Dubliners

by James Joyce

Paperback, 223 pages

English language

Published Aug. 6, 1985 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-14-004222-1

(64 reviews)

The remarkable collection of stories that make up Dubliners was described by Joyce himself as a series of chapters in the moral history of his community and the arrangement of the tales reveals "a progression from childhood to maturity, broadening from private to public scope," as Harry Levin noted in his introduction to The Portable James Joyce.

In fact, it is the scope of life that Joyce has limned in these stories - ranging from the opening tale, "The Sisters," in which the boy is confronted with death as he overhears the conversation of his elders, through the memorable "Ivy Day in the Committee Room" with its depiction of small-time politicians recalling their great lost leader, Parnell, to the exquisitely poignant "The Dead," wherein through the chance singing of a song a husband learns of a long-ago romance in his wife's life. While the geographic boundary of these fifteen stories …

This definitive text restoring Joyce's manuscript style and his later corrections has been prepared by Robert Scholes in consultation with Richard Ellmann, Joyce's biographer.

(back cover)

186 editions

Julie R reviewed Dubliners James Joyce 1914 by James Joyce

Much more interesting than I expected

4 stars

If you've been avoiding Joyce because of Ulysses, this book feels like a warm-up both for the reader and the author. There are beautiful phrases buried inside intriguing vignettes. Yes, the political and social commentary is there (and opaque for those of us without knowledge of the time period and history), but the stories are enjoyable independent of those allusions. (Except for Two Gallants. I felt like that one went right over my head, but I also noted the excessive walking similar to Ulysses.) I found a lot of pain in these stories, but I was also struck by the deep sense of community and family. Most of these "stories" don't have an ending as we think of story structure, but are open to interpretation and thought. Reminded me a bit of all those lessons in high school about the Lady and the Tiger by Stockton.

K reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Review of 'Dubliners' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Excellent, and I’m sad that I finished it.

Watty62 reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Ian Watt

4 stars

See comments.

Adrián Astur Álvarez reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Review of 'Dubliners' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I've read this collection a few times before and something new comes up every time. This time I was struck, not only by the perfection of The Dead, but by Joyce's ability to connect with the reader by revealing a lot of his characters' vulnerabilities early on in each story. It gives him the permission he needs to take his narrative wherever he wants since he is free from the constrictions of plot.

franksbooks reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Review of 'Dubliners' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Unlike so many writers of his age, not a single paragraph, sentence, word in this collection feels dated. Perhaps the greatest presenter of character in fiction, these stories use those characters to highlight everyday life as it was more than a hundred years ago and in subtly different ways as it is today.

Fionnáin reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Review of 'Dubliners' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

Rated at Joyce's standard. "The Dead" alone is a good enough story to pull this book through, but there are so many others. The characters are creepily modern; living in Dublin today the stories could all still take place (with taxis replacing carriages and street-lights replacing lamps). Mystifying.

Applemcg reviewed Dubliners by James Joyce

Review of 'Dubliners' on 'LibraryThing'

4 stars

a lesson in accessible joyce. some stories are easier to get into. others are in his own impenetrable style. i started this in paper, finished on an e-reader. a vote in their behalf, i'm cylcing four books while commuting; i typically get to three in a round trip. i looked forward to 'dubliners' (and the others as well).