‘Ulysses’ Little Read but Greatly Feted

Thousands of people in Dublin, Ireland, celebrated the enduring appeal in the 21st century of the 20th century classic “Ulysses,” though many admitted that they hadn’t read it.

Fans of one of the world’s most famous but perhaps least read novels trekked to points around the city for street theater, readings and just the atmosphere of Dublin as James Joyce vividly fictionalized it.

Visitors from throughout the world feasted on an Irish breakfast and central character Leopold Bloom’s favorite kidneys, washed down by Guinness and black coffee.

The event marks June 16, 1904, when Joyce’s Jewish advertising salesman trekked around Dublin. “Ulysses,” in tabloid terms, boils down to a story of sex, lust, drinking and mayhem.