A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
by James Joyce
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (serialised 1914-1915, published as a novel in 1916), is a semi-autobiographical sketch that describes the formative years of Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of Joyce and a undisguised tribute to Daedelus, the master craftsman of Greek mythology. It is often credited with the earliest example of Joyce's skill and technique that would burst forth is full-bloom in his magnus opus, Ulysses (1922).
A classic Bildungsroman (novel describing one's formative or spiritual education), the story is one of intellectual, religious, and philosophical awakening. It follows young Stephen Dedalus as he begins to question the conventions under which he was raised and as he embarks to live abroad and pursue his life as an artist.