Extremely Erudite Thoughts on Dubliners

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Joyce is even more mindblowing when he's being comprehensible.

(Of course it's a bit of a letdown compared to Finnegans Wake, but then again everything ever written is a bit of a letdown compared to Finnegans Wake, so, natch.)

In other news, I am now neck-deep in Joyce's Book of the Dark (my third guidebook for Finnegans Wake so far) and it is so fantastic that I don't even have words for it. In case anybody is curious, I'm reading Finnegans Wake with the help of Joseph Campbell (A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake), William York Tindall (A Readers Guide to Finnegans Wake), John Bishop (Joyce's Book of the Dark), the most excellent FinnegansWiki. I have not read but am extremely intrigued by this book, as it would appear - based on the synopsis posted on Amazon.com - that it most closely describes the reading that I'm personally bringing to the book. (I am not entirely ashamed to admit that I'm viewing Finnegans Wake partially through the lens of Soul Eater and that I am also viewing Soul Eater partially through the lens of Finnegans Wake, and yes, THIS IS HOW MY BRAIN WORKS.) I am also dying to read this book because although race is clearly a central issue in Finnegans Wake (esp. the way that xenophobia factors in HCE's downfall early in the book) it amazes me that none of the guidebooks that I've read every really bother to discuss it.

Of course, I realize that there are a gazillion and two excellent guidebooks written about Finnegans Wake and that I'm never going to be able to devour them all. I am, however, utterly enchanted by the fact that there is such a thing as a James Joyce-themed cookbook in existence.

But anyway, back to Dubliners.

In a word: KEYSMASH. It is seriously that good. I haven't been so blown away by prose like this since I first tasted Gabriel García Marquez.

BTW there are some lovely readings from Dubliners uploaded on Youtube.

Linkspam of note.

Because I'm sure that y'all are tired of me keysmashing endlessly about how I want to marry James Joyce's prose and have its babies. Here is some other cool stuff to read.

1. Princess Mononoke vs. James Cameron's Avatar.

I know that pretty much everyone and their dog has compared Avatar to Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai,, and Ferngully by now. This is the first time that I've seen the film compared to Princess Mononoke, however. Conclusion: Hayao Miyazaki did it better.

Not that that's saying much. Oh no I didn't!

2. Manly Women and Feminine Men (Claymore meta)

In which the_sun_is_up argues that Claymore is the most perfectly gender-flipped shounen manga in existence, and she's right. I would also add that, even after 99 chapters of manga and 26 episodes of the anime, it is astounding that Claymore still manages to completely fail the gender-reversed Bechdel Test. When you think about it, that's pretty extraordinary. Most "chick lit" media still passes the gender-reversed Bechdel Test (or even worse, manages to fail the real Bechdel Test). So the fact that a long-running series like Claymore - a series published in a "for boys" magazine, no less - fails the gender-reversed Bechdel Test is pretty darn awesome.

3. Robot6's 30 Most Important Comics of the Decade: Part One | Part Two

Definitely not a list of the best 30 comics of the decade - there are certainly some titles on the list that one could argue are not actually, you know, good - but a list of the decade's most undeniably popular and influential comics*, for better or for worse.

The English version of Sailor Moon is ranked at #2.

* Asterik: "within the English-speaking world and confined solely to output from the US, UK, and Japan" should be added as a disclaimer here. The list completely excludes titles like Italy's W.i.t.c.h. (available in English and one of the best-selling comics of all time in the Philippines and several European countries), any English edition of manwha or manhua, or anything at all from southeast Asia's enormous comics industry, much of which is also available in English. If Watchmen can get a spot on the list just for being reprinted and becoming a bestseller this past decade, then doesn't Amar Chitra Katha (also reprinted a gazillion times, a bestseller, available in English, and hugely influential in Indian comics history) deserve a mention as well? ETA: More about this in the comments.