A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical tale centered around finding one's identity, both separate from and amid societal expectations.
The Classic - The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
Regarding classic writers, James Joyce has a couple of famous yet controversial (i.e. banned) novels under his name. Known for his deep look into the lives of his protagonists and the worlds they live in, Joyce paints a detailed picture of Dublin in the early 1900s.
Joyce's first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, was a coming-of-age novel published in 1916. It follows the life of Stephen Dedalus, from his awkward years of being bullied in school to his adult years as an artist. But what makes this novel significant is how Stephen has to adapt to the world he lives in and its unique challenges.
The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by Joyce, James
After a scandal breaks out involving a famous Irish Nationalist politician, Stephen Dedalus finds his family being torn apart over their differing opinions of the matter. Shaken by all the fighting and animosity, Stephen begins to wonder where he can place his faith. Questioning the Irish and Catholic ideology that he was raised on, Stephen begins to rebel against expectations as he departs for college. While he excels in his studies, Stephen struggles to conform to the social norms of his college, leading him on a self-destructive path of unwise behavior. Attempting to navigate his new home life, conflicting beliefs, and his own coming-of-age, Stephen searches for his identity and struggles to belong. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce is a semi-autobiographical tale centered around finding one's identity, both separate from and amid societal expectations. First published in 1916, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man required a grueling writing and publication process, in which Joyce nearly destroyed the original draft of the novel in a fit of frustration. Written in a modernist style, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man depicts the timeless and relatable struggle of an intellectual and religious awakening. With themes of identity, religion, and family, Joyce's debut novel continues to capture the minds and hearts of modern audiences, and has inspired both film and stage adaptations. This edition of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce now features a new, eye-catching cover design and is printed in a font that is both modern and readable. With these accommodations, this edition of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man crafts an accessible and pleasant reading experience for modern audiences while restoring the original drama and emotional mastery of James Joyce's literature.
Our Modern Companion - Real Life by Brandon Taylor
In Brandon Taylor's book, Real Life, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize, his main character also experienced the tension that a troubled childhood has on adult life. The story takes place on a university campus, where grad student Wallace has more than a few reasons to feel uneasy. For self-preservation's sake, he chooses to keep everyone at arm's length, but as Stephen saw in Joyce's novel, there are unique challenges in life that do not allow us total invisibility.
Real Life
by Taylor, Brandon
A FINALIST for the Booker Prize, the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Prize, the VCU/Cabell First Novelist Prize, the Lambda Literary Award, the NYPL Young Lions Award, and the Edmund White Debut Fiction Award
"A blistering coming of age story" --O: The Oprah Magazine
Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, New York Public Library, Vanity Fair, Elle, NPR, The Guardian, The Paris Review, Harper's Bazaar, Financial Times, Huffington Post, BBC, Shondaland, Barnes & Noble, Vulture, Thrillist, Vice, Self, Electric Literature, and Shelf Awareness
A novel of startling intimacy, violence, and mercy among friends in a Midwestern university town, from an electric new voice.
Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. An introverted young man from Alabama, black and queer, he has left behind his family without escaping the long shadows of his childhood. For reasons of self-preservation, Wallace has enforced a wary distance even within his own circle of friends--some dating each other, some dating women, some feigning straightness. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses while exposing long-hidden currents of hostility and desire within their community.
Real Life is a novel of profound and lacerating power, a story that asks if it's ever really possible to overcome our private wounds, and at what cost.
Discover more classics and their modern companion each week.