Dubliners: Text, Criticism, and Notes (Viking Critical Library)

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, context-difficult, yet accessible collection
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: largely depressing and overrated
Review: My first *mildly successful attempt at navigating Joyce. Though for the novice, these short stories are far more comprehensible than other works that I have tried (Ulysses), I still missed much of the Catholic symbolism and all but the most blatant references to the Irish Independence movement. This is a Viking edition that contains somewhat useful commentary, though most of the essays are far too academic and contain multiple references to Joyce's other work and themes. Though I admire the genre of short stories and 'slice-of-life' pieces in more modern fiction, I found these stories depressing and hollow. My disappointment persists even after learning from the subsequent essays that capturing the vacuous stagnation of the Irish middle class was one of Joyce's intentions. These are not characters that are at all well developed; they are personalities and moments and there is scant redemption or even explanation for their shortcomings.

Joyce's style is impressionistic and it is admittedly easy to get caught up in the immediacy of rhythmic descriptions and cadences of dialogue and more often snippets of dialogue. Of all the stories, the apparently autobiographical (according to the commentary) 'Araby' was most satisfying. I read 'Araby' several times effortlessly-quite a statement for Joyce! Getting lost in the hypnotic text was akin to appreciating a Van Gogh. Though certainly not uplifting, 'The Dead' is the only other story that remains with me. The last and most elaborate piece that seems to reconstitute all the cynical threads from the other stories, at least 'The Dead' is not a surface level critique of the emptiness at the heart of the city. It is the death of passion and resignation to nothingness and isolation, yet it is the only example of selflessness Joyce presents in a non-sneering fashion.

Perhaps more telling than any of the too-scholarly commentaries that accompany the text was Joyce's own thoughts on this work from letters to his brother and editor included immediately after the stories. Here is the confirmation of the incredible arrogance one can only infer from these stories. Joyce deems the Irish bourgeoisie a "submerged population," yet gives us their petty tragedies in such a condescending way it seems counterproductive. Joyce reveals his lofty intention to "give people a kind of intellectual pleasure or spiritual enjoyment by converting the bread of everyday life into something that has a permanent artistic life of its own...for their mental, moral, and spiritual uplift." However, there is little that is uplifting in this often bloodless prose.

Rating:
Summary: The Lessons of Life in Dublin
Review: 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!!

Rating:
Summary: Great stories, great ciriticism
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Choice Edition
Review: 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.