Three men in a Boston and Ulysses

Three men in a boat would have been in print and popular prior to the writing of the famous James Joyce novel Ulysses. In the original is was a serial spread over more than two years. It probably should be read that way today. "three Men in a Boat" was written in1889 and has been in continuous print ever since.

From Wikipedia-- Ulysses is a James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature, it has been called "a demonstration and summation of the entire movement". "Before Joyce, no writer of fiction had so foregrounded the process of thinking."

In 1997 Connie Willis wrote a "sequel" to "Three Men" - To Say Nothing Of the Dog. It is in the same Victorian Novel style but mixes in science fiction to make it modern. Joyce did not get a chance to read Willis addition to the original.

"Three Men" has the beginnings of the stream of consciousness that is the claim to glory of "Ulysses." Rather than a single day it covers a specific point in the connected lives of three men and a dog on the river boating. Both "Three Men" and "To Say" are of similar style. Both contain chapter epigraphs and outlines for the following. It is interesting to note that later versions of "Ulysses" edited by different people also had chapter headings and outlines.

If someone is looking for an extended essays topic or is interested ins becoming a writer or just enjoys the use of language, I recommend these books and particularly the first two. It would be interesting to research the similarities of "Three Men" and "Ulysses." However if you are going to read"Ulysses" I recommend using the original method and spreading it over two years with plenty of opportunity for reflection.