Benjamin Judge's Literary World Cup

Hee Hee, I have won 2:1 over James Joyce in the second round of Benjamin Judge's Literary World Cup!- but only because Ben seems to hate Joyce, and he swings me a backhander:

On second books it is Dubliners vs Balancing on the Edge of the World and I know, I know, that on paper that should be an easy decision.

Cheek!

He goes on:

But I have never fallen in love with Dubliners in the way I suspect I am supposed to. I can see that it is technically brilliant and all that but… Well… OK, think of it like this: You know when you watch the darts and a player narrowly misses their target the commentator says “good marker”, well… erm… forgive me lit critters but I see Dubliners as a ‘good marker’ for Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. I find it too dry, too lifeless. I’m sorry world. I’m sorry. But Baines is getting the points because she earned them. This is a competition based on my whims. My likes and dislikes. And I say Balancing on the Edge of the World is the more enjoyable text. (I can see the professors grinding their teeth as I write, muttering “Enjoyable! Since when has literature been about enjoyment! It is about arguing minor points about signification and the impossibility of transmitting ideas! Damn readers!”)