Reviews

Perhaps I’m missing the contemporaneous social and political context of Joyce, but I couldn’t really get into this. As a whole, the book does paint an interesting and bleak picture of Dublin, but many of the individual stories felt inconsequential. “The Dead” was great, though.

sarah_dietrich's review against another edition

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4.0

The final story, 'The Dead', made me cry. It was my favourite.
The afterword gives context that ties all the stories together. Read the afterword first next time.

fineadjustment's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

castlerocktronix's review against another edition

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challenging funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

4.0

iqra_saif's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

miagw962's review against another edition

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dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

...and, as he attached the fervent nature of his companion more and more closely to him, he heard the strange impersonal voice which he recognised as his own, insisting on the soul’s incurable loneliness. We cannot give ourselves, it said: we are our own.

James slayed with some of these but not all. I feel like I understand Irish culture now.

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