BOOK: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Here is a fascinating book about art and language. This is the first Joyce novel I've read - well, I've dipped into Ulysses and Dubliners - and I will definitely be testing his other works in the future! (I'd like to try Finnegan's Wake).
The book's narration develops alongside the age and education of our protagonist, Stephen Dedalus. The book isn't about the story of Stephen, it's about the development of the character as a person - his religions, philosophical ideologies, his intellect, and the ways in which Stephen views the passing of every day life.
The novel begins like it is being told from the eyes of a toddler and quickly zooms through basic memories to Stephen's teenage years. As a teenager, Stephen revels in life, breaking all manner of Catholic moral rules. His sins grow and grow and eventually Stephen cowers under the might of his God and turns to repentance. The last chapter develops his ideals and turns him away from religion.
The novel is an experiment in the development of character, his good and bad sides painted onto the way the novel is written. Written in five acts, it really is like a portrait, only in novel form.


It's a fascinating work of literature - though it's not a light read. The last chapter, I felt, went on far too long. It purely consists of Stephen discussing his ideologies with various friends, with very little explanation as to where he is, and what's going on. All that matters are his ideologies - a young and budding philosopher in his 20s. Are we not all the same?
_________________________________________________________________________________
This is the 4th novel I've read for my reading challenge. I am ahead of time. I have finished four novels before the end of March. I have until the end of May to finish Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth, though I suppose being ahead gives me more time to read novels like Lolita and Les Miserables!