A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Norton Critical Edition | James Joyce Literary Classic | Perfect for Book Clubs & College Literature Courses

If you're going to buy 'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' as a paperback, I strongly advise you to buy this--the Norton Critical Edition. It's depressing to see that the Penguin Classics edition is the number one selling version of this wonderful book.This book is TWO DOLLARS more than the Penguin version. For that $2 you get better quality paper, ink, and binding. More importantly you get Editorial notes that explain Joyce's obscure terms, ultimately making the book more readable. You also get over a dozen other writings dealing with Joyces text. These extras (200 pages worth) provide background information on Joyce's three major themes--Irish politics, Roman Catholicism, and "Aesthetic". Also, there are critical essays which range from general interpretations of the book to specified studies (ie feminist perspective). Being a difficult book, the supplemental material greatly enhanced my appreciation for 'Portrait'.For ONE DOLLAR -LESS, you could go with this: Would recommend seller to my friends.The greatest writer of Fiction in English,period. Precedes "Ulysses", his and our greatest Novel,but it is simpler and more accessible, but not less profound. My recommendation to the newcomer to J. Joyce is to start with "Dubliners",his first book. It is a small collection of short stories about Dublin in and around 1900. Each is brilliant, meticuously local to time and place, and at the same time, universal. The final story, "The Dead,"will stun you, move you. You may never forget.Rated as number 4 in the top 100 books by the modern Library. It’s ok but nothing memorable.The story itself is was expertly written but I sometimes found myself having trouble maintaining interest. However let this not discredit the value of the great classic. I personally just didn't find it as interesting as others. The condition of the book was pretty much perfect though.Excellent edition of Joyce's work and apposite contextual essays, especially companionable for courses in Irish Litand upper-class fiction syllabuses. William F. Dougherty (PhD)Love ALL Norton Critical Editions. Wish there were more publishers like this!The book is not a Norton Critical Edition. It has a pixellated cover that looks like somebody printed it at Kinko's. The dubious edition is an insult: "Black and White Classics" This fraudster couldn't even spell the word "copy right" even as they violate copyright.Where is the quality control at Half Price Books? How could they have sent this through?This edition enables you to have the essential background information and a selection of critical essays together with the text. You don't need to go to other books for Irish history and the critical essays give a flavour of the issues that the book raises. The text comes with details of textual variations and footnotes that are generally helpful. Some can be misleading because of the clearly stated policy of making them factual rather than interpretative - not an easy distinction with Joyce.important bookNegli standard delle edizioni Norton, ben curata, con testo curato da specialisti, con buoni apparati e appendici. Da leggere.Die Riquelme Erläuterungen sind für mich nach mehr als 50 Jahren ohne wissenschaftliche Texte einfacher zu lesen die die von Gabler. Insgesamt riesiger Gewinn für eine Joyce Liebhaber