Dubliners
by James Joyce · first published 1914
65% recommend33% neutral2% critical
Why HN recommends it
Short stories of turn-of-the-century Irish life, written in conventional style and far easier than Ulysses. Recommended as the entry point to Joyce, with a haunting final story, The Dead, that many single out.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
James Joyce's disillusion with the publication of Dubliners in 1914 was the result of ten years battling with publishers, resisting their demands to remove swear words, real place names and much else, including two entire stories. Although only 24 when he signed his first publishing contract for the book, Joyce already knew its worth: to alter it in any way would 'retard the course of civilisation in Ireland'. Joyce's aim was to tell the truth -- to create a work of art that would reflect life in Ireland at the turn of the last century. By rejecting euphemism, he would reveal to the Irish the
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I highly recommend Dubliners by Joyce. It's the most beautiful collection of short stories ever written. Ulysses has its roots in Dubliners, and if Ulysses is a daydream, then Finnegans Wake is a nightmare. Leave the nightmares to…
on “Breaking Up with James Joyce” ↗…argument in the article and by various other scholars is specifically about Finnegans Wake. Joyce wrote several distinctly different books that should never be lumped together as “impenetrable modernism”. Dubliners is so straightforward that its stories are commonly assigned to school pupils. Portrait is a bit more experimental, but again it is often read by young people. Ulysses definitely requires a good grounding…
on “Breaking Up with James Joyce” ↗…thriving Joyce industry. I haven't read much of its production, but I recall Hugh Kenner's Joyce's Voices as pretty good. If you haven't already done so, read Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners, for many characters from both crop up in Ulysses.
on “Bought and Unread Books” ↗In order: 1. The Technological Society - Jacques Ellul 2. The Sickness Unto Death - Kierkegaard 3. Dubliners - James Joyce 4. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World - Cal Newport
on “Ask HN: What books changed the way you think about almost everything?” ↗Dubliners by James Joyce A collection of short stories united by the fact that characters have epiphanies.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Dubliners by James Joyce A collection of short stories united by the fact that characters have epiphanies. Often my life has changed not gradually but in moments of epiphay and this book made me more aware of…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗As far as Joyce goes, I haven't read Ulysses. Dubliners, however was very approachable and enjoyable. It's is a collection of descriptive short stories of people in turn of the century Ireland. The final story, "The Dead" is haunting.
on “Read “Gravity’s Rainbow” fifty years later” ↗For anyone who is curious about Joyce but doesn't want to take on Ulysses, I would recommend his Dubliners collection of short stories, which is much more accessible and still a really good read. I would love to tackle Ulysses, preferably with a good companion piece.
on “Yes I Will Read Ulysses Yes” ↗I would strongly recommend anyone who has a second-hand impression of Joyce based on articles like this just go and read Dubliners. Seriously. It’s an amazing set of short stories that are wonderfully-written, at times funny, moving, sad, haunting etc. It’s just incredible. It’s not a hard read at all and will enrich your life.…
on “Yes I Will Read Ulysses Yes” ↗For anyone curious about Ulysses: It’s great. Read Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man before Ulysses. If you gave up on it before: try again. I used to think it was BS for years but I tried again and ended up loving it. I’d advise skipping…
on “United States vs. One Book Called “Ulysses”” ↗…that I lack the education to “get” Ulysses, I also wonder whether works of art should be considered greater on account of the complexity of their allusions. Not taking anything away from Joyce’s talent. Dubliners is amazing without requiring a source codex.
on “Joyce Project” ↗…may come from looking for meaning or trying to make sense of it. That's the conclusion I reached, anyway, after reading V and Gravity's Rainbow, anyway. And one other -- Vineland, that was it. I love Dubliners by Joyce, but the later stuff? I'd sooner read The Sound and the Fury again, but only if published with the different color inks Faulkner wanted.
on “Who the Hell Is This Joyce (1928)” ↗…Stories of Your Life - Frankenstein - The Day of the Triffids - Childhood's End Fantasy: - The Stormlight Archives - The First Law Trilogy - The Lord of the Rings Literature: - The Stranger - Dubliners - Things I've Learned from Dying - The Things They Carried - Cloud Atlas - Stoner - Pillars of the Earth
on “Ask HN: Which non-programming books are a beneficial read for programmers?” ↗Have you read Dubliners? Such a good collection of stories. Honestly he mastered “great” writing and seems he just got bored and wanted to play at a higher level.
on “Who the Hell Is This Joyce (1928)” ↗If you really want to start with a Joyce, start really small with The Dubliners. Those are his short stories, and if it’s to your taste, move onward. Wells would say don’t, but fuck Wells ;p
on “Who the Hell Is This Joyce (1928)” ↗