Ulysses

I can take heart from Dan Mulhall, Ireland’s ambassador to the US, whose Ulysses: A Reader’s Odyssey is just published. He takes a practical approach: if some bits of the book prove just too baffling, simply bin them and skip on a few pages.

-- Jude Webber * Financial Times *

Powerfully, [Mulhall] argues that Joyce and Ireland for him are indissociable and that he retains a burning relevance today.

-- Anne Fogarty * The Irish Times *

....an excellent guide through daunting terrain.

-- Pat Carty * Hot Press *

...releases the great masterpiece from its reputation of impentrability. An affectionate, accessible tribute.

-- JP O'Malley * Sunday Independent *

Ambassador Mulhall cleverly decodes all 18 episodes of the novel, providing personal and funny insights that contextualize and illuminate Joyce’s text, making you want to pick up "Ulysses" again.

-- Ted Smyth * Irish Central *

An informed, enjoyable guide, it homes in on Ulysses’ emotional core […] A convivial companion to help navigate Joyce’s masterpiece.

-- Dermot Bolger * Irish Independent *

Never has a visit to the attic proven so educational.

-- Dermot Keyes * Waterford News and Star *

This book is a delightful, chatty introduction to the wonderful world of James Joyce’s Ulysses

-- Felix M. Larkin * The Irish Catholic *

James Joyce’s magnus opus remains in need of chaperones. This is certainly one of the better ones available — highly readable, personable and well researched.

-- Kevin Power * The Times (UK) *

‘In this genial, largely first-person narrative, based on Mulhall’s experience of discussing Ulysses .. during his international postings, he argues that Joyce is a significant asset for the “soft power” of the Irish state.’ 

-- Emer Nolan * The Times Literary Supplement *

Mulhall brings a historian’s eye to Joyce’s text, rather than that of a literary critic, and he writes about Ulysses with exuberance and evident enjoyment.

-- David Blake Knox * Dublin Review of Boo