Read more
James Joyce's collection of fifteen short stories portrays the lives of Dublin's middle class during the turn of the twentieth century. Structured from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and death, each story shows people paralyzed by the mundaneness of everyday life. At times humorous and others haunting, Joyce explores the loneliness of the human condition, culminating with "The Dead," called "one of the greatest short stories ever written" (T. S. Eliot), where a man experiences an epiphany that changes him forever.
About the author
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882–1941) was an Irish writer of the 20th century, whose prolific works included novels, poems, short stories, plays, and literary criticism. He is known for his contributions to the modernist movement and his use of experimental literary styles, including stream of consciousness. Though he spent most of his adult life abroad, Joyce’s major works are rooted in Dublin, his place of birth, where he explores his complicated relationship with Irish identity and rejection of Irish nationalism through a historical, cultural, and political lens.
Summary
James Joyce's collection of fifteen short stories portrays the lives of Dublin's middle class during the turn of the twentieth century. Structured from childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and death, each story shows people paralyzed by the mundaneness of everyday life.
