Dubliners

This literary rendering of Dublin at the beginning of the 20th century comprises fifteen stories. Whenever I read them, I can feel Joyce’s adoration for this city—and the last story, "The Dead," is glorious.

The final line always slays me: “His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead”

What can one say about this classic? It is the quintessential story of old Dublin.

Published in 1914, the collection of fifteen short stories takes the reader on a journey through middle-class Ireland, touching on Irish nationalism and country pride, but also on the forces that were slowing changing Ireland at the time. The stories move chronologically from boyhood to manhood and culminate with what some critics say is the finest short story ever written, “The Dead.”

This story, like many others in Dubliners is both a meditation on everyday urban life and a study of human relationships, including how… show more.

Chaucer may have invented the short story collection but James Joyce took them to untouched heights with this visceral and poignant work. Never a fan of his novels which I found way too dense, I think his lyrical style works best when tightly focused and restrained as in this book. Includes both "Araby" and "The Dead" - two of the five best short stories ever written (the other three are: The Lottery by Shirley Jackson; A Clean, Well-Lighted Place by Hemingway; and Murder in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe)

Engaging stories about James Joyce as a young man. This is a perfect read for young aspiring authors for reasons of content and style. It is a classic, and deservedly so, and was my inspiration for writing fiction. As a young man I bubbled over with enthusiasm to write and express my creativity but to do so well needed focus and discipline. So did Joyce and I learned vicariously from him.

Gretta Conroy is Gabriel’s wife in the final short story The Dead by Joyce published in 1914. Although Gabriel Conroy is the main character and the most talkative in this novella, Gretta is probably well-known as the female character that ends finally a long silence. After a Christmas dinner, when they both are leaving the party, Gretta is standing at the top of the stairs and she appears lost while hearing a song. The song reminds her of a young man she was in love with. Then, she reveals her husband for the first time about Michael, he was seventeen… show more.

This collection of short stories has a power I can barely describe. It has, of course, a distinctly Irish character to it, while also speaking to a universal humanity. Joined together, all of the characters and situations are like a sledgehammer demanding reflection upon oneself. I was forced to read it in school, and once deeply despised it for that reason. There also comes a point where a man grows up, and he sees that he cannot avoid his own nature. 

“His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the Universe and faintly falling, like the… show more.