So, to those who have read it... >Is it worth it? >Does

yes
almost
no

>>9682088
am I a fucking moron because I can't for the life of me understand the prose Joyce writes in?

>>9682088
>>Is it worth it?
absolutely
>>Does it live up to the hype?
yes
>>Is it the greatest book ever?
no
>>If it is, why?

>Is it worth it?
yes
>Does it live up to the hype?
It exceeds it
>Is it the greatest book ever?
Yes
If it is, why?
Because it looks at the human condition with more clarity than any other book :^)

>>9682088
Yes.
Yes.
There's no one greatest book ever, but no novel after it that ignores its challenge is worth reading.

>>9682171
no

>>9682640
What would you say its challenge is?

>>9682088
It was both the most demanding read and one of the most rewarding reads ever. I have never read a book of this lenght and difficulty that i felt i needed to revisit this much.
There is a lot to say about, but in short: i've never read a book before so rich in terms of prose styles, strucuture, (meaningfull) references, detailed portrayal of the protagonist and dense in (again, meaningfull) details in general.
During a first read there is a ton of stuff you will get out of it, really. But as you read you can feel that pales in comparison to the stuff your not or partially getting.
I would recommend secondary sources on a first read, but only after each chapter so you get a decent chance to make up your own mind first, check in broad lineshat you missed, maybe reread the chapter and then dive into the next one.
So
> for me: yes
>for me: yes
>retarded question

>>9682088
>yes
>yes
>almost, but not quite
>because finnegans wake exists

>>9682088
>Is it worth it?
>Does it live up to the hype?
Yes.
>Is it the greatest book ever?
Tied with The Brothers Karamazov.
>If it is, why?
An extreme amount of references related to various spheres (it's really interesting uncovering these), a lot of different writing styles that are each amazing in their own way, and how big it is when it comes to the scale (a lot of characters, events etc.).
Read it.

Yes.
Yes.
N/A.

Joyce is sublime because of his capacity to represent everyday life without becoming romantic or misanthropic. Joyce once claimed vivisection to be the perfection of the scientific method. In the same way, Ulysses is a day vivisected.

He does interesting literary "stunts", like Oxen of the Sun, but his real value isn't experimentalism. The closing lines of Wandering Rocks, its crushing finality of a closing door, a simple action in itself but heart-stopping as the answer to the cruel farce that life had just literally paraded.

If someone finds his work to be a chore, I suggest two things: listening to a reading done in an Irish accent, and reading some Joyce criticism, which tends to be interesting if you find history interesting.

Of course it's worth it, but don't just read it once and then complain about it on /lit/. This is a book you should return to throughout your whole life after you've gained more in knowledge and concentration. If you think the concept of a novel you won't completely understand on the first reading is a horrible thing, then don't bother.

>>9683502
God, Oxen of the Sun gave my undergrad flashbacks of pondering over Chaucer but by the end I immediately went back and reread it. Nabokov was completely right when he said his grasp on english was patball to Joyce.

Also since I am a STEM graduate Ithaca was a joy to read as well