James Joyce’s ULYSSES is one of the great novels in literature. Radical in its day for its modernist construction, stream of consciousness narrative, its unvarnished exploration of sexuality; Ulysses calls to readers but can be daunting due to its length and composition.
This rendition of a day in the life of Leopold Bloom in 20th century Dublin has pared Joyce’s masterpiece by a third, leaving the original storyline, characters, themes, and Joycean prose to be enjoyed by new readers, students, and those liking to experience Bloomsday or Dublin again.
If you yearned to read Ulysses, here is an accessible version that will give you the flavor, nuance, wit, and passion of the original. Fallon’s Ulysses Abridged is akin to a half marathon versus a full one and readers can honestly say, “Yes, I know Ulysses” – a matter of pride!
About the Author
San Jose State University Emeritus Lecturer Michael Fallon has engaged Ulysses since 2004 upon reading a 1934 first US publication inherited from his “grandpa with the pipe.” In 2013 Michael participated in Bloomsday week in Dublin enacting the events of the novel. His fait accompli was achieved prior to Bloomsday 2022, the Centenary of Ulysses 1922 publication in Europe.
Gary Eberle Review, posted on Amazon, April 2023
Fallon has created a labor of love, intended for those not ready to invest the time needed to read the unabridged original text. Not burdened with too much critical apparatus, this version of Leopold Bloom's day in Dublin has enough notation to point the reader toward the deeper levels that lie below the sometimes-confusing surface of this 20th century masterpiece. The novel's text is all Joyce, but judiciously reduced for first time readers.
