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A review by kaitlynnightingale
Dubliners by James Joyce
3.0
I picked this up as my book for Ireland in my journey to read books from every country (@BeyondPageOne on Instagram). My grandmother and her family are from Ireland, and I've now had the chance to visit Dublin twice myself, so I was looking forward to revisiting through literature.
I find the concept and history of this book to be so fascinating. The premise of showcasing the ordinary lives of people isn't a stance that more books take, and serves as a realistic glimpse into the true essence of a place. Upon doing some research for this read, I learned that the book was submitting to at least 15 publishers before being accepted for print. These types of risks are why Joyce is so famous—he pushes boundaries through unique approaches to writing.
While most stories that we find are written to escape reality and find new, exciting adventure, readers must accept that this book isn't that and isn't meant to be (you have to understand this to be able to embrace this read). I assume many people don't enjoy it because it "celebrates" the mundane; it's almost too relatable, and nothing incredible or life alternating takes place in particular. Instead, it feels more personal, like a collection of James Joyce’s own thoughts, as if he is a passer-by watching these lives unfold. As described in "ReJoycing: New Readings of Dubliners", with the lack of "thematic unity, logic of plot, or closure, Joyce prevents any conclusive critical analysis."
All this said, I love the concept, and it is well written. I'd be interested to read some of Joyce's poetry based on the beautiful descriptions of people and setting (Ulysses still seems very daunting). I think he did a fantastic job building characters and weaving relatable themes into the short stories. These aspects include not living up to our own expectations, fear of living a boring life, thinking we know what love is but not quite reaching it, succumbing to the tragedies of life and much more. I noticed a lot of modern themes despite the 100+ age gap (like the differing views between generations, choosing between comfort and risk, wish for adventure, etc). The use of the first-person narrative in the first few stories and the rest in the third person was a bold choice, and you can read about different interpretations for this decision.
Some of my other issues in enjoying this collection was that it was almost too many stories (15) and the vast number of characters to keep track of. Understandably, some things were lost on me due to the older style of writing (even though I've read classics from the likes of Jane Austen and Victor Hugo). I wished for some connections between the short story, like if there was some interaction between the character of each to tie it all together. The most enjoyable for me were The Sisters, Eveline, and A Little Cloud, some others were more forgettable.
I find the concept and history of this book to be so fascinating. The premise of showcasing the ordinary lives of people isn't a stance that more books take, and serves as a realistic glimpse into the true essence of a place. Upon doing some research for this read, I learned that the book was submitting to at least 15 publishers before being accepted for print. These types of risks are why Joyce is so famous—he pushes boundaries through unique approaches to writing.
While most stories that we find are written to escape reality and find new, exciting adventure, readers must accept that this book isn't that and isn't meant to be (you have to understand this to be able to embrace this read). I assume many people don't enjoy it because it "celebrates" the mundane; it's almost too relatable, and nothing incredible or life alternating takes place in particular. Instead, it feels more personal, like a collection of James Joyce’s own thoughts, as if he is a passer-by watching these lives unfold. As described in "ReJoycing: New Readings of Dubliners", with the lack of "thematic unity, logic of plot, or closure, Joyce prevents any conclusive critical analysis."
All this said, I love the concept, and it is well written. I'd be interested to read some of Joyce's poetry based on the beautiful descriptions of people and setting (Ulysses still seems very daunting). I think he did a fantastic job building characters and weaving relatable themes into the short stories. These aspects include not living up to our own expectations, fear of living a boring life, thinking we know what love is but not quite reaching it, succumbing to the tragedies of life and much more. I noticed a lot of modern themes despite the 100+ age gap (like the differing views between generations, choosing between comfort and risk, wish for adventure, etc). The use of the first-person narrative in the first few stories and the rest in the third person was a bold choice, and you can read about different interpretations for this decision.
Some of my other issues in enjoying this collection was that it was almost too many stories (15) and the vast number of characters to keep track of. Understandably, some things were lost on me due to the older style of writing (even though I've read classics from the likes of Jane Austen and Victor Hugo). I wished for some connections between the short story, like if there was some interaction between the character of each to tie it all together. The most enjoyable for me were The Sisters, Eveline, and A Little Cloud, some others were more forgettable.