Ulysses

By: James Joyce

Narrated by: Jim Norton

Length: 27 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Ulysses is regarded by many as the single most important novel of the 20th century. It tells the story of one day in Dublin, June 16th 1904, largely through the eyes of Stephen Dedalus (Joyce's alter ego from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man) and Leopold Bloom, an advertising salesman. Both begin a normal day, and both set off on a journey around the streets of Dublin, which eventually brings them into contact with one another.

While Bloom's passionate wife, Molly, conducts yet another illicit liasion (with her concert manager), Bloom finds himself getting into arguments with drunken nationalists and wild carousing with excitable medical students, before rescuing Stephen Dedalus from a brawl and returning with him to his own basement kitchen.

In the hands of Jim Norton and Marcella Riordan, experienced and stimulating Joycean readers, and carefully directed by Roger Marsh, Ulysses becomes accessible as never before. It is entertaining, immediate, funny, and rich in classical, philosophical, and musical allusion.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

(P)2004 NAXOS AudioBooks Ltd.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Classics, 2005

"As ambitious and rewarding an audio production as any that exists, an audio experience that truly deserves to be cherished....Readers of Ulysses have long been encouraged to read out loud the more difficult sections for added comprehension and enjoyment of the language. Now, thanks to Naxos, the entire book is available in a performance to savor. It is safe to say that anyone wanting to experience the preeminent work of modern fiction has in this package the perfect audio companion." (AudioFile)

Volumes could be more ideal

I'm sure it's no small thing to do an audiobook and Norton does a great job however the volume changes (sound mixing? not sure if the term) is difficult at times. To listen with headphones or in the car and have a near whisper transition to a man screaming is very unpleasant. Otherwise wonderful.

This Podcast NSFW!

Since “Ulysses” is basically First-Person stream of consciousness, it plays like a soft-porn podcast.
This is MUCH better than trying to read the pages!
The voice actors were excellent and most of the Dublin and Irish names and place were well pronounced. I don’t speak much Irish but the pronunciation sounded correct although I didn’t understand all the words.
The book is LONG so I listened at 1.1 speed which reduced the time by several hours and barely changed the tone, I hardly noticed.
Helluva funeral … ;)
Highly Recommended

Masterpiece

Well written, wonderfully narrated and I understand why it is considered a classic piece of literature. That being said it was not one of my favorite books, I had a hard time connecting to the characters and found them difficult to care about.

More than one day

Reviewer's often refer to this as a classic about a single day in the life of Leopold Bloom and his wife, Molly in and around Dublin. How boring does that sound, and what injustice does it do to this brilliantly subversive novel? It could not understate anything more.

Joyce is a master of pastiche and co-opts multiple styles in this at times wickedly funny and often profound and unsettling masterpiece. This was a bucket list read for me. I thought it would be a chore, but it was amazingly funny. At times, Nietzsche and Freud meet the Marx brothers. At others, the puffed up style of academia catalogs a dissected life. In places it is vulgar and bawdy; while in others poetically beautiful. It mirrors us: complex and complicated, dirty and selfish, neurotic and needy, striving for understanding and acceptance while trapped by prejudice and the prevailing mores of the 19th century and driven to define the meaning of being alive.

The performance of the readers was extraordinary. Jim Norton's mastery of all the nuances, rhythms and emotions of the characters in all types of situations was nothing less than brilliant.

A long road.

I read The Iliad, The Odyssey, and The Great Courses Joyce's Ulysses in preparation to listening to this book. I enjoyed all of them more than Ulysses. I have been told by countless online lists that this is one of the greatest books of all time. They are mistaken. The narration for this book is amazing and I would recommend this format if you choose to continue.

Extraordinary!

Absolutely stunning performance of the masterpiece. The readers bring it to life in a direct, natural and compelling manner. The entire book opens up and is (relatively) easy to follow.

Amazing narration

Ulysses is extremely varied in style and vernacular from chapter to chapter, which is what makes Jim Norton's performance exceptional. He gives voice and meaning to the very difficult text.

Virtuoso performance story hard to follow

If you could sum up Ulysses in three words, what would they be?

Funny Parodies Thoughts

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Anti climax

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Listening to Ulysses, if like me, you haven't taken the course that explains the book is more like listening to an Opera without orchestration than a book. It's more like music where you can figure out what is going on in snippets as he moves from one stylistic vehicle to another. It is very funny with terrific parodies that work just as well 100 years after it was written.

Don't Do It

I have always felt like I needed to read this book, but could never finish it. So listened to it instead. it's absolutely interminable and excruciatingly difficult to follow. Probably was meant to be read not listened to. I guess I'm glad I finally "read" this book but IDK if it was worth the 25 hours I put in over the past two months.

A great reading of a so-so book

First I have to say that if you are curious about Joyce???s Ulysses, then listening to this Audible edition may be the best way to access it. The narration is superb (thank you Jim Norton) and makes even the huge run-on sentences, endless lists and ???stream of consciousness??? passages bearable, even lyrical.

If, however, you are expecting knowledge, cogent philosophy, glimpses of true human nature, or any other kind of enlightenment, go elsewhere. Although Joyce has great facility with words and can be humorous, sardonic, and sarcastic, I can???t believe there is anything to be learned here. If you are looking for an interesting story, good luck, narrative is what he is apparently trying to avoid.

His chatter reminds me of people I???ve met at parties that want to impress with their intelligence, wit and outstanding perception of reality, and end up projecting contempt for other, lesser human beings, a lack of personal philosophy and didactic, prejudicial thinking. When you are done, you have no idea of who that person is, but only who he isn???t. In a like manner, Joyce hides behind his sarcasm, word craft and stylish cynicism.

This book may have historical significance as a trend setter or pathfinder, but I suspect that most people who wax poetic about its being the ???greatest novel??? (I???m not sure it meets the criteria for a novel) are simply trying to appear as perceptive as Joyce thought he was. Its size and obscurity provide a kind of bragging rights for those who want to seem highly literate. The fact that it was banned for obscenity was probably what gave it notoriety to begin with, and got people to wade through its sometimes witty but usually obscure and pretentious length.

Again, though, if you???re curious for any reason you won???t beat this Audible presentation.