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600matt's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
aleatha's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first James Joyce short story I've ever read. Moody, dark, and deft. Full of symbolism, which might be the thing I enjoy most in fiction. I certainly didn't get the symbolism the first time through, but after poking around the internet a bit and reading some people's ideas, I found a lot of richness the second time through. "Araby" reveals more with each reread. Gonna have to put Dubliners on my to-read list now.
mellowbry's review against another edition
3.0
The fact that I also try to get gifts for people I like
giulay's review against another edition
2.0
Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Read for work.
This boy gives me the creeps. Ain't gonna lie.
All in all, the story was aight.
Read for work.
This boy gives me the creeps. Ain't gonna lie.
All in all, the story was aight.
kornwaiisms's review
informative
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
ratgrrrl's review against another edition
5.0
Evocative and wistful, dancing through idealised fancy. Only to lost in the dirge of closing time and cold reality.
I'll be honest that I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but, much like with my problematic Queer fave, Virginia Woolf, I let the beautiful prose wash over me. It was a glorious listen, and the narrative and themes were plain once before me in black and white.
I listened to an audiobook of this simply as I wanted to listen to something short from the Audible Included library while I was doing a few bits and making my tea. I had to listen to the fourth part twice as I thought I misses something.
I have been meaning to read Dubliners and Joyce for years and after this first taste, I absolutely need to prioritise more.
I'll be honest that I had absolutely no idea what was going on, but, much like with my problematic Queer fave, Virginia Woolf, I let the beautiful prose wash over me. It was a glorious listen, and the narrative and themes were plain once before me in black and white.
I listened to an audiobook of this simply as I wanted to listen to something short from the Audible Included library while I was doing a few bits and making my tea. I had to listen to the fourth part twice as I thought I misses something.
I have been meaning to read Dubliners and Joyce for years and after this first taste, I absolutely need to prioritise more.
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
4.0
What a desperately sad story. I loved it.
After the doorstop of Ulysses, I found that the section that impacted on me most was the final part. Molly Bloom's Soliloquy. I kept having flashbacks to parts of Ducks, Newburyport and finally truly understood the comparison between the two texts.
I figured, having already read Dubliners and Portrait in University, that I'd search some more Joyce before moving on. Not quite in want of some Wake, this short story stood out.
I think that real life can rarely be honed down to the precise significance of a single moment, but I believe it worthwhile to learn the lesson present here.
It's the story of a young man, swelled with desire. He promises to bring back a present for the girl he dotes on. Only to be thwarted in his quest by various factors.
It ends with what can only be regarded as the dissolution of youthful hope and idealism. The first dizzying confrontation with cold hard reality.
Was it that the 'real', in the sense of the internal drives of man, was torn asunder by the external 'reality' with him losing something valuable? Or that the 'unreal' desires and delusional ideals are shattered by the 'actual' for the good of all?
Broke my heart.
Short and splendid. The story really reminds me of many of my own young loves. Too many of them cut short by happenstance. Though, again, pinpointing an exact moment of the loss of innocence is impossible.
Read this on a bus ride to see your family. You'll get off the bus, turn around and go home.
After the doorstop of Ulysses, I found that the section that impacted on me most was the final part. Molly Bloom's Soliloquy. I kept having flashbacks to parts of Ducks, Newburyport and finally truly understood the comparison between the two texts.
I figured, having already read Dubliners and Portrait in University, that I'd search some more Joyce before moving on. Not quite in want of some Wake, this short story stood out.
I think that real life can rarely be honed down to the precise significance of a single moment, but I believe it worthwhile to learn the lesson present here.
It's the story of a young man, swelled with desire. He promises to bring back a present for the girl he dotes on. Only to be thwarted in his quest by various factors.
It ends with what can only be regarded as the dissolution of youthful hope and idealism. The first dizzying confrontation with cold hard reality.
Was it that the 'real', in the sense of the internal drives of man, was torn asunder by the external 'reality' with him losing something valuable? Or that the 'unreal' desires and delusional ideals are shattered by the 'actual' for the good of all?
Broke my heart.
Short and splendid. The story really reminds me of many of my own young loves. Too many of them cut short by happenstance. Though, again, pinpointing an exact moment of the loss of innocence is impossible.
Read this on a bus ride to see your family. You'll get off the bus, turn around and go home.
gizadaemon's review
2.0
Read it for a literature class and it just didn't resonate. I sort of get what the author was going for; hoping vainly for a more glamorous life that isn't likely to happen, unrequited love, etc. But nothing really happened in this story.
hope6391's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75