The book’s hold on literary culture is matched by few others, Blum noted. Internet searches yield multiple “how-to” guides for reading the novel, numerous essays debating whether one should even try, and arguments about which version should be read — with or without typos. All of these elements have coalesced into mythology, said Blum.

“Reading a book like ‘Ulysses’ represents a form of cultural capital and education, but the novel is also associated with a more democratic experience of humanity through the common man, Leopold Bloom,” she said, referencing Joyce’s protagonist. “Approaching the novel as a personal challenge allows you to reckon with difficulty and learn to persevere in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty. I think that is part of the reason why it continues to appeal to people and endures.”

Reflecting on her College experience with “Ulysses,” Ashe said the novel altered her trajectory in ways she never would have predicted. Her first-year adviser, George Putnam Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology David A. Haig, gave her his copy of the novel, which she treasures. As a junior, she enrolled in Blum’s “Extreme Reading: The James Joyce Challenge.” These classes and others nurtured a love of prose that led her to pursue a graduate degree in Irish modernist literature, though she remains committed to medical school and a career as a doctor.

“I see elements of Joyce everywhere now,” she said. “Sometimes I’ll be walking around a city and thinking about what Bloom would notice, or how Joyce would have enjoyed the walk.”

She also began to think of the book as a kind of literary friend.

“‘Ulysses’ is a language-driven book and there was comfort in knowing that you could put the book down, take a walk, and think about what you read before returning to grapple with a passage,” said the Kirkland House resident. “That helped me form a relationship with it.”

Ashe is far from alone, said Blum, noting that readers have looked to “Ulysses” as a companion during life transitions and moments of uncertainty since its publication. In her 2020 book, “The Self-Help Compulsion: Searching for Advice in Modern Literature,” she examined early advertisements from the novel and found that it was often marketed for readers looking to learn about life.

“The idea was that there’s really no better book to read to understand the challenges of parenting, of marriage, of trying to be an artist or a writer, of struggling against your family and trying to go out on your own, than ‘Ulysses,’” said Blum.

Even today, she added, “Joyce’s sentences can become companions in your life. They pop up in useful moments, and have an uncanny ability to get lodged in your brain. They become resources that you can turn to in moments of stress or grief.”

She encourages would-be readers to embrace the confusion that comes with diving into the work. It’s a difficult task in a culture based on speed of information and opinion — but not impossible, said Blum.

“It’s a book that inherently rewards second readings and third readings. When we give a text that kind of attention, it opens up just as many worlds and threads.”