A remarkable review of Ulysses popped into my @UlyssesLives Twitter feed this weekend from an astute, funny, honest young man: Elliott Johnson. On YouTube Elliott didn’t look like he was of college age, yet he read the whole book and has some great things to say about it. So far he has posted 2 videos of his fast-paced comments, chapter by episode, with more to come. Below are those reviews and Elliott’s explanation of himself. To find the rest of the reviews, follow @jerryjellyson on Twitter or subscribe to JerryJellyson on YouTube. — Steve Cole
I’m fifteen and from Essex, in the UK, although being Irish would be cool too. At some point I’d like to be a filmmaker or writer but in the meantime I’ve got Ulysses reviews. I toyed with the idea of reading Joyce’s Homeric heavyweight, the novel to end all novels, for several months before finally diving into it headfirst while looking for some light holiday reading. While it may not have been an easy journey, it blew me away and has permanently (positively?) affected the way I approach the written word. I have a feeling no book will ever live up to Ulysses, a feeling which I can conveniently ignore when reading anything else. My love for the novel will only increase with every re-reading. My favourite Ulyssean quote is “The heaventree of stars hung with humid nightblue fruit” from Ithaca, and the ensuing meditation on the “infinitesimal brevity” of human life. Beautiful and profound.Part 1
Part 2
