Book Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (James Joyce)

Another new type of post: I'll occasionally be writing short reviews of books I've recently read... maybe you'll decide to read the book (or learn that you shouldn't).

First book: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, by James Joyce.

Joyce is considered one of the best novelists of the 20th century (if not the best), and Portrait of the Artist is considered one of the top novels ever. (His other work Ulysses may be even more eminent in the literary world, though.)

Anyway, Portrait of the Artist is an autobiographical piece of fiction describing a boy's coming-of-age in the context of various Catholic schools he attends. Joyce's facility and artistry with language is incredible, adding so much depth and richness to the text on a micro level and really allowing the reader to feel many of the emotions of Stephen Daedalus, the protagonist. It was also an interesting book for me in that it described a lifestyle totally different from mine—largely defined by religion. In addition to learning some new religion-related vocabulary (soutane, thurible, sacristy, etc.), I was reminded that there is more to life than the mechanical, scientific, predictable side; there is the passion and commitment to the sacred and to personal beliefs and ideals. Sometimes some of us (including myself) would do well to keep this in mind.

Unfortunately the overall story line felt a little fragmented and incomplete. The book is 5 chapters, each about a separate time in Stephen's life, so the story is inherently fragmented at least chronologically. However, while the chapters are unified around the theme of Stephen's personal development, it just seems like they jump around to different stages of his life. Maybe this was at least partly intentional but when I was finished with the book I felt a little bit of nagging dissatisfaction—like I hadn't really gotten to know the protagonist that well because he changed so much in the time between chapters.

Overall I do recommend this book. Despite what I thought were some shortcomings, I still enjoyed Joyce's ability to portray Stephen's thoughts and emotions in a moving and insightful way.