Irish author criticizes Joyce 'industry'

LONDON, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Irish author Roddy Doyle told a group celebrating James Joyce's birthday in New York that Joyce's classic book "Ulysses" "could have done with a good editor."

"People are always putting Ulysses in the top 10 books but I doubt any of those people were really moved by it," the BBC quoted Doyle as saying.

Doyle's remarks came as Ireland plans to mark the centenary of Bloomsday --June 16, 1904-- on which Joyce's sexually explicit 1922 novel is set. Numerous events are planned in Dublin, including a breakfast for 10,000 people on O'Connell Street on June 13, the BBC reported.

But Doyle seemed unmoved by the literary impact of "Ulysses"--and its author.

Referring to the writer's popularity, something he described s the "Joyce industry," Doyle sniffed, "They'll be serving Joyce Happy Meals next."

"Ulysses" was banned in the United Kingdom until 1936, while the 1967 film version was prohibited in Ireland until 2000.