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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favourite books. Joyce’s prose is beautiful, elegant and modern but often difficult. It is easier to digest it broken down into single servings as in this collection. I enjoyed just reading through a story on my lunch break at work or before bed.
Joyce brings turn of the century Dublin to life through his many characters, with intimate psychological realism. In “A Painful Case,” a man seems to fancy himself a Nietzchean übermensch, but is really languishing in loneliness. Counterparts is a grim portrait of domestic abuse, as an alcoholic takes out the emasculation of his professional and social life on his son. In “The Dead,” the longest and best of the stories, an educated and socially insecure literary critic finds his desires frustrated as his wife is haunted by a ghost from her past. The story explores national identity, mortality, nostalgia, love, and marital disjunction.
Joyce’s complex feelings about his home emerge in his stories. He is resentful of Catholicism and nationalism, finding them stifling, and is yet not able to fully escape them. He is acutely aware that Ireland is beginning to assert itself against centuries of colonial domination, but he is disillusioned and quick to point out cynicism. In “Ivy Day in the Committee Room,” the ghost of Parnell hangs over the canvassers as they drink in a shabby room. It is clear that these men are all there for the paycheque. In “A Mother,” Mrs. Kearney’s greed and snobbery makes a joke of her participation in the Irish Revival. In these stories, Joyce is grappling with the dislocation of the modern era and sees opportunism and class pretension everywhere, but he reaches and strives for a higher meaning. Maybe his great literary work is that meaning.
Joyce brings turn of the century Dublin to life through his many characters, with intimate psychological realism. In “A Painful Case,” a man seems to fancy himself a Nietzchean übermensch, but is really languishing in loneliness. Counterparts is a grim portrait of domestic abuse, as an alcoholic takes out the emasculation of his professional and social life on his son. In “The Dead,” the longest and best of the stories, an educated and socially insecure literary critic finds his desires frustrated as his wife is haunted by a ghost from her past. The story explores national identity, mortality, nostalgia, love, and marital disjunction.
Joyce’s complex feelings about his home emerge in his stories. He is resentful of Catholicism and nationalism, finding them stifling, and is yet not able to fully escape them. He is acutely aware that Ireland is beginning to assert itself against centuries of colonial domination, but he is disillusioned and quick to point out cynicism. In “Ivy Day in the Committee Room,” the ghost of Parnell hangs over the canvassers as they drink in a shabby room. It is clear that these men are all there for the paycheque. In “A Mother,” Mrs. Kearney’s greed and snobbery makes a joke of her participation in the Irish Revival. In these stories, Joyce is grappling with the dislocation of the modern era and sees opportunism and class pretension everywhere, but he reaches and strives for a higher meaning. Maybe his great literary work is that meaning.
dark
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Some really great stories.
Some really boring ones. Gives a good insight into the lives of Irish people. I didn’t really like the style of writing though. While some portions were written beautifully, I found a lot of it to be quite drab. I also don’t like the way he does quotations, it’s different but not in a good way
Some really boring ones. Gives a good insight into the lives of Irish people. I didn’t really like the style of writing though. While some portions were written beautifully, I found a lot of it to be quite drab. I also don’t like the way he does quotations, it’s different but not in a good way
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The cover suggests this is the best collection of short stories ever. I don't know what is, but it's not this. However, Dubliners is still very good. It's a great snapshot of normal people in Dublin at the term of the last century. Joyce has been described as hating Dublin, I don't think so, he simply provided an honest, unvarnished view of the life he saw. Very good.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i really liked this. i don't think i have ever really liked anything modernist before, as it always seemed very unsatisfying to my young mind, but i really liked it in this case. i think 'the dead' was my favourite. i loved the scenery of the ball and the deserted city in the snow.
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes