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)

0nly one ULYSESS

Difficult but a great book. Takes more than one reading to assimilate but it stays with you. Much to think about human nature.
Stay with it. It's worth it..

Maybe not the best book for audio format

The voice actors do a great job, almost like hearing a play, with intonations, singing, background sound and all.
Unfortunately the style of narration makes it very hard to follow what is going on. I assume the written book had italics or some other stylization to differentiate when the characters are speaking to one another or thinking. Given how much stream of thought is part of the text, this becomes a major issue to follow the narrative.
A minor point: the accent from the male actor is sometimes to strong that I can hardly understand what some characters are saying.

What a read

Wow …. This is crazy cool read! I am starting my second listen right now. Take the time to read this book

I mostly can’t relate to the stories

Even though I don’t have a connection with the majority of the stories, there are some shocking moments that I will remember. The best part of this Audible was the male performance. I enjoyed his performance very much.

The performance explicates the book

What a wonderful reading. I listened to it ten or so years ago and was amazed. Still amazed. Jordan’s performance makes Ulysses straightforward. What fun Joyce must have had.

This is how I managed Ulysses.

So my first 5 or 6 attempts resulted in tapping around, almost always around Episode 3. Then I decided to follow along with this and I've just completed my first reading! But I must add Patrick Hasting's great guide to Ulysses was a tremendous help. Finally, I thought both readers -- Norton and Riordan (as Molly Bloom) were fantastic. Audio levels were fine for me. Side note: I followed along using The Gabler Edition, which "fixed" some things from whatever edition the producers used for this reading. On to my second reading soon!

Not gonna try to pretend that I’m smart enough to criticize Joyce

I’m on my 4th listen to the book and I feel like maybe I understand 5% of it. Now I actually want to read Shakespeare and Wilde but I’m definitely not smart enough to raw-dog hamlet yet. Will keep working on it. I definitely feel like this book has started me on a very long journey of learning and I feel so small when I consider that Joyce was able to read, live, learn, and truly comprehend so much stuff that I’ll never understand… by contrast I sit here watching tik tok videos when I have all of the knowledge of humanity at my fingertips. Humanity is. Doomed.

Should be classified as art....

This is probably as close to perfection as an audio book can be. The narration is excellent. The music tracks are perfect. The production values outstanding.

This is no easy piece of writing to grasp. It takes some background study---read Dubliners and Portrait of an Artist and the Odyssey first. Study them. Then pick up a couple good commentaries on this book---forget the quick notes.

A lot of work? Sure. Enjoyable? It's an experience more than a listen. The writing is beyond masterful. There are passages and chapters that will touch your core---some will leave a scar. It's that good.

This audio book isn't for everyone. But again, it could not be better.

Chris Reich

More often discussed than read. I can see why...

Any additional comments?

First things first, hats off to Jim Norton for an inspired interpretation of what is not an easy read by any stretch of the imagination. Norton at least makes it possible for the listener to, by and large, keep up with what's happening. Most of the time.
Look, I can see why people rave about the genius of the book. The wildly shifting narratives are blinding to keep up with, especially the stream-of-consciousness chapters, and it must be a special talent that can not only put us in these different peoples' heads, but also parallel Homer's Odyssey in the process. I'm not familiar with Homer and am not particularly inclined to investigate, but all this still could not distract me from the fact that very little of interest is ever actually happening. I think that might kind of be the point though.
At the end of the day, it was on my bucket list to get through this so I'm really glad that I did it. But I would never say this was even close to being a fun read or a riveting story, so I would only recommend this to people who want that sense of satisfaction you might get by having read the book that all that fuss was over.

Exhilarating

I could never have read this classic, but as a spoken book with the amazing narration it was achievable. At times it was excruciating, at times exhilarating, like plunging into cold water, or ripping off a band aid, some sections I could only do a minute at a time, I felt a great sense of achievement when I got to the end. If you ever felt compelled to explore this infamous book, this is a great way to do it.