Ulysses is actually my favourite novel, and one that would benefit from a different take to the normal method of reading. Many, many people fall down on this novel by trying to read it from cover to cover, usually jacking it in somewhere in the third episode (which is a shame, because the fourth is really easy going).
When I used to teach Ulysses (before I discovered PRing) I encouraged my students to appraoch the book laterally: first of all we took it at a pace of one episode a week and, obviously, had the advantage of debating each episode for an hour each week; secondly, we skipped some episodes because they weren't as important and too difficult for the beginner (although I gave them summaries and pointed out the important bits).... after that we used lots of alternative material: TV and radio dramatisations, a cartoon book, quotes from a variety of literary critics, etc. All of this brings the book alive in a way that normal reading doesn't.
The point I'm trying to make is that this is a book that needs to be explored with a sense of adventure, and definitely a spirit of PLAY. You should use your first pass through to find a basic thread from beginning to end, then use subsequent passes to discover new and interesting things (every time I open Ulysses I find something new and interesting).
And this is basically what the PRWMS is all about! So I see it as a book that would benefit greatly from PRing. Perhaps try PRing it episode by episode, treating each one as an individual novella? You should also PR every book about Joyce and Ulysses you can get your hands on too (there are plenty of them) without activating them: they will enrich your understanding of the book when you start activating the different episodes. You'll find you understand a great deal more, syntopically, when you come to activate Ulysses.
So go for it - this is the kind of book that PRing was made for.
Enjoy the odyssey. It's a rich and rewarding journey.
Andy Conway. UK.
