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Dubliners: Text and Criticism; Revised Edition (Critical Library, Viking)

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As Joyce's first mature work, Dubliners comes close to being a work of art. It does have its failings though, which this Viking Critical Edition helps the reader past. For instance, those unfamiliar with late 19th century Irish politics would be completely lost by a story like "Ivy Day in the Committee Room." The notations provided in the appendix, however, allow the reader to understand the references and to actually gain insight into the past.

For anyone looking for an introduction to Joyce, this edition of Dubliners is certainly the place to start. Those already familiar with his works may gain new insight by this edition. Either way, a must own.

I suppose "Dubliners" as a collection of short stories is an excellent starting point for a newcomer to the literary world of James Joyce, for several reasons. The stories are written in plain English, a statement not to be under estimated, for Joyce is known for conscious, far-reaching experimentation within the English language, which ever since has inspired critics and theorists of literature, but at the same tame presented a common reader with a real challenge, ever so more overwhelming for the native speakers, not to mention those for whom English is a second, or third language. Joyce's most known works are as hard to read as they are to translate, this being the reason why "Finnegan's Wake" remains one famous book which is rarely translated, and even more seldom done so with any success whatsoever. "Dubliners" however comes nowhere close to the later-day experiments of this author, even if stories contained therein are thematically interconnected with "Ulysses". The prose is plain and captivating, often brutal, sometimes lyrical, but always dignified. Reading "Dubliners" is an adventure in itself, because if you happened to enter Joyce's world with the aforementioned volumes, you probably expected a similar experience. This book contains the very first literary attempts by this author, when although innovative in some respects, the stories fit well into the classical literary framework of the XIX century. Therefore, because of its accessibility, it's highly recommended to read "Dubliners" as your first volume by James Joyce. With this background, the ultimate task of dealing with "Ulysses", for it's a battle rather, than a casual reading, as Joyce himself projected, intended, and announced upon its publication - this task shall be much easier, and for once, even the reading of the aforementioned might prove successful and satisfying.

The stories contained in "Dubliners" are intriguing mainly because of their construction. Thematically interconnected, they constitute a coherent series of snapshots of Dublin, one of the largest cities in Europe at the time, and terribly under represented in literature. Characters appear as quickly as they fade away within the space of just a few pages, for you should know that the vast majority of stories in this volume are very short. So often the short stories are misunderstood, so often readers are genuinely perplexed. Unnecessarily so, because even if we agree that a short story should be brief and to the point, it's only too difficult to conceive a small pearl, which serves as a igniting spark of imagination, leaving the reader lost deeply in thoughts, genuinely affected by the content. It's not the case that everything should be explained, that the reader should be spoon-fed with logical presentation of events and causation. It's not the case that the ending of a short story should be definitive, so that there is nothing to subtract, nor anything to add when the last page is turned over. A good short story does not end with its last page, an observation I wish shall be helpful for you in your struggle with this literary form. It need not be a struggle, shouldn't be in fact, and if reading "Dubliners" will help you finding the answers on your own, so much the merrier.

Act after act in a play, we have a unique opportunity to see the real Dubliners, of all classes, occupations, with all different histories, lifetimes, passions, all types of human failure and success, all relative, built into the rich contextual background of Dublin, the city which should have been a capital of a country that also should have been but wasn't, at least not yet. These stories are not an assault on the storyline, as one might briskly attempt to categorize; their structure is classical, and yet Joyce contributed to the literary world by pushing the frontiers of the short story, at the same time retaining the compactness of the the contents despite of their enormous scope. It's not enough to read each story on its own, not in this volume. Although they are independent in the dimension of the storyline, the individual stories are essentially small jigsaw pieces of a puzzle; not in the sense of a greater, hidden meaning lurking there for a reader to discover, but in the sense of a multidimensional portrait of the city, the nation and its ailments, peculiarities and unique oddities. Much like Tyrmand's Varsaviana novels, "Dubliners" is an ode to Dublin, a city one loves so much to be sick of it, in Joyce's own words. There is a great deal to learn from James Joyce's "Dubliners", if you are so inclined, and the beautiful, accessible and yet context-difficult writing makes it a thoroughly enjoyable pleasure.

When he was a young man, James Joyce abandoned his hometown of Dublin, and yet, he never wrote about any other place. He had also rejected Catholicism, and yet all his characters are dominated by it. DUBLINERS, Joyce's collection of short stories which set the standard for the genre, is filled with characters who come to terrible revelations (which he called "epiphanies") about how their lives had been scarred by the provincialism of Dublin, the divisiveness of its politics, and the oppression of religion. By extension, this is how Joyce percieved humanity at the dawn of modernism.

The stories range from the psychologically simple ("Counterparts" and "A Little Cloud") to the extraordinarily complex ("A Painful Case" and "The Dead"). But what is common throughout is the feel for Dublin just after the turn of the last century. The readers see the cobblestones, the chimneys, the trams and carts, the churches, and the street lamps. More importantly, the readers feel the tensions underlying the public smiles and infrequent bursts of confidence that the characters exhibit.

The extra value of this Viking Critical edition is, of course, the criticism. The valuable notes help make the understanding of the reading much easier. And the critical essays, each single one, provides a deeper understanding of how to put these stories in a larger frame.

While ULYSSES can be scary and the guilt over not conquering it humiliating, DUBLINERS, a collection of early stories James Joyce penned between 1904 and 1906, is quite accessible, worthy and guilt-free. Each story stands on its own, but read straight through, they provide a powerful narrative of Edwardian Dublin as lived by its lower and middle classes. It is an internal as well as external experience. The last story, "The Dead," is often cited as one of the greatest short fictions ever penned and there is merit in that praise. In a story of one New Year's Night celebration in the company of well-drawn, very sympathetic characters, Joyce fits a stunning portrayal of an entire culture. It is beautiful.

This critical edition is the one you want to read. There are some references, especially to politics, that are no longer common knowledge and need explanation. I read another, unannotated volume and had to do a little unexpected homework. Please know, though, the fact that notes are helpful in no way impinges on the pleasurable flow of reading DUBLINERS.

The simplest of all of Joyce's works, Dubliners introduces the people and everyday life present in Dublin, Ireland. While the events can be described as quite mundane, each of the fifteen short stories subtly highlights a unique meaning in life. Though each is self-sustaining, it is much more gratifying to read the tales in the order published. They follow the natural course of human life, growing from childhood to adulthood to death. Joyce skillfully demonstrates a sequence of events that can happen to anyone throughout a lifetime.

However, if you are completely unhappy with the first stories, skip to the end and read "The Dead". There is no doubt in my mind that this is one of the best stories of fiction of its time - both in its use of language and its powerful messages. Actually a novella, this final story encompasses everything from politics to love to the inevitability of death rendering all else meaningless. While many people finish the Joyce's collection finding it to be one of the more depressing pieces of literature they have read, it really is not. For example, "The Dead" proves that death is essential to making a fresh start. Joyce did not intend to write to please others and leave them satisfied, but instead to portray reality in a grim city.

Just remember, after finishing Dubliners, you are one step closer to reading Ulysses!!

An excellent annotated edition of the great work
of Irish and world fiction. If you need commentaries
and helpful insights into this complex work, this is
the one.

ex James Joyce left Dublin in 1912, never to return, but he continued to live in his city spiritually, psychically, artistically, and emotionally for the next twenty-nine years up until his death in 1941. Embedded in his consciousness were its streets and squares, its habits and tics, the talk, the music, and the daily life of its people. The city was shrouded under the Catholic Church which helped to make the city a confining, stultifying, parochial place--a small gossipy setting where everyone seemed to know too much about everyone else.
In the fifteen stories of "Dubliners" Joyce uses naturalistic dialogue with an Irishness to it that comes across so vividly. "That takes the biscuit," echoes in my mind. Real people, believable with all their foibles and virtues, emerge along with the Irish love of drink and music, The sense of place in Joyce's Dublin is palpable, keenly felt.
In his stories are schemers, freeloaders, blowhards, buffoons, and women living in an unliberated, repressive society, but Irish women always had an independence and a rebellious spirit that many females in other nationalities lacked.
Some of his stories are slice of life vignettes rather than crafted surprise ending tales like O. Henry's so some just seem to stop abruptly with an inconclusive ending as events happen in real life.
"Eveline" is about a woman afraid to escape from her restrictive but safe home. "The Dead" is, of course, Joyce's masterpiece which combines all of his narrative and descriptive talents. "Ivy Day in the Committee Room" has small-time vote canvassers recalling the Irish patriot Parnell. Read "Two Gallants" to see how Joyce cleverly sketches character and moves his people about on the streets of Dublin. That city is the main character in this book, a place where the people and the city are inextricably entwined. The city of that era will never die as long as this book is absorbed into the readers' souls and psyches. A book to be imbibed and embedded in memory.

James Joyce lurks in my home, the mammoth Ulysses sitting heavily upon my shelf, mocking me, sending chills down the back of my neck and dashing thoughts of actually making it through the tome unscathed. So it was with much trepidation that I tackled this earlier work by Joyce.

I was most pleasantly surprised to discover this collection of Dublin tales to be very accessible, and while I no doubt missed much of the poetical allegory present in his work, following the basic meanings of the story was within my reach. Ulysses may be as different to this as Faulkner's As I Lay Dying was to The Sound and Fury, but I hope not.

An relatively easy and enjoyable start if trying to work your way through Joyce's works.

This is the old father, the old artificer, of all 20th century short stories. Each story is a gem, and together they tell like a rosary. "The Dead," is by itself a masterpiece which resonates long after you've finished it. Dubliners is Joyce's most accessible work, readable and enjoyable without losing any of its deeper nuances.

I ordered this book more than a month ago. It still has not arrived and I am going to contact Amazon if it doesn't come in the next week.