Reading the Book of Himself Narrative Strategies in the Works of James Joyce

Reading the Book of Himself traces various social repertoires that inform the works of James Joyce and outlines the textual strategies employed by both author and reader in generating an interpretation. Michael Gillespie examines selected works that formed a part of Joyce's intellectual background and specific writers who exemplify artistic or aesthetic standards that he wished to incorporate into his work. Gillespie singles out major writers - including Flaubert, Balzac, Conrad and Dickens - whose technical proficiencies had a pronounced impact on Joyce's stylistic development, and he considers the influence on Joyce of lesser-known authors like Grant Allen and Charles Paul de Kock, who worked in styles well known to popular readers. He also notes Joyce's well documented concern for his personal and cultural past and its impact on his writing. Having identified intra- and extratextual elements, Gillespie discusses reader responses and interpretations created by those factors.