A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

This is a good (not great) reading of a great book. I normally enjoy John Lee a great deal, but I see two problems here. First, the narrator's Irish accent is a little heavy-handed: more obviously "Irish" than that of other narrators of the book. (John Lee may be as Irish as Donal Donnelly for all I know; but I'm pretty sure "Howth" does NOT rhyme with "mouth." My conclusion, which I admit may be wrong, is that he's trying just a little too hard.) Second, much of it seems rushed. There's a crucial scene at the end of Chapter 3 when Stephen Dedalus visits a priest and makes confession. The priest is sorrowful, bemused, maybe a little jaded as he listens to Stephen's account of his well-developed erotic life; but Lee romps through the confessional dialogue with the same speed and energy he uses for the boyhood conversations on the football field.

Clearly there's soemthing subjective about this. I see from the other listings that the recording is about the same length as Jim Norton's; I would have said it was at least an hour shorter if not more. So I may not be articulating the real problem. I enjoyed it; it's certainly never dull; but I can't quite give it five stars.

Magnificently complex book read beautifully by John Lee

Joyce is otherworldly. It is hard to even judge his early stuff against itself. He seems to have been born a master of language and art. Most authors would be happy to end their careers with 'Dubliners' and 'Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.' For Joyce, these are just the beginning of his journey. This novel, more than any other, is a modernist monster maul, a literary 'godevil' that splits all readers. IT is impossible to interact with Joyce and not love him or hate him. Anyway, I loved Portrait of an Artist. I loved it all.

A little more about his life later

Scottish or Irish accent

none

I kept waiting for some big revelation that never came.

Once I became acclimated to the Irish accent, I found this presentation a delightful surprise. Joyce was far more accessible here than he would become with ULYSSES (or, ultimately FINNEGAN'S WAKE), but even still, he presented the reader with challenges.

To my amazement, Lee handled everything masterfully. Even the famous sections in which the author debates various aspects of Catholicism were delivered smoothly and cohesively.

Joyce is not for everyone, of course. For those considering the two greater works mentioned above, PORTRAIT is an excellent place to start. If one can follow the discourse on religion here, the catechism of ULYSSES should prove relatively easy, and perhaps the reader may proceed thence to "Howth Castle and Environs."

Bottom line: Though I do not revere this work as much as the other two, I must applaud the delivery and production.

I enjoy a good classic mixed in with my usual modern fiction now and then. John Lee, the narrator, doesn't disappoint in delivering this incredible work with style, perfect timing and voice characteristics.

While a classic is just that for a reason, it doesn't always make it palatable for today's consumer. This narrator delivers a stunning version that is more than palatable; it's a feast!

I got this for a class I am taking and had to go get the print version. It was very tedious to read. He is a brilliant author but it is just not my thing to look up all the motifs and hiden meanings. The reader has such a thick accent I had a hard time understanding. It is not an Irish accent it is Scotch. He sounded like Shawn Connery but read to fast to be heard well.