Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)

Ulysses, written by James Joyce and published in 1922, is one of the most ambitious and influential novels of the modern era. Set over a single day in Dublin, the book follows Leopold Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, and Molly Bloom through ordinary moments rendered extraordinary by Joyce's radical use of stream-of-consciousness, wordplay, and mythic structure. Paralleling Homer's Odyssey, the novel transforms everyday life into an epic of thought, memory, desire, and identity. Challenging, funny, and deeply human, Ulysses redefined what a novel could do and continues to reward readers willing to immerse themselves in its rich, demanding world.