A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

I have to start out by saying that I never would have read this book if it hadn't been the current month's selection for my book club. I'm not sure how to write a review of it, other than to say that I really didn't like the book at all. I didn't understand it very well either. I had a really hard time finishing it, feeling the way I did. If I had liked it even a little bit better, I might have been willing to put in the time it would take to study it, but I didn't. I hope that doesn't make me sound shallow or illiterate, but if it does, it does. The part I had the hardest time with was the third chapter, when the main character attended a 3-day spiritual retreat. This went on for page after page after page after page, and since I am not a Catholic, or even a Christian, I really couldn't read it all. After this, I pretty much lost any interest in the book I'd had up to that point. I rate this 1 out of 5.