Have you read this?

Dear reader, have you read James Joyce's Ulysses? For a book that has appeared in almost all of the lists of best books, Ulysses has been seen as a "must read" by bibliophiles. Unfortunately, reading the book is a daunting task. The writing is heavily postmodern, and each page is littered with allusions.

I read Ulysses back in 1998, which was around the time Modern Library released its 100 best novels of the century and declared Joyce's doorstop of a novel the best book of the 20th century. I recall seeing it in a bookstore and deciding that, since I had way too much time on my hands back then, I'll give it a try. It also didn't help that it was the only copy left. (If you're a booklover, you understand how it feels to see the last copy of a book you're waiting for on the shelf. You just don't think anymore. You simply have to get it.)

The novel's plot focuses on one day in the lives of Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus - 16 June 1904. There's nothing really significant about this date; in fact, Joyce probably chose June 16 because of its insignificance. In the novel, you get to read how the two main characters argue with one another and go on with their daily activities (eating, walking along the streets of Dublin, teaching, and even masturbating).

As you can see, you don't read Ulysses because of the plot. You open its pages for the language. You rejoice in the genius and inventiveness of Joyce for being possibly the greatest novelist of his generation (or any generation for that matter). And contrary to what you might expect, the book is, in its own way, highly readable. The trick is to just read it page by page. Don't pay any attention to the allusions and all those literary devices if you're not familiar with them. (This is the same technique I used when I read Trainspotting.)

Apparently, people are willing to pay good money on a first edition of Joyce's epic. This guy here paid more than $400,000 on a signed first edition of Ulysses.