A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

By: James Joyce

Narrated by: Donal Donnelly

One of the most original literary works of the 20th century, Joyce's novel follows the life of Stephen Dedalus in a story divided into 5 sections, each of which is written in a voice that reflects Stephen's age and development. The childhood memories are written in a deceptively simple, evocative, childlike style, while the final section about Stephen's maturity conveys complex themes through Latin-sprinkled, stream-of-consciousness prose. When this novel was first released in 1916, some critics were bewildered by Joyce's bold use of language to redefine the very structure of novels. Today the novel is accepted as one of the greatest English-language works in history.

Public Domain (P)1991 Recorded Books, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Here words are not the polite contortions of 20th-century printer's ink. They are alive. They elbow their way on to the page, and glow and blaze and fade and disappear." (Samuel Beckett)

Exceptionally good performance

What did you love best about A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man?

I most loved the authenticity and depth of experience in terms of
a highly personal language. I also loved the subjective sense of
Irish culture, society and religion from the point of view of a child,
and then an adolescent, a century ago.

What other book might you compare A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man to and why?

I would compare this book to Joyce's Dubliners, because in that earlier work
one gets that strong impression of subjective reality in a slice of life, which
is in each story, and the language itself has not yet become so deeply complex
and subjective as to bewilder one, as with Ulysses.

Which character – as performed by Donal Donnelly – was your favorite?

I liked the character of Stephen, the main character, as Donal Donnelly portrayed
so well, with tones of childish fears and doubts, and of adolescent reflections and
aspirations, in a variety of voices which are familiar to any introspective person.

Who was the most memorable character of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and why?

The character of Stephen's father was most memorable as captured in the eyes of a young man, at the Christmas dinner table with all his animated arguments and anecdotes, reflecting on life's prospects while having a smoke outdoors with Stephen, and reviewing his own youth as he takes a drink with Stephen.

What an Odd Book

I guess I'd have to say that this book is a technical marvel. Joyce describes the life of Steven Dedalus, primarily his inner life, as he progresses from a young boy through to the verge of manhood. The writing style Joyce uses matches Steven's complexity of thought at every age, from the very simplest of sentences at the beginning of the work, to quite complex construction at the end.
The prose is striking throughout the book, and I enjoyed how Joyce often jumps from one subject to another, not necessarily completing any, just as our minds often jump around restlessly, images, memories, emotions coming and going.

My primary problem with the book is that I developed no attachment to Steven. For almost the entire work, I felt very distanced from him; there was little in his personality that I could relate to, and consequently, I didn't care much how he worked out his difficulties.

Another problem was that a very large section is given over to a description of the teachings of the Catholic Church. The purpose seems to be to describe in detail what Steven was thinking at a time he was immersed in religious feeling; but the effect was deadening, at least on me. I read literature to learn about the innermost workings of my fellow creatures. I neither want nor need to listen to the teachings of the Catholic Church for over an hour.

Ditto a later section on the philosophic debates Steven engaged in with his schoolmates. Yes, boys st these ages are prone to profound religious feelings, and later to philosophic debates. But when I myself engaged in them at Steven's age, I found them quite boring. Joyce's writing about them is no different.

On the very positive side, I thought the narration was simply masterful. The narrator takes all the time he needs to express what each sentence means, giving every sentence its full weight. The recording quality could have been better, though.

But all in all, a very odd book. Give me Proust any day.

Great classic, hard to listen

I can understand why literary critics and English majors speak so highly of this book. On the other hand, I'm not either of those, and that is probably why I found it so difficult to maintain an interest. Try other classics first if you are just looking for a good story. Also, the sound quality is a little murky and heavy on the bass, but it was tolerable.

sounds horrible

This was my first audible purchase, so I didn't know what to expect. I copied the largest file and burned it to disk. I was disappointed. The reading is VERY bass heavy, muddy, and difficult to listen to. At 11 hours, I think I'm just going to throw out the disks I made from it.

Though I love the book, and wanted a complete reading, I feel like I just threw my money away.