Bloomsday 2012 or How I began reading Ulysses

Well Bloomsday has arrived and as promised I have started Ulysses.

For those that are not aware Bloomsday is on the 16th June and it marks the day on which James Joyce's Ulysses is based. It is now used around the world to celebrate Joyce's work. A few of us decided to read Ulysses to mark the occasion. Some were going to try and read the whole thing in one day. I'm not one of those.

As some of you know I took one look at the book and freaked the crap out. This thing is massive and the writing is completely different to anything I've experienced before. There are a lot of phrases in other languages which require translation, much of it is in a stream-of-consciousness style and really overall it's just tough to read.

But I've started and that's the main thing. The beginning hasn't been as difficult as I expected but I want to make sure I actually understand what's going on so I'm taking my time and reading up on some guides at the end of each episode.

Ulysses is split up into sections and I'll briefly chat about each one as I go through the book. I'm also going to be reading The Odyssey around the same time to help understand the references made in Ulysses.

This is the break down of the first episode of the first part. The Telemachiad.

PART I: The Telemachiad
• Episode i: Telemachus - The Tower - 8am
• Episode ii: Nestor - The School - 10am
• Episode iii: Proteus - The Strand - 11am

Episode 1 is set in a Martello Tower which after some reading I found out that James Joyce did actually live in for a couple of months and it's now a museum. I'm trying to think if I have seen a Martello Tower in my travels around Ireland but can't recall any.

We are introduced to Stephen "Kinch" Dedalus (apparently also a character in A Portrait of the Artist which I haven't read) and his roommate Malachi "Buck" Mulligan. Stephen is mourning the death of his mother and from what I've read is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical Joyce and Malachi is funny, stately and plump and well rather blasphemous. They also have an English visitor Haines who is chilling there and I think is studying Ireland or Irish folklore or Irish history or something like that.

I really do adore some of the language he uses, from describing the art colour as "snotgreen" and using the term "the scrotumtightening sea", I know I'm in for some fun passages throughout this book.

I have a few guides I'm using to help me out, one has the translations to phrases, another has a breakdown of the characters and the third summarises each chapter. I'm finding these very helpful to help decipher this book.

Over the coming weeks (and probably months) I'll be updating here and there with new episodes across Ulysses and also The Odyssey which I'm going to be reading together but only in drips and drabs so I don't overwhelm myself.

Happy Bloomsday everyone. I hope you have been able to enjoy some work of Joyce's today.

The Woman in White Fini - Ta da!

And so it ends. This wonderful journey we've been on together marvelling at the genius that is The Woman in White. I didn't want to finish this all off until I had actually finished (i.e. read the introduction, notes on text and even the play edition of the novel written by Wilkie himself - oh yes my friends I must read it all!). And so I can happily say I have now come to the end.

* Warning spoilers! *

So we are left off with knowing Percival's secret which of course he tries to destroy - wasting himself in the process. There's a bit in the intro which got me thinking about this part actually. One of the most interesting things about The Woman in White is that it is all told by the characters narratives which means that you don't have an overarching narrator who tells you the truth. How do you know as a reader that the narrating characters haven't told little white lies for their own purposes. What if Hartright didn't really try everything he could to get Percival out... who knows what kind of little differences to the truth may be scattered throughout the novel. Intriguing....

What else did we find out - oh yes Anne and Laura were half-sisters; their dad being a bit of player. Not so interesting really. Fosco is in love with Marian (well who wouldn't be really, am I right?) and so decides not to act on the knowledge of their whereabouts. I absolutely adore the line:

"The best men are not consistent in good - why should the worst men be consistent in evil?"

So brilliant. Laura and Walter get married - yeah we all saw that coming but lets be honest no-one really cares. Pesca returns, oh yes best part of the section. Walter has the nerve to suggest we may have forgotten him - yeah right. And then he turns out even cooler by being some kinda spy / secret organisation mobster dude. Very cool.

Pesca sees Fosco and is all 'nup don't know him' and Fosco sees Pesca and craps himself which means Fosco is in this Italian secret brotherhood business too but obviously pissed someone off. Walter and Fosco face off which is one of the more impressive parts of Walter's abilities throughout this novel. But sadly we then have to read through Fosco's confession which has to summarise everything that has already happened and basically puts me to sleep. Nice one. Fosco had some cool phrases but seriously tell me something I didn't know.

And then Fosco goes into hiding but you can't run from the brotherhood assassins! So he's found bobbin' around in a river and Mr. Fairlie kindly heads to the heavens early too so that Walter, Laura and Marian can all live happily ever after at Limmeridge House. Meh that kind of annoyed me for being too convenient and I wanted to see Marian and Pesca get 'acquainted' but it is what it is.

And there we have it. We come to the end of my first readalong (which I loved) and a fantastic book which I highly recommend to everyone. Thanks to everyone who joined me along the way and we'll see you at the next one!

p.s. The play is very different to the actual chain of events in the novel which makes it kinda weird to read.

The Woman in White Part Trois

Watch out peoples - spoilers!

We're near the end. Only a few more chapters to go and it gets more and more exciting. I've been in transit so a little behind in this post but chatting about good books is always worth the wait! Ok so where did we get up to? Oh yes Marian was ill and Fosco had discovered and read her diary, the sneaky bastard.

Of course the next section had me all in a tense as to whether they were going to kill off Marian but I kept telling myself Wilkie wouldn't dare kill such a cool chick and I'd feel better. So then the Count, his doormat wife and Percival start to get all sneaky again and we all knew they were up to something but the way they tricked Laura to leave Blackwater was not at all what I guessed would happen and the evilness that is the Count/Percival pair started to emerge.

And then we find out that Laura has gotten ill and died?! Say what?! I knew that some more sneakiness was going on there, and when Hartright came back on the scene (with everything Marian dreamed about him true) and ran into them at the grave my mind was racing with the possibilities of what happened. That's why I think Collins is such a great story teller, he gives you enough suspense to get super excited and then forces your mind to race over all the possibilities while you read forward trying to decipher the goings on.

So we learn that Laura and Anne did the old switch-a-roo and Laura got landed in the Asylum in place of Anne and Marian finds out and breaks her out (go Marian!) but no-one else believes it's Laura. Don't really blame them though as she has gone all weird. So Hartright swoops in to look after them and to fight for Laura. At least Hartright is finally growing on me thanks to obtaining some balls in Central America. Enough said.

Finally Hartright becomes Mr Detective and starts investigating everything and questioning everyone. So Mrs. Catherick got pregnant and it wasn't her husbands and my mind instantly went to the idea that Laura and Anne were sisters and their dad was Percival which would make their marriage the grossest thing in the world! Ick. But thankfully that idea was killed as quickly as it appeared in my mind. Not something I would want to dwell on.

Anyone else mightily impressed by the interview with Mrs. Catherick? That was a kick ass scene and one I would love to see in a BBC made mini-series of the book. Oh please make that happen.

So the final part is to go and this is the most frustrating part of a great book because you desperately want to finish it but you also don't want it to end! Oh the conundrum.

UPDATE: Turns out I finished a chapter early and everyone else knows The Secret and I don't! Gah! Better read the last chapter before I read anyone else's posts just in case I read a spoiler. Woops.

UPDATE AGAIN (Uber spoiler!): So I read the bit I missed and I know The Secret! Everyone else seems disappointed, like not being Sir isn't that big a deal but I so get why this is a huge issue. It's not losing the baronet title he's worried about, he commited fraud which at one point would have been punishable by death but although now he wouldn't die straight away he would get shipped off to Australia as a convict for ever. I bet in that time getting shipped to the other side of the world which they probably imagined was as wild and dangerous as South America was to Hartright, is enough to freak the crap out of anyone and cause them to hide their secret away. I read a book about the convicts going to Aussie and they travelled on slave ships and heaps of them died in the journey over. I'm just stoked I never guessed it. I hate when I pre-guess things.

The Woman in White Readalong Part Deux

I don't want to stop and write this post, there's too much fantastic reading to be done! I was so excited that this section had Marian's narrative and I was not disappointed. I heart Marian so much. She is such a strong minded, determined woman who saves dogs from boathouses. Who wouldn't love her?!

We get to meet Count Fosco and what a character. A big fat man who wears crazy waistcoats? Definitely not what I expected. Add to that that he looks like Napoleon and has a love of animals including a bunch of mice and birds for pets? Seriously would never have guessed a character like that appearing ever. But I just don't know what to make of him and I'm not the only one, Marian was all like besotted and entranced when they first met and then it all changed and now she is deeply disturbed by him. I had a really similar experience at first I thought sweet a good guy who is going to back up the girls and put Percival in his place, but no he has to be all sneaky and spyish and I just don't know where it's going. I'm so excited.

And his wife?! What a good little obedient assistant she is, rolling his cigarettes and holding up Marian so the Count can be all dastardly. I want to just scream at the page "look out Marian they're being all sneaky".

Finally Sir Percival's true nature is revealed. He's an angry angry broke man who just married for money. To be honest I saw that all coming with the whole marriage settlement section setting up for that but I didn't expect him to get all 'you are my wife and you will obey me and sign this document' and I definitely didn't expect a new Laura with some balls going 'woah no stuff that'. Yea you go girl! Finally Laura gets interesting. Now tell me your Secret Sir Percival!!

Don't know what to make of that dream stuff. At first I was like oh no a dream, don't like it, and then afterwards I was all - wow I so want to know what's going on with Hartright right now. And the ending of this section? I wouldn't have been able to stop at the originally planned stopping point if I had tried. Oh Marian what has happened to you?! And the update in the diary by Count Fosco? - Pure Genius. Give me more!

The Woman in White Readalong Part Un

Oh Wilkie, you and your fantastic beard do not disappoint. You have me already throwing around phrases like "I'm off to have my forenoon cup of tea" and "oh those brats, I agree with Mr. Fairlie we need a reform in the construction of children" (as I glare at the noisy neighbourhood kids out my window). Such fun!

Quick disclaimer this is my first post as part of The Woman in White readalong and as such please expect complete plot revelations and in depth discussions so you have been warned and if you keep reading you only have yourself to blame!

So the first part has us reading the Preface through to the End of Hartright's Narrative. Seriously Preface's are weird. Especially 1860 prefaces. Enough said.

Right off the bat we're thrown Mr. Pesca who has got to be one of the best short lived characters ever. With his "this man of phlegm and money" and his "the immortal fire of genius burns in this Englishman's bosom". Oh Mr. Pesca please come back.

And then we have the pleasure of meeting Marian Halcombe and what an awesome chick she is! Not one of your wimpy, flaccid Victorian woman but a tough nut who speaks her mind. I think all of us in this readalong are slowly falling in love with her. Team Marian! It seems her awesomeness was lost on Mr. Hartright who predictably falls for the beautiful but oh so boring Miss. Fairlie. Oh well no great loss there. Can't say Mr. Hartright is anything special really. Hope I'm not the only one thinking that. Certainly no swoon worthy characteristics in sight.

We of course can't forget about Mr. Fairlie who locks himself up in his room for his nerves, calls his servants asses and who is completely self obsessed. His exchanges are priceless.

And there was a ghost! Even if it was just some silly little kid mistaking a woman in white to be a ghostly apparition. Oh well we'll take it! Anyone else a bit put off by this whole similarity between Miss. Fairlie and Miss. Catherick? I'm sitting there thinking long lost sisters, cousins? Separated at birth? Secretly they're the same person? Oh all of these possibilities are a little depressing for me. Please be a spectacular reason that wants me to throw the book in the air with joy!

And so we come to the end of our first pass as Mr. Hartright has hightailed it outta there after his little puppy dog eyes over Miss. Fairlie don't go unnoticed and all this letter writing mystery stuff gets thrown over to the lawyer, a Mr. Gilmore, who I just can't help but think is going to be an even more boring character than Mr. Hartright. Oh but this Sir Percival Glyde, he just has to turn into an ass who I can hate with all my venom. I love a good villain. Please be a villain.

Until next time....

And so it beings.. The Woman in White readalong

Excitement reigns supreme at my house right now as I bounce around like a little school girl because the readalong has begun! I have wanted to read The Woman in White for months now, ever since it was brought along to my UK bookclub but somehow I missed out on it when it did the borrowing rounds. And yet I know so little about this book which is such a contradiction. So apparently no ghosts (poo!) but I think I have purposely avoided finding out anything so I can be happily surprised when I read it for reals.

My version has a whole lotta intro stuff at the beginning which of course I've skipped right over because I don't want it to reveal even the slightest bit of plot so I can go into this knowing nothing. I love my ignorance.

And aha I'm reading from my beautiful cloth-bound edition and somehow it just makes it that much better. Classics should be read in hardcover wherever possible - even better if they are old, stained and smell like musty libraries.

As for Wilkie - who couldn't love a male writer who can grow such a beard? Writing genius is all about the beard isn't it?!