# Ulysses by James Joyce

7 Hacker News commenters recommended Ulysses by James Joyce and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** People recommend it for its language-first prose and for rewarding close reading. Critics find it hard to follow and hard to enjoy without a guide.

## Why people recommend it

- Easier than Finnegan's Wake (2 comments): "Ulysses is readable, but by the time you get to Finnegan's Wake" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49407869)) "Ulysses is practically a children's book in comparison." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47472575))

## What people warn about

- Hard to understand without a guide (4 comments): "It's completely against my being to consider something as good if it can't be enjoyed without a guide." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47471181)) "It took me 20 years to read Ulysses and I still don't know what happened in it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45968072)) "for me it was incomprehensible gibberish" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47468291))
- Not enjoyable to read (2 comments): "Joyce "prose" on the other hand did nothing for me but make me despise his book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47472647)) "Ulysses is not enjoyable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47479125))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crime-and-punishment.md): 39 recommend
- [The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://hackerapproved.com/p/brothers-karamazov.md): 28 recommend
- [Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace](https://hackerapproved.com/p/infinite-jest.md): 26 recommend
- [The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://hackerapproved.com/p/great-gatsby.md): 24 recommend
- [Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand](https://hackerapproved.com/p/atlas-shrugged.md): 23 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0141180862?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780141180861) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Ulysses by James Joyce", https://hackerapproved.com/p/ulysses/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).