Books: An Illustrated Ulysses

I saw the link to An Unexpected Encounter: On the Illustrated ‘Ulysses’ with curiosity and doubt. I have read Ulysses and skimmed the annotated edition and could not fathom an illustrated edition. The interview's opening paragraph revved up the curiosity and lessened the doubt:

When Spanish painter Eduardo Arroyo set out to illustrate James Joyce’s Ulysses in the late 1980s, he did so with the hope that the final product could commemorate the 50th anniversary of Joyce’s death, in 1991. But resistance from Joyce’s estate prevented the project from ever coming to fruition. Forever after, Arroyo dreamed of one day seeing Joyce’s original text and his own illustrations side by side in a single volume. When, in 2011, Ulysses entered the public domain, that dream became possible.

Even more interesting was this take on the novel by the publisher of this illustrated edition:

Honestly, nothing will make Joyce easier. Arroyo’s works are merely an homage to the incomprehensible, interrupted at times by scenes that are easier to understand. Joyce is a mad artist who wants to mess with his reader, and Arroyo is a serious artist who insists on making art accessible. Turning the pages of the book, looking forward to the next drawing may also encourage some of us to read a few sentences. This is good enough, no?

Classics are a necessity in our lives because they say different things at different times. But I wouldn’t call Ulysses a classic that you are delighted to “rediscover.” It isn’t so much a classic to reread but a classic that maybe hasn’t been fully read yet.

So maybe I need to read this version. Maybe it will give permission for a wider reading. That would be a good thing.

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1/7/21