It honestly doesn't really matter - the differences between different editions are subtle and of interest mostly to scholars. If you can find an edition with good annotations go with that one; otherwise just pick up the one with your favourite cover - I've always been partial to the Penguin one myself.
> It honestly doesn't really matter - the differences between different editions are subtle and of interest mostly to scholars. If you can find an edition with good annotations go with that one; otherwise just pick up the one with your favourite cover - I've always been partial to the Penguin one myself.
Without disputing what you say, I am curious: do you speak as a scholar who knows this to be true, or a casual reader who assumes it to be true, or from some other basis?
Fair enough - can I say somewhere between the two? I don't feel comfortable calling myself a true "Joyce scholar", but I did my undergraduate degree in literature where one of my classes was a full semester seminar on Ulysses; its publication history - and the various editors who've had a crack at the text - were discussed.
That aside, I'm an avid casual Joyce fan - I've read the book several times outside of that class, both before and after.
Those qualifications aren't exactly impressive, but I think they're enough for me to entreat the prospective Ulysses reader - tolle lege! Pick it up and read!
> Fair enough - can I say somewhere between the two?
Yes, absolutely. I didn't mean it as a challenge, just (as another eternally on the verge of reading Ulysses) was curious how definitively I could take your recommendation.
That the differences are minor is argued by scholar Craig Raine in his preface to the Everyman edition. He is specifically speaking against readers being worried by Gabler's claims, and he uses, for example, the metaphor that Gabler paints a picture of the traditional editions as if they were a shabby suit, but in fact the "suit" is fine and just has a little lint on it.
I fondly remember that preface years after I read it because Raine points to some of Gabler's completely minor amendations and says "I don't give a fupenny tuck", a delightful expression I wish was more current in English.
Sounds like a pun from the Wake. I would be surprised if it wasn't. I loved the Wake. Only read it once all the way through but I dip into it from time to time.
It's a fantastic place to find memorable phrases that make good passwords.
