Why did James Joyce, the quintessential Irishman, make his quintessential outsider a secular Jew, Leopold Bloom? Are Jews generally quintessential outsiders in 20th Century literature? I have nothing but questions. Yes, I know he had a professional relationship with Italo Svevo, an Italian Jew, while living in Trieste. Yes, I know that a Jew is a good candidate for alienation. But still...
For the 100th anniversary a few years ago, I read Ulysses, and really enjoyed it. Yes, Joyce is a hero.
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