This strikingly illustrated edition presents Joyce’s epic novel in a new, more accessible light, while showcasing the incredible talent of a leading Spanish artist.
 
The neo-figurative artist Eduardo Arroyo (1937–2018), regarded today as one of the greatest Spanish painters of his generation, dreamed of illustrating James Joyce’s Ulysses. Although he began work on the project in 1989, it was never published during his lifetime: Stephen James Joyce, Joyce’s grandson and the infamously protective executor of his estate, refused to allow it, arguing that his grandfather would never have wanted the novel illustrated. In fact, a limited run appeared in 1935 with lithographs by Henri Matisse, which reportedly infuriated Joyce when he realized that Matisse, not having actually read the book, had merely depicted scenes from Homer’s Odyssey.

Now available for the first time in English, this unique edition of the classic novel features three hundred images created by Arroyo—vibrant, eclectic drawings, paintings, and collages that reflect and amplify the energy of Joyce’s writing. “Ulysses is an infinitely pleasing book. One of the great mistakes about it is that it is somehow too difficult or inaccessible. It is neither. These brilliant illustrations by Eduardo Arroyo celebrate the book in the most profound way, and work as an accompaniment to one of the greatest works of the human imagination that history has ever produced.” —Colum McCann, National Book Award–winning author of Let the Great World Spin

“Aside from being one of the most important Spanish painters of the last fifty years, Eduardo Arroyo has also been a devoted reader and a magnificent writer…[Ulysses is] without a doubt his most ambitious book project.” —El País