Dubliners

Penguin Classics

By: James Joyce

Narrated by: Andrew Scott

Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.   

This Penguin Classic is performed by Andrew Scott, star of Sherlock, Fleabag, and Black Mirror, also known for his on-stage roles in Present Laughter and Hamlet. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Terence Brown.  

Joyce's first major work, written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for the first time. His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism. He writes of social decline, sexual desire and exploitation, corruption and personal failure, yet creates a brilliantly compelling, unique vision of the world and of human experience.

©2019 James Joyce (P)2019 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

"Scott's intonation and pacing made the book really easy to follow, and the fact that every chapter is a full story kept me engaged for much longer than if I was reading it on the page." (i News) 

Well Acted and Interpreted

Scott does a wonderful job of injecting personality into each of the characters throughout the 15 stories.

Audible version of The Dubliners

I struggled with Chapter 1 of the book which was a long academic lit.crit type thing, beautifully spoken if a little bombastic.
The rest of the book i.e. The Joyce work
was spellbinding, on relection some of that might have been the “scene setting” done in the first chapter.
Bottom line was i wanted to revisit Dublin soon and look forward to the next James Joyce book on or off Audible

Sound too low

I love this book & have read & listened may times. However sound quality on this version is poor.

Great performance, missing the appendices

Should have included the appendices in the narration, otherwise, the production is quite good

Outstanding.

Better than television or the movies. Narration was superb. My imagination followed the storylines from beginning to end. Look forward to listening to these stories again and again.

Narration excellent

Superior production of the finest short stories. If you love Joyce you will treasure this Audible book.

Amazing Performance

The narrator added so much to the experience for this book Thank you so much!

Professional but not perfect

Andrew Scott did a great job with the narration. I think he expressed well the intended emotion.

The volume levels need equalizing, though. The transitions between shouts and whispers required active adjustment in my car. This is a post-production issue.

A brief musical transition between stories would have been nice. Since Audible Car Play does not show chapter titles, each short story runs into the next with no audio or visual transition. Often I had to pick up the phone and rewind the current chapter because I missed the transition.

Mediocre

Ugh I just don't know, really. He has a way of depicting things that's kind of beautiful but most of the stories were lack luster and made you assume what happens. It leaves a lot of questioning which would be fine if it stimulates a good conversation but this just made me think... that's it? I understand when a book steers you somewhere that is new and exciting but this steers you down a dark, drunken alley and leaves you there. Why do so many people like this? This is looked at as one of the greatest short story collections ever.... EVER? REALLY? This is the best we got? And no... I Don't think I didn't understand it because it was just so deep... I get the direction everything was going in and most of it just bored me. I want to give it another try but I don't want to waste my time. I don't know... maybe one day!

Fantastic Reading

The introductory essay is well worth the time and effort. It provides a good overview of Joyce's themes and focus and it gives greater context and background for the stories which are amazing. But Andrew Scott's narration is a work of art in itself. This Audible program is worth every penny

Astonishing Narration

The stories are, of course, wonderful.
But the narration is simply stunning - at times lighthearted and lyrical, at others heartbreaking sad. A wonderful listen. Profoundly affecting. Thanks to Andrew Scott.

Outstanding narration

Andrew Scott's narration of A Painful Case (chapter 12) is simply incredible. I have listened to it several times and it repeatedly floors me. He is able to convey with such nuance in his voice the devastating dawning of the character's self-imposed desolation. Joyce's Dublin characters are so vividly alive in this narration, their predicaments and emotions so palpable. It's awful!

Audible: Please include a few seconds pause between the chapters so that the ending of one can sink in before the beginning of the next.

Loved it!

Listened to this as part of a set text required for my English Lit degree and absolutely loved it. Andrew Scott makes the stories so much more enjoyable to listen to, with his wonderful Irish accent....could happily listen to him all day!

Masterful

This magisterial work by the unparalleled Joyce is sublimely read by Andrew Scott. His gorgeous soft tones are a perfect match for Joyce’s ringing prose. A profoundly moving experience, thank you so much 💓.

Irish voices

Andrew Scott reads beautifully and the various Irish voices are wonderful. However it is so quiet at times it is almost impossible to hear. It means constantly turning the volume. Up and down

Book starts at chapter two

The foreward comes in at a very dull one hour and twenty three minutes so for your own sanity skip straight to chapter two.
Andrew Scott does a good job at performing and brings the characters to life.
It would be nice if there was more of a gap between each story so that you can be definetely sure of a new story.

So soothing and moving!

I just loved the narration by Andrew Scott. He really brought the separate stories to live in their own way. And this coming from someone who hates audiobooks!

For all the lovers of short stories

True classic of short story collections, each and every one seemingly mundane before it erupts into beautiful, deeply poetic meaning. Andrew Scott has one of the most soothing voices on the planet and will give you shivers in some of the emotional scenes. Excellent.

One of the best novels I have ever read, and now one of the best audiobook performances I’ve ever heard.

I have studied this novel quite a few times throughout my life, at GCSE, at A level and then for my degree, each time I’ve read it I have appreciated something new and subtle that I had missed before. This text is fantastic, it really places you in Joyce’s Dublin amongst the reeking ash pits and the vibrancy of the city. The epiphanies are all unique and powerful, and as I’ve grown older I’ve appreciated more and more; like Joyce’s humour and playfulness in parts, and the horror and tension of unspoken violence and abuse. This is an incredible book and Andrew Scott’s performance is a triumph, you can tell that he understands the characters and he gives voice to each individual that only deepens the enjoyment of the narratives.

Buy this and experience one of the best, if not THE best audiobook that I have ever listened to.

Wonderful Stories amazingly enhanced

Dubliners has long been one of my favourite books so I did not expect it to be as improved further by such brilliant narration. Andrew Scott brings an array of characters of all ages and from all parts of Dublin, sociological and geographical, to life. Highly, highly recommend.