本書是談德義神父註釋《尤利西斯》(Ulysses) 的英文遺稿，由呂秀玲、施逢雨兩位教授整理成為中文本問世。書中精闢扼要地註解了《尤利西斯》一書中多如繁星的種種典故，以及一般語言工具書中不易查到的俗語、俚語、（英語以外的）外國語、古英語等詞語；此外，更用心闡發《尤利西斯》中猶如迷宮般的情節脈絡以及文字背後豐富的隱微、象徵意義。最終透過分條導讀及註解建構了一套對《尤利西斯》深層意義的獨創見解，是適合各種水平的讀者仔細閱讀《尤利西斯》本文的一部註釋。
This book is originally an English manuscript of annotations to James Joyce’s Ulysses by the late Father Pierre E. Demers, and is now prepared by Professors Hsiou-ling Lyu and Feng-yu Shih into a Chinese version for publication. It elucidates the almost uncountable allusions in Ulysses, penetratingly yet concisely. It explains popular sayings, slangs and expressions in pre-modern English as well as other languages than English. Most important, it illuminates the labyrinthine interrelationships of the details in plot and the nuances and symbolic meanings between the lines. All in all, through the annotations and chapter introductions, it provides a profound innovative interpretation of the novel as a whole. It is a book suitable for readers of various levels who wish to read the text of Ulysses as closely as possible.
