本书是一部用后殖民主义理论的视角在过去、现在和未来的框架之内论述《尤利西斯》中乔伊斯对爱尔兰文化关注的著述。它共分为三章，分别讨论了《尤利西斯》中所表现的乔伊斯对爱尔兰文化现时困境的思索、对噩梦般的爱尔兰文化历史的探察和对指向文化杂糅的爱尔兰文化未来的展望，并在论述这些问题的过程中探讨了乔伊斯在写作这部爱尔兰民族史涛时所运用的颇具策略性的协调性别问题和民族问题的叙事策略。
它发掘了乔伊斯掩藏在《尤利西斯》字里行间的对民族纯洁性的嘲讽，对人类源自虚构的快感的洞察，对历史的外壳与内核的透视，对民族文化杂糅未来的展望，对认识文化群体之问和文化群体之内差异的重要性的强调，对文化差异的认同、忍耐和接受态度的欣赏，以及他对民族身份流动多变实质的探察。对乔伊斯这些思想的发掘可为我们解决现今和未来不可避免的文化碰撞、文化商讨和文化杂糅中的问题提供参考。

Preface
Introduction
Chapter One Dilemma of the Present Situation
Section Ⅰ British Colonisation
Section Ⅱ Religious Strife
Section Ⅲ Cycloptic Nationalism
Section Ⅳ "Gay-betrayers" among Irish People
Section Ⅴ Irish Art: the Cracked Iooking Glass of a Servant
Chapter Two History, the Nightmare to Wake from
Section Ⅰ Shells and Core of History
Section Ⅱ Fabrication of History by British Colonialists and Their Followers
Section Ⅲ Fabrication of History by the Nationalists
Section Ⅳ Way out from the Nightmare of History
Section Ⅴ Art into or out of Cultural Tradition
Chapter Three The Future Pointing to Cultural Hybridity
Section Ⅰ The Impotence of Irish Culture
Section Ⅱ Strong Vitality and Aggressiveness of British Culture
Section Ⅲ The Vitality of Irish Culture
Section Ⅳ The Future Pointing to Cultural Hybridity
Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendix Titles of Episodes in Ulysses
Acknowledgements