Thank you Ann! I did once attempt to read Ulysses in real-time on Bloomsday. It's surprisingly possible until the evening, when the episodes suddenly get very long . . . I had to leave the last two until the next morning!
Having read Ulysses on many occasions myself, I am amazed that you managed to read all but two of the Episodes on one day, but I guess it depends on how one reads, doesn't it?
I am impressed by your fortitude, Henry. I listened to the audiobook (the wonderful RTE production) which was 27 hours long… and that took several months of dog walks (including reading the plot summaries after each chapter when I got back). But very much worth it.
Ha ha! So true. The book is set in an unnamed northern town, but it also seems to have been at least partly inspired by Larkin’s time as an assistant librarian in Leicester . . .
"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is a fantastic read. My English teacher recommended it to me around the same time I was learning about Russia under Stalin. So important to see the human element to the millions that were sent to Siberia. The trading of tobacco and trying to get as much into a tin as possible seems to have stuck in my head.
I started a group listen along of Ulysses on this day last year over on Audrey. It was a challenge. Audrey also did Mrs. Dalloway, I'm looking forward to a reread. I shall buy the flowers myself.
Untold Night and Day, by Bae Suah, as described in The Atlantic: The page-turning plot twists and thrills of a detective novel are often a very effective bulwark against boredom. The Korean writer Bae’s novel offers those genre pleasures and more: It is, as Bae’s longtime translator Deborah Smith explains in her note, a detective novel by way of a “poetic fever dream.” Set over the course of one very hot summer night in Seoul, the book follows a woman named Ayami as she attempts to find a missing friend. As she searches, she bumps into Wolfi, a detective novelist visiting from Germany, and enlists him in her quest. Events take on a surreal quality, heightened by both an intense heat wave and the possibility that Ayami and Wolfi may have stumbled into another dimension. Summer’s release from our usual timetables can quickly lead to seasonal doldrums. Untold Night and Day, set during the stretched hours of a sweaty, unceasing evening, shimmers at its edges, like midnight in July.
There's a new graphic novel to add to your one-day novels list -- a big wild book called Sunday by a Belgian author named Olivier Schrauwen. The great Chris Ware just wrote a beautiful review about this book in the NYRB. He calls Sunday a masterpiece and compares it to Ulysses.
A fantastic round-up, Henry (with the added benefit that most, apart from Ulysses, are also readable in a day). Happy Bloomsday.
Thank you Ann! I did once attempt to read Ulysses in real-time on Bloomsday. It's surprisingly possible until the evening, when the episodes suddenly get very long . . . I had to leave the last two until the next morning!
Having read Ulysses on many occasions myself, I am amazed that you managed to read all but two of the Episodes on one day, but I guess it depends on how one reads, doesn't it?
You can’t hang about! But it’s not too rushed — there’s even time for breaks to prepare your Gorgonzola sandwiches.
I am impressed by your fortitude, Henry. I listened to the audiobook (the wonderful RTE production) which was 27 hours long… and that took several months of dog walks (including reading the plot summaries after each chapter when I got back). But very much worth it.
Leicester, a Northern town! A Midlands city in my book! 🙄
Ha ha! So true. The book is set in an unnamed northern town, but it also seems to have been at least partly inspired by Larkin’s time as an assistant librarian in Leicester . . .
"One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich" is a fantastic read. My English teacher recommended it to me around the same time I was learning about Russia under Stalin. So important to see the human element to the millions that were sent to Siberia. The trading of tobacco and trying to get as much into a tin as possible seems to have stuck in my head.
Henry, thank you for a great list!
'Gentleman Overboard' looks particularly intriguing, if somewhat dark.
The only ones I'd add are both Dickens - the Night Walks essay, and 'A Christmas Carol', both of which occur over one night.
Oh, and continuing the night theme - the play 'Long Day's Journey Into Night'.
I started a group listen along of Ulysses on this day last year over on Audrey. It was a challenge. Audrey also did Mrs. Dalloway, I'm looking forward to a reread. I shall buy the flowers myself.
Untold Night and Day, by Bae Suah, as described in The Atlantic: The page-turning plot twists and thrills of a detective novel are often a very effective bulwark against boredom. The Korean writer Bae’s novel offers those genre pleasures and more: It is, as Bae’s longtime translator Deborah Smith explains in her note, a detective novel by way of a “poetic fever dream.” Set over the course of one very hot summer night in Seoul, the book follows a woman named Ayami as she attempts to find a missing friend. As she searches, she bumps into Wolfi, a detective novelist visiting from Germany, and enlists him in her quest. Events take on a surreal quality, heightened by both an intense heat wave and the possibility that Ayami and Wolfi may have stumbled into another dimension. Summer’s release from our usual timetables can quickly lead to seasonal doldrums. Untold Night and Day, set during the stretched hours of a sweaty, unceasing evening, shimmers at its edges, like midnight in July.
Thank you! Have to read this—sounds amazing.
Thank you for a wonderful list. So many adds to my TBR. Just though of another good one that takes place over one day: Saturday by Ian McEwan.
An excellent list! I feel a new book- fixation coming on - thank you for posting.
Definitely saving this post! The only one I have read is One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
Loved this, Henry! Thank you.
There's a new graphic novel to add to your one-day novels list -- a big wild book called Sunday by a Belgian author named Olivier Schrauwen. The great Chris Ware just wrote a beautiful review about this book in the NYRB. He calls Sunday a masterpiece and compares it to Ulysses.
https://archive.ph/fgYzN