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)

listen as you read along

Jim Riordan's narration of Ulysses illuminates the text's brilliance and the music of James Joyce's masterpiece. An essential companion to listen while reading the text.

Worth the time

James Joyce’s Ulysses is every bit the gem it is regarded by so many. The stream of consciousness is a work of art.

Oh my goodness!

I’d never read this . Definitely an epic classic. The narration was superb. Now I need to figure out what happened!!

I should hate this - but I don't.

This book has all the things which annoy me about supposed "great" literature.

It is excessively poetic. (Not a fan of poetry).
It is wordy for the sake of it. (Big fan of directness).
There is relatively little direct narrative. (I like a plain and simple central thread).
Its full of clever devices. (Like my English not mucked about with)

But it is magnificent! I'm pretty sure that I didn't properly follow a lot of it but it doesn't matter. Some of the words made no sense but the sounded beautiful. Some of the scenes were meaningless to me but they were magic to listen to. The whole thing was a joy to listen to.

One of the other reviewers suggest that you should be familiar with this book in print before listening to this but I disagree. I suspect that if I had tried to read this from paper I would have made it t about page 12 before throwing it out of a window. It was made to be read out loud and if there is a better version available than this I'm not sure I would be able to cope with it.

Jim Norton gives each character just enough depth to make him distinguishable wthout creating any cartoon Irishmen in the process. There are a few sections read in a female voice. (Marcella Riordan - who should get a narrators credit). Double handed narration can be clumsy but this is perfectly judged. Overall - an excellent listen.

Extraordinary!!!!!!

I have never heard a better reading of a novel than this amazing version of Ulysses. What a great reading! The spoken word brings this work so vividly to life, with all its accents, inflections, stage directions, and the music of the language. It is actually easier to follow and understand than reading the book itself. An unforgettable, wonderful experience! Highly recommended.

Don't be fooled by bad reviews...

This should not be your first read of Ulysses. You need to see what it looks like on paper, first. There is no way anyone would be able to appreciate either the book or the audio recording of it by doing otherwise. The reading is not too fast. It is beautifully authentic. Do you want someone drolling on, waiting for you to chew the last syllable, or would you like a wonderfully fluid reading? Jim Norton is mind-blowing at times. He is genius. There are parts I'll listen to over and over and over. I'm serious. I will replay them and replay them. It's beautiful. I can never begin to comprehend how this was put together. Norton's reading has helped me to understand much of what I missed while reading it myself.

Of course it doesn't cater to American readers. The book is a superbly elaborate account of early 20th century Dublin, written by a genius of a man. This reading brings out the native subtleties. This reading makes the greatest literary work of all time live!

I thought it was just me●

I have a Ph.D. I think I'm fairly intelligent as well. But after listening to about 1/3 of this book, I realized something was amiss. How could this be? Is it me? Am I not well bred enough, educated well enough? Smart enough to get it? After all, Ulysses is supposed to be arguably, the greatest novel of all time. But I found it to summarily be a big FU to the reader. I envisioned James Joyce laughing, smirking, and besmirching consumers of literature world over. It made me angry! So once I "got it", I put it away for good. But I wasn't sure of my decision until I read June 12 New York Times magazine about John Kidd. Now I feel validated. I made the tight choice. Now I will finish the novel, possibly check myself in, and retire.

The recording just sucks.

this recording is in desperate need of equalization. The narrator has a very soft voice. This would you be fine but it's very quiet. then other times like when there is singing or when music plays during the transition between chapters, it's very loud.

a source for Modern English literature, even for i

a source for current English literature, even for illiterates like me.

Of course a lot of the references are beyond my comprehension without going and studying but you get the feel from context. I'm glad that I was told or I knew somewhere that this was 25 chapters that took place in one single day, I think that's call The Shakespearean concept of unity but I don't really remember. You paragraph I have to tell you that the last three chapters really had my attention I was wondering all along that even though a lot of this stuff is obscure and Arcane why it was a judge to be obscene. Then I understood.

volume control

I've read the book and I love it. I wanted to listen at work but the narrator will speak quietly then shout. I really wish this wonderful work could have been done justice.