Product Description

Joyce’s first major work, written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for the first time. His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism. He writes of social decline, sexual desire and exploitation, corruption and personal failure, yet creates a brilliantly compelling, unique vision of the world and of human experience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8813 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

About the Author
James Joyce (1882-1941) was born and educated in Dublin. Although he spent most of his adult life outside Ireland, Joyce's psychological and fictional universe is firmly rooted in his native Dublin, the city which provides the settings and much of the subject matter for all his fiction. He is best known for his landmark novel Ulysses (1922) and its controversial successor Finnegans Wake (1939), as well as the short story collection Dubliners (1914) and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916).

Customer Reviews

The book I wish I'd written
It may be a staple of school English literature classes but in the case of 'The Dubliners' classic status is well deserved. I find it incredible that such a collection took Joyce so many years to get published, although upon further consideration the implied sexual perversion of 'An Encounter' and the criticisms of Irish culture, materialism and the Church may not have placed it high on an Edwardian publisher's 'to do' list.

Joyce's penetrating and unsentimental portrayal of Dublin, as told through the experiences of a wide cross-section of its inhabitants, is what makes this book great. It is an example of realism at it's most breathtakingly evocative. Eveline and Little Chandler perfectly sum up the complaceny of a city that has the vague desire but not the motivation or guts to change. Mrs Mooney, Corley and Lenehan embody the ruthless selfishness that facilitated the city's descent into immorality and 'Ivy Day in the Committee Room' and 'A Mother' portray perfectly the political stagnancy and shallowness of the cultural revival that characterised the political situation of the time.

I could go on and on but the point is clear. 'The Dubliners' is as perfect an example of gripping literary portraiture as ever there was, surely one of the greatest books ever written. The harsh realism in every story will leave a potent aftertaste in your mouth and a vivid sense of character and location. My personal favourites are the cold self-isolation of 'A Painful Case' and the truly epic 'The Dead.' The lyrical closing section of the book alone more than justifies the cover price. If you read this book in school or university, dig it up and read it again now. If you haven't yet had the pleasure, buy it!

The best collection of short-stories ever?
'Dubliners' is probably the best collection of short-stories ever (though 'Men Without Women' by Hemingway and everything by Raymond Carver ought to be acknowledged). It took Joyce years to compose (& perfect) and is a complete universe in itself. Every story is fantastic and individual- though next to each other stands a perfect world. 'Eveline' & 'The Sisters' are among my favourites- but this work should be read for 'The Dead' alone. This, the longest of the stories here is the most perfect and sets the tone for the books Joyce would write subsequently (readers will find 'A Portrait...' the best one to read after this, then 'Ulysses'. Like most I haven't read 'The Wake'). This edition is the best I have found- with wonderful notes & introduction by Terence Brown (though the sleeve quote by retro-critic Tom Paulin is needless- anyone who says things like "prose is a dead form" really ought to be slapped round the head with a copy of 'The Name of the World' by Denis Johnson!). For those studying Joyce there are helpful appendices & notes for the tales- appendix II is especially helpful for 'Ulysses' showing where 'Dubliners' characters & references recur in that great, maddening tome. The notes at the end of this edition are extremely helpful- though I would advise you read each story first WITHOUT their aid to get the best out of this text. This edition is superb- and has a top cover to boot! This, unlike much of Joyce's complex later work, is a book that anyone can read and therefore is a book for everybody.

Still a Great Collection of Stories
I finally read Dubliners and saw that very appealing side to Joyce that won him so much admiration among his readers. Also, having read the book it is quite baffling to think that the book was considered risky by the censors/publisher - and the publication was delayed one full decade in its time.

This was written during the time before radio (and TV of course) in which the short story was king, and characters such as Sherlock Holmes were famous in short and entertaining stories, each of which were eagerly anticipated by the public.

In Dubliners we read a series of excellent short stories that cover a cross section of Irish society in Dublin at the end of the 19th century, including stories of young school lads, dead priests, families having dinner, and all night gamblers but to name a few.

Still after 100 years this is an easy and entertaining read that takes only a few hours to breeze through. For myself this is just great subway or airline reading - to be enjoyed in its simple reading without too much analysis - and it is still a classic that does not disappoint.