Saturday, June 17, 2006

Happy Belated Bloomsday!

Yesterday marked the 102nd anniversary of Leopold Bloom's fictional adventures on June 16, 1904 which were the basis of James Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses. Many people (including Ernest Hemingway) consider Ulysses to be the greatest work of 20th century fiction.

The book begins:
Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him by the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned:
- Introibo ad altare Dei

I feel it is my duty as an Irishman to read this masterpiece but every year I start and only manage to get about 150 pages in before losing interest. This year I once again will try and climb this mountain.

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