Strathern, Paul. James Joyce in 90 Minutes.

STRATHERN, Paul. James Joyce in 90 minutes. (Great Writers in 90 Minutes.) Ivan R. Dee. 113p. bibliog. index. c2005. 1-56663-648-5. $8.95. SA

In his introduction, Strathern suggests that the world of modernism began in the early 1900s with the work of Picasso, Einstein, and Stravinsky; and that James Joyce achieved its ultimate expression in 1922 with his novel Ulysses. Reading one of Strathern's texts is comparable to attending the lecture of a noted professor. Strathern highlights key facts about Joyce's personal life, such as the impact of his strict Catholic childhood in Dublin, financial struggles, alcoholism, and severe eye problems. These facts, however, are presented only in so far as they illuminate Joyce's work. Strathern explains that Joyce perceived the short story collection, Dubliners, as chapters in the "'moral history of my country.'" The last story in the collection, "The Dead," is often listed among the ten best short stories ever written. He notes the progression of Joyce's gift as he writes of Stephen Dedalus from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man as a reflection of the artistic struggles of Joyce himself. He discusses the controversy of Ulysses and its stream-of-consciousness technique. For all of its controversy, it is often cited as the "book of the century" for its influence on the prose that followed it. Finally, he assesses Finnegan's Wake as an "all but impenetrable work ... of genius." Anthony Pucci, English Dept. Chair., Notre Dame HS, Elmira, NY