Note: The Ulysses readings have been moved to an online platform. Please see the blog entry titled “All Readings Online” (30 Oct. 2020) for more information.
The joint online reading held on Thursday, 3 December stopped at: “knew all the things.” (8.50)
(Summaries provided on this blog are written by Chandra Holm.)
The story of Laestrygonians is the subject of Book X in Homer's Odyssey. After Odysseus and his men are turned away by Aeolus, they have no choice but to sail away from his island. After sailing for six days and nights, they reach the island of Laestrygonians. Not knowing what fate awaits them at the hands of these giant cannibals, Odysseus and a couple of his men approach the palace of Antiphates, the king of Laestrygonians, who promptly seizes one of the men and starts eating him...
The 8th episode of Joyce's Ulysses, often referred to as Lestrygonians, centers on the topic of food. It is after all lunch time. The episode starts with the mention of sweets: pineapple rock, lemon platt, butter scotch. Bloom is on his way thinking of having some lunch. The time is 1 p.m. He passes by the sweets shop of Graham Lemon. He is given a flyer announcing, Elijah is coming! (8.13) by a young man. Moving on, Bloom again sees one of the daughters of Simon Dedalus waiting outside Dillon's auctionrooms. He feels sorry for the poor girl (Good Lord, that poor child's dress is in flitters (8.41)). From the O'Connell bridge he watches a barge carrying stout for England. All these things/people he observes, give rise to a cascade of thoughts in Bloom's mind.
