Dubliners, James Joyce
So, okay. This clearly isn't the original cover, but all images of the original cover are really boring and unattractive. No one has ever accused me of being a purist, so a bit of variation in the cover image isn't a huge step, anyway.
To the book itself. I found Dubliners somewhat difficult to read, and that could be because I'm so accustomed to fantasy and sci-fi, and I need high-paced action to hold my attention. You'll find none of that here. Eventually, I stopped trying to read the book as a whole and instead read one or two short stories each night before I went to sleep - they calmed by brain and made me drowsy. Not because they were boring - because they're not. It's because the writing is simple and stately, without flourish and flair (very different to, say, The Picture of Dorian Grey). It was really soothing to read.
Dubliners is a collection of short stories attempting to accurately depict the lives of the middle and lower class, living in and around Dublin at the beginning of the twentieth century. Generally, the narrators or perspective characters in the stories are children or adolescents who, in the course of the story, often come to some kind of realization about themselves, their society or someone else - an epiphany moment, of sorts. However, that is probably about as much action as the stories contain.
A lazy, relaxing read, the tone and style convey the lives of the subjects as much as the words and speech themselves. I really enjoyed reading it before bed, when I was all snuggly and warm. As a writer, I found it a fascinating study in how to create a certain tone or mood in only a few words, and in how to subtly shape a world on the page.
Tell me what you think.
xKath
