Norris - Simply Joyce

Simply Joyce is a perfect introduction to the complex work of one of the foremost writers of the twentieth century. Margot Norris, who has devoted her professional life to opening Joyces canon to all levels of readers, has produced a lucid, erudite, and entertaining overview that will engage those who have heretofore been intimidated by Joyces reputation and will revive in others a recollection of the pleasures that have derived from his writing. Although Norris offers a compact overview, it is by no means reductive or simplistic. Rather, in deft but accessible language, she lays out the marvelous range of possible responses to Joyces work. Her book is a wonderful gift to all readers who love Joyces writing.

Michael Patrick Gillespie, Professor of English and Director of the Center for the Humanities in an Urban Environment at Florida International University

This new book by Margot Norris, one of the worlds leading James Joyce scholars, is a remarkably thorough and yet concise introduction to Joyce and his four major works. Norriss commentaries on Joyces language are particularly useful, and as she works her way from Dubliners to A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake, she calls attention to crucial elements of each book, including their experiments with literary form and the values they embody.

Patrick A. McCarthy, Professor of English, University of Miami and editor of the James Joyce Literary Supplement

In Simply Joyce, Margot Norris, a world-renowned Joyce scholar, provides a succinct, enticing and informative overview of Joyces works. Her dexterous accounts of his challenging texts underscore how they openly invite us to immerse ourselves in them and interpret them. She comprehensively introduces readers to the intricacies of all of Joyces writings, including his fiction, poetry and his single surviving play, Exiles, at once taking stock of their fundamental structures and crisply commenting on them. Norriss engaging primer never shirks the difficulty of Joyces masterpieces. But she triumphantly shows that the pleasures of reading Joyce are open to everyone, both novices and scholars alike.

Anne Fogarty, Professor of James Joyce Studies, University College Dublin, Ireland

Simply Joyce is a smart, sensible, clear, and useful introduction to the revolutionary and innovativebut also controversial and challenging20-century masterworks by James Joyce.

Vincent J. Cheng, Shirley Sutton Thomas Professor of English, Universityof Utah and author of Joyce, Race, and Empire and other studies

Simply Austen by Joan Klingel Ray
Simply Beckett by Katherine Weiss
Simply Beethoven by Leon Plantinga
Simply Chaplin by David Sterrett
Simply Chopin by William Smialek
Simply Darwin by Michael Ruse
Simply Descartes by Kurt Smith
Simply Dirac by Helge Kragh
Simply Dostoevsky by Gary Saul Morson
Simply Edison by Paul Israel
Simply Eliot by Joseph Maddrey
Simply Euler by Robert E. Bradley
Simply Faulkner by Philip Weinstein
Simply Freud by Stephen Frosh
Simply Gdel by Richard Tieszen
Simply Hegel by Robert Wicks
Simply Heidegger by Mahon OBrien
Simply Hemingway by Mark P. Ott
Simply Hitchcock by David Sterrett
Simply Machiavelli by Robert Fredona
Simply Napoleon by J. David Markham & Matthew Zarzeczny
Simply Nietzsche by Peter Kail
Simply Newton by Michael Nauenberg
Simply Riemann by Jeremy Gray
Simply Tolstoy by Donna Tussing Orwin
Simply Turing by Michael Olinick
Simply Twain by R. Kent Rasmussen
Simply Wagner by Thomas S. Grey
Simply Wittgenstein by James C. Klagge
Simply Woolf by Mary Ann Caws

Simply Charlys Great Lives series offers brief but authoritative introductions to the worlds most influential peoplescientists, artists, writers, economists, and other historical figures whose contributions have had a meaningful and enduring impact on our society. Each book, presented in an engaging and accessible fashion, provides an illuminating look at their works, ideas, personal lives, and the legacies they left behind. Our authors are prominent scholars and other top experts who have dedicated their careers to exploring each facet of their subjects work and personal lives.

Unlike many other works that are merely descriptions of the major milestones in a persons life, the Great Lives series goes above and beyond the standard format and content. Every book includes not just the biographical information, such as the little-known character traits, quirks, strengths and frailties, but, above all, focuses on each individuals extraordinary professional achievements.

In its exploration of famous lives that have sometimes been shrouded in secrecy, surrounded by myths and misconceptions, or caught up in controversies, the Great Lives series brings substance, depth, and clarity to the sometimes-complex lives and work of historys most powerful and influential people.

What can a reader learn from the Great Lives series? These volumes shed light on the thought processes, as well as specific events and experiences, that led these remarkable people to their groundbreaking discoveries or other achievements; the books also present various challenges they had to face and overcome to make history in their respective fields.

We hope that by exploring this series, readers will not only gain new knowledge and understanding of what drove these geniuses, but also find inspiration for their own lives. Isnt this what a great book is supposed to do?

Charles Carlini, Simply Charly
New York City

James Joyce is considered one of the most important and influential writers of the twentieth century. But is he one of the most widely read? This question is prompted by what many consider the extraordinary difficulty of some of his works, which daunted readers from the very beginning of their publication. The Irish writer George Moore was sent a copy of Ulysses shortly after it was published, and immediately complained about it. I was told I must read it, but how can one plow through such stuff? he told a friend. A century later these works remain difficult for many readers approaching them for the first time, and