Dubliners

De: James Joyce

Narrado por: Chris O'Dowd

Form-defining short stories.

First published in 1914, James Joyce defined what the short story could be with his collection Dubliners. A mixture of prose and poetry, each story can be listened to independently or as a collection. From childhood to maturity, we see what life - and ultimately death - can be, via an extraordinary cast of characters, all of whom experience an epiphany. There’s Father Flynn, the priest; Evelyn, the shop girl who dreams of escape; Mrs Mooney, the butcher’s daughter, who runs a boarding house.

Joyce described the stories as ‘a moral history of my country’. Written by a young Joyce, with the devastating potato famine still in living memory, he wanted to explore the reasons why a city and its occupants could be so paralysed. For the modern listener, the stories also provide a fascinating snapshot of early 20th-century life - from clay pipes to sixpences, petticoats to ginger beer. In your mind’s eye, walk round Stephen’s Green, wander down Grafton Street and over the River Liffey. You’ll never forget this city or its occupants.

The stories:

• 'The Sisters'
• 'An Encounter'
• 'Araby'
• 'Eveline'
• 'After the Race'
• 'Two Gallants'
• 'The Boarding House'
• 'A Little Cloud'
• 'Counterparts'
• 'Clay'
• 'A Painful Case'
• 'Ivy Day in the Committee Room'
• 'A Mother'
• 'Grace'
• 'The Dead'

Public Domain (P)2021 Audible, Ltd

Brilliant performance

Mr. O’Dowd brought the Dubliners to life! Very moving and helped me appreciate Joyce’s writing to the fullest.

Melodic and Thought Provoking

This collection of short stories were a delight to listen to. Each prose gave a glimpse of life in early 20th century Dublin. James Joyce is a masterful writer and these stories will remain with me.

Chris O'Dowd's melodic narration brought the characters to life. I could imagine each person and their life and struggles. A brilliant performance.

The excellent and descriptive prose of Joyce read in an authentic Irish rendition.

Nothing to dislike; everything perfect…..I regret not reading it sooner when I was younger.

Minor Tragedies happen everyday

In fifteen vignettes of various lives, young and old, Joyce paints the melancholy and stagnation of a community. In the background is the city and society of Dublin in the early 1900s, as a setting but also its own character or being.

Each story felt like a minor tragedy, where the protagonist learns something important through mundane everyday settings but fails to follow through and act on it.

It’s interesting that more than 100 years later, the general isolation, discontentment and disconnect still seems to be the general case of life in a city.

By the end, one has to reflect on one’s owns epiphanies and failures to act and live the life one could live.

Dubliners narrated by Chris O’Dowd.

The Great James Joyce. Hard to write better than this. I have read Dubliners several times before, but I enjoyed Chris O’Dowd’s narration very much. I thought he read the stories as well as could be done. He understands the stories and adds just the right touch to the voices. This Audible presentation is really superb.

Loved this book

Loved this book, and presentation in every way! Lyrical dive into the soul, and lovely cameos of Irish people and life. The reader was perfect for the task! Grateful to have experienced it!

Moving, classic

I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect to love this book. I read it only because I am traveling to Ireland and wanted to read some James Joyce. I loved the tender and sharp insights and the beautiful writing. I'm so glad I read it. Thank you Audible for this production.

What a narrator

I don’t have much to say about the stories, but the narrator was truly superb

Chris O’Dowd is brilliant!

My Irish immigrate parents always had books if Irish authors on the shelves at home…that I never read.

I was searching for something new, I came across Dubliners read by an American who did not know how to pronounce basic Irish words…it was like nails on a chalk board…I had to turn it off!!

So then went searching for the same book read by a true Irishman…and was so pleased to find the great Chris O’Dowd. This is a wonderful listen and made me feel at home with his voice…

Good introductory

if you are intimidated by reading Joyce, start with Dubliners. it is accessible, yet still layered. great narration as well.