The Dead: James Joyce's most famous short story (Aziloth Books) - Softcover

Joyce, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1909735914 ISBN 13: 9781909735910

Publisher: Aziloth Books, 2016

Synopsis

James Joyce's writings centre on the city of Dublin, where he was born into a middle-class family in 1882.  Despite this preoccupation, he left Dublin for the continent in 1904 and spent most of his life abroad.  Joyce first caught the attention of critics with 'Dubliners', a brilliant collection of short stories, and rapidly grew in fame and status with his ground-breaking stream-of-consciousness style and the explicit content of his prose in such works as 'Ulysses' and 'Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man'.   'The Dead' is universally acknowledged as one of his best works, both in its style and emotional intensity.  It tells the tale of one evening in the life of Gabriel Conroy at a dinner party, and an ensuing conversation with his wife Gretta that sparks feelings of the utter solitude and, paradoxically, of the interconnectedness of humanity.  In typical Joycian style ("In the particular is contained the universal"), the prose is also peppered with motifs and vignettes that make Gabriel's life an icon of Ireland's National Consciousness.  'The Dead' is both a meditation on the joys, woes and betrayals of life, and at the same time a barely-disguised call to Irish Nationalism.

About this title

About the Author

1882-1941. Born in Dublin, Ireland, into a family of ten children, Joyce showed singular intelligence and a gift for writing from an early age. After leaving University College Dublin with a degree in modern languages, Joyce emigrated to Europe, living in Italy, Zurich and Paris. A string of short stories, including Dubliners, were followed by his first novel, Portrait of an Artist in 1916, and then the controversial but very successful Ulysses in 1922, a work in which he perfected his stream-of-consciousness style and made his name as a great literary figure. Joyce died in Zurich in 1941, two years after the publication of Finnegans Wake, his long-awaited follow up novel which earned him further honours.

From AudioFile

It would be difficult to overpraise this wonderful recording from Joyce's Dubliners. Setlock has a beautiful, subtly accented, fluid, flowing voice, a spritely voice, perfect for Joyce's spinsters and his drunks, the priests and little boys, the old politicians. Setlock does a superb job with the dialogue, with the incredible sensuality of Joyce's work, the telling detail, the moments of irretrievable loss. If one could change anything, it might be to slow him down slightly, the more to savour the words, but that would interfere with the flow and energy of Joyce's prose. E.J.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Aziloth Books
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1909735914
• ISBN 13: 9781909735910
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 66