The Tweets So Far: Pages 1-219

With Bloomsday merely a week away, and with it, the majestic Reblooming of Wandering Rocks, I’ve collected all 219 one-tweet summaries of each page of Ulysses. (Which, henceforward will be conveniently available via a tab header.) Much love to VOREBLOG, LIZAANNE, BRENDAN, and KATIE, who generously contributed their reductive powers to this dubious effort! “Telemachus” (Tweets [...]

ULYSSES Recap, pp. 174-183 of “Lestrygonians”

By JERRY GRIT The twread-thru Ulysses continues… 174. Horserace talk from Flynn. Chix dig cold noses&beards&dogs. LB likes wine w/sandwich, thinks can go home @ 6 & that we eat odd things. 175. Who 1st thought 2 eat oysters? People who eat tainted food, special food. LBs waiter fantasy. Sees flies doink. Wine is LBs [...]

ULYSSES Recap, pp. 163-173 of “Lestrygonians”

By JERRY GRIT **********Wandering Rocks Alert********** Some dude in Dublin is also tweeting though Ulysses! (I discovered this when I hashtagged Ulysses… apparently the old “#” can be helpful when it’s not abused). He’s way back in “Hades,” but he’s not really summarizing a page per tweet. So he could catch up! We must all [...]

ULYSSES Recap, pp. 151-162 of “Lestrygonians”

By JERRY GRIT First, this should have been your face… Second, here’s the first part of my tweet-thru Ulysses‘ “Lestrygonians” chapter, minus the shameless hashtag exploitation (which was completely unsuccessful in inflating our follower number). 151. LB wandering, handed religious flyer. Recalls glowing cross they lived by before. Sees SD’s sister. Criticizes church on contraception. [...]

ULYSSES Funmary #7: Aeolus (plus pp. 134-150)

By Brendan Jaysis, there were a lot of windbags in this episode – windbags talking about windbags. We see again that there’s not enough room for Bloom – after being “tight” in the carriage, he’s bumped into by the Gallant Lenehan. And verbally dissed by Crawford.. And pretty much ignored by everyone else. Another example [...]

ULYSSES pp. 116-133 “Aeolus”

By BRENDAN One of the things I love about Ulysses is the familiarity of it. To have so many connections to a text written nearly a century ago is remarkable. Last month, I walked down Sackville Street (now O’Connell Street, named for Daniel, who got a mention in the Hades episode). I passed the General [...]

ULYSSES pp.87-93 “Hades”

By KATIE ELSE Let me just begin by saying that I am enjoying being inside Leopold Bloom’s head far more than Stephen’s. I find him a much more sympathetic, empathetic and accessible character.  In the first pages of this chapter, the subtext and the… well, obvious text give us insight into these two men.  Let me [...]

ULYSSES pp. 82-86, “The Lotus Eaters”

by BEN and ERIN VORE Dirk Diggler and Leopold Bloom: Kindred spirits. The last page of today’s reading delivers the indelible image of Leopold’s unit (“the limp father of thousands, a languid floating flower”). Did anyone else recall the final scene from P.T. Anderson’s Boogie Nights? We almost expected Leopold to say, “I’m a star. [...]

ULYSSES pp. 76-81, “The Lotus Eaters”

by BEN and ERIN VORE You can imply a lot of dirty things with a flower. x We left off yesterday anticipating the illicit thrill of Martha Clifford’s love letter. But a Penthouse Letter it ain’t. First, the tweets: 76. LB disparages M’Coy: A homosexual? Leah is playing tonight, causes Bloom to reflect on dad’s [...]

ULYSSES pp. 71-75 “The Lotus Eaters”

by BEN and ERIN VORE Have you wondered why you feel tempted to yawn when you see someone else yawning? Scientists term this “contagious yawning,” and suggest it may have something to do with one’s capacity for empathy. Depending on how empathetic you feel toward Leopold Bloom, you may be doing a lot of yawning [...]

ULYSSES pp.66-70, “Calypso”

By LIZAANNE Welcome back.  Now that your tummies are full, settle into your seats for the final leg of our tour through “Calypso.”  If you look out the windows to your right, you will see tweets: 66-Milly’s letter:dad’s girl having 1st adventure; LB thinks of her birth & little boy who died @ birth; LB=fond but not overprotective [...]

ULYSSES pp. 60-65, “Calypso”

By LIZAANNE Now that we’ve all had a chance to refuel (with our beverage of choice), time to get back on track with the next few pages of Calypso.  While the rest of the passengers are boarding, let’s take a few moments to review my tweets covering this section.  Pay careful attention, please, because Joyce [...]

ULYSSES pp. 55-59, “Calypso”

By LIZAANNE Hi, folks!  Welcome aboard ”The Odyssey” section of the novel–please have your tickets ready to be stamped.  Thank you. This fourth section [Calypso] introduces us to the man who will be our second central character of this novel, namely Leopold Bloom.   Our narrator has backed the timeline up to the morning again, so that we [...]

ULYSSES Funmary #3: Proteus

By JERRY GRIT With “Proteus,” we come to the end of Ulysses‘ Part 1, its Telemachiad (the chapters focused on Dedalus-Telemachus). Although, it was a short chapter, it was long on confusing, headache-inducing obscurity.  Not very much happens in the chapter. Stephen walks on Sandymount Strand along the polluted Dublin Bay, thinks about a bunch [...]

ULYSSES pp. 41-51, “Proteus”

By JERRY GRIT No question. This reading, although short, was a slog. But it’s a worthwhile slog. And a slog that will be richly rewarded.  I went through and finished up the chapter, however it may raise an uproar about pacing. Dwelling on this chapter could drive us nuts. I thought it best for our [...]

ULYSSES pp. 37-40, “Proteus”

By JERRY GRIT I only managed 4 pages tonight. I forgot how, although short, “Proteus” was one of the more difficult episodes in Ulysses and how it’s usually at this point most Ulysses readers become Ulysses readers no more.  If you take anything from this post, let it be simply this: don’t give up. Here’s the [...]

ULYSSES Funmary #2: Nestor

by BEN VORE Behold! I am about to reveal to you my amazing ability to perform a super secret Joycean mind meld which allows me to discern some of the thoughts and probing questions of a few Wandering Rocks regulars. Allow me to address those unspoken questions here: “Could you just give me a brief overview [...]

ULYSSES pp. 31-36, “Nestor”

by BEN VORE The pp. 31-36 tweets: p31. Greasy Deasy laughs at SD’s debts, calls him a fenian, then lectures him on The Potato Famine. This guy’s a royal prick. p32. Deasy asks SD to deliver a letter to the papers. He types, SD reminisces about the racetrack and playing hockey (“the joust of life”). [...]

ULYSSES pp. 24-30, “Nestor”

by BEN VORE I have attempted to replicate Jerry’s Eric’s exemplary twreading skills. (Emphasis on “attempted.”) Let’s revisit the tweets before launching into the analysis: p24. SD teaches remedial History. One student thinks Pyrrhus was a pier. Classmates chortle. p25. SD perplexes class with “a disappointed bridge.” Indulges in reverie about Aristotle, gets swarthy kid named [...]

A “Nestor” Preview, A Conversation Around Reading Methods, and Your Favorite Irish Slang Terms

by BEN VORE At the bookstore where I am employed, teenagers are beginning to trickle in to purchase their summer reading books. The other day one such student approached me at the information counter and showed me his list, which required him to select one of four titles. “We should have these in, so you can take your [...]