I find Dubliners very depressing. Its picture of Dublin with all its ills could no doubt be a picture of the world our parents were born into - that would transfer into many other cities.

I think you also get glimpses of that sadness and waste in Portrait, but it is subordinated to the eventually exultant vision of Stephen finding his way out of the stifling poverty of his life with all its its inhibitions and prohibtions.

I've no idea how he managed such focus on Dublin - having left it so young. I've heard stories of him getting letters checking the facts about this or that. But i feel sure I never had such insight into my home town and its places and people, when I left it as a young man.

You look back and wonder why certain people did such things and said this or that and led such lives - but you really have no idea.

the difference with Ulysses is.... what a silly way to start a sentence, there are many glaring differences. Stylistic and so on. But its the objectivity which I found stunning. Its no longer a first person narrative...theres a real attempt to explain and relate to other feeings and thoughts.

the language games, i do get impatient with. I don't have the education to understand all the references.

the important thing is though, that he did it the way he thought it should be done. that's all you can ask of any artist - and all any artist can ask is that you respect that.