Dubliners (Norton Critical Editions)
Dubliners is arguably the best-known and most influential collection of short stories written in English, and has been since its publication in 1914.Through what Joyce described as their "style of scrupulous meanness," the stories present a direct, sometimes searing view of Dublin in the...
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Dubliners is arguably the best-known and most influential collection of short stories written in English, and has been since its publication in 1914.Through what Joyce described as their "style of scrupulous meanness," the stories present a direct, sometimes searing view of Dublin in the early twentieth century. The text of this Norton Critical Edition is based on renowned Joyce scholar Hans Walter Gabler’s edited text and includes his editorial notes and the introduction to his scholarly edition, which details and discusses Dubliners’ complicated publication history. "Contexts" offers a rich collection of materials that bring the stories and the Irish capital to life for twenty-first century readers, including photographs, newspaper articles and advertising, early versions of two of the stories, and a satirical poem by Joyce about his publication woes. "Criticism" brings together eight illuminating essays on the most frequently taught stories in Dubliners—"Araby," "Eveline," "After the Race," "The Boarding House," "Counterpoints," "A Painful Case," and "The Dead." Contributors include David G. Wright, Heyward Ehrlich, Margot Norris, James Fairhall, Fritz Senn, Morris Beja, Roberta Jackson, and Vincent J. Cheng. 8 maps; 20 illustrations
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Format: paperback
ISBN:
9780393978513 (0393978516)
Publish date: January 23rd 2006
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Pages no: 412
Edition language: English
Although James Joyce began these stories of Dublin life in 1904, when he was 22, and had completed them by the end of 1907, they remained unpublished until 1914 — victims of Edwardian squeamishness. Their vivid, tightly focused observations of the life of Dublin's poorer classes, their unconventiona...
'The Dead' and 'A Mother' were the only ones I really enjoyed; the others, save for brief glimpses of irony, were, above all, horribly boring. Maybe it simply feels too familiar, but I just don't understand what all the fuss is about.
3.5 stars. I rarely read classics anymore but I'm happy I've picked up this one because it was surprisingly good. The short stories are better savored together and in order; they are poignant, beautifully written, wrought through top-notch descriptions and I liked to think about the themes of escape...
James Joyce has officially become one of my favorite writers. I particularly enjoyed the stories "A Painful Case" and "The Dead."
Another one of the rare books that I had to read for school that I also greatly enjoyed, and the class discussions of the stories made me love them even more. I can see what people are talking about when they praise Joyce for the universality found in his work, as well as that essence of what it mea...