce's Non-Fiction Writings. He has taught Finnegans Wake for many years at seminars at the Dublin James Joyce Summer School and the Trieste Joyce Summer School. He has also lectured at both schools, at the James Joyce Centre, at Trinity College Dublin at various International and North America James Joyce Symposiums and at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris.

Killeen's impulse is to create a commentary on Ulysses that opens the book for anyone to read. He writes clearly; his companion to Ulysses makes the book easier to follow without simplifying anything. His book is not his own insistent interpretation of Ulysses; rather, it is a guide for others that is systematic and supremely helpful. Each reader will have different moments when Ulysses Unbound becomes essential ... it comes to our aid most practically and succinctly. -- Colm Toibin Striking a balance between adequate explication and merciful concision, Killeen's considered, low-key style has already proven illuminating for both academic and general readers. -- Emer Nolan * Times Literary Supplement *