Dublin has been called the center of the paralysis of the Universe, the second city of Empire, Scandaltown, Strumpet City, a series of accidental encounters, the largest village in Europe, the fishy home of Molly Malone, and occasionally the capital of Ireland. Although Dublin has had a history that encompasses a huge range of human experience, Dublines is not a conventional historical presentation of the city's fascinating character; it is more a series of pictures and a choir of voices combined to form a complex portrait. ""All of its [the book's] writers have something to say, and they generally do so with flourish, subtlety, and conviction."" - The Boston Book Review.