Irishman James Joyce (1882-1941) is rightfully considered one of the largest masters of literature of the 20th century. His novels "Ulysses" and "Finnegans Wake" bizarrely transformed the surrounding reality, evoking polar assessments - from enthusiastic praise to accusations of absurdity and obscenity. Avoiding the attention of the public and the press, he surrounded his life and work with a veil of secrecy, asking researchers many mysteries. The author of the first Russian biography of Joyce, writer and literary critic Alan Kubatiev, is trying to unravel them. In his fascinating narrative, the reader walks step by step with the hero the path from childhood in beloved and hated Dublin to death in war-torn Europe, from comedies and dramas of Joyce's wandering life - to complex meanings and allusions hidden in his works.