I wanted to like this book more than I did; it is really well written almost poetic like, but I never connected with the story. The main reason would be the heavy Catholic themes; I'm not a catholic (though if I was I would want to be a Jesuit too) and all the talk on Catholicism was lost on me. The Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man is a semi autobiographical story about Stephen Dedalus (James Joyce's literary alter ego) and his journey from a Jesuit university student to an artist; the book is richly detailed and a moving coming-of-age story. 
 There is nothing wrong with this book, it was just that the major theme; Catholicism was a bit lost of me, but I really enjoyed the Literary arguments in this book. Especially the argument about who the greatest Poet of all times was; Tennyson or Byron