tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442108816495964575.post2945262463745646905..comments2023-09-07T09:24:32.522-04:00Comments on ex libris magnis: Joyce’s Celtic KnotKen Stephensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11696343326764489028noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442108816495964575.post-11105032091152011182016-03-02T06:33:10.002-05:002016-03-02T06:33:10.002-05:00Oh, and your quick characterization of modernist l...Oh, and your quick characterization of modernist literature -- expressing a standard that won't be reached -- is brilliant and helpful. You and I should talk about what that makes me think about Schoenberg and dissonance!Ken Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696343326764489028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442108816495964575.post-83043626790505666692016-03-02T06:30:52.595-05:002016-03-02T06:30:52.595-05:00Sarah, you're right, of course. I thought I sh...Sarah, you're right, of course. I thought I should be candid about my frustration, even though I usually think I have a duty to promote all this great, neglected literature. But I have to say that the book got way better for me the day after I wrote that post. I hope to post about it soon!Ken Stephensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11696343326764489028noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8442108816495964575.post-72335668927510468732016-03-01T18:20:16.494-05:002016-03-01T18:20:16.494-05:00Works like *Ulysses* very much beg the question of...Works like *Ulysses* very much beg the question of why we write anything. Does something have to have a point or a purpose outside of itself to be good literature? I'm not sure that it does. *Ulysses* is a deeply experimental work, and I think that Joyce's experiments with language and expression (what can or can't be expressed? how does our absorbed cultural background effect our thoughts? can thought be expressed?) are in and of themselves worthy and worthwhile. I don't personally find Bloom or Stephen nice or likable or even particularly interesting characters, nor to I find Joyce's point of view particularly edifying, but the knots are REALLY COOL, and what he accomplished with language is innovative and important. I'm also fascinated with the ending which leaves open either the possibility of eternal stasis or forward motion for Bloom, and (I suspect) for Ireland. I wouldn't go so far as to call it hopeful, but it does express a sense of possibility; possibility that Bloom can begin to move forward if he chooses to do so. Part of the potential tragedy is that Bloom may very well not, and that is a part of the modernist position that can come across as almost nihlistic. The world could be better, but it probably won't be because people won't choose to make it better. But they could if they wanted to badly enough. That's enough rambling for now.Sarah I.https://www.blogger.com/profile/13517221713288810474noreply@blogger.com