Dubliners (Version 2)


Read by Tadhg

(4.7 stars; 167 reviews)

Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences. They centre on Joyce's idea of an epiphany: a moment where a character experiences self-understanding or illumination. Many of the characters in Dubliners later appear in minor roles in Joyce's novel Ulysses. The initial stories in the collection are narrated by child protagonists, and as the stories continue, they deal with the lives and concerns of progressively older people. This is in line with Joyce's tripartite division of the collection into childhood, adolescence, and maturity. (Summary from Wikipedia) (6 hr 39 min)

Chapters

The Sisters 18:22 Read by Tadhg
An Encounter 17:59 Read by Tadhg
Araby 13:33 Read by Tadhg
Eveline 10:30 Read by Tadhg
After The Race 14:04 Read by Tadhg
Two Gallants 23:03 Read by Tadhg
The Boarding House 16:12 Read by Tadhg
A Little Cloud 29:35 Read by Tadhg
Counterparts 22:54 Read by Tadhg
Clay 14:56 Read by Tadhg
A Painful Case 22:00 Read by Tadhg
Ivy Day In The Committee Room 31:43 Read by Tadhg
A Mother 25:57 Read by Tadhg
Grace 46:54 Read by Tadhg
The Dead, Part one 58:21 Read by Tadhg
The Dead, Part two 33:36 Read by Tadhg

Reviews

Best LibriVox recording ever?


(5 stars)

It would be invidious to compile a '10 best...' when we're looking at the incredibly selfless contributions of volunteers, all of whom deserve infinite credit for their work. However, I have to say that this wonderful reading by Tadhg is in a special category of the marvelous. I cannot believe how low the download figure is. These beautiful, lyrically expressed stories have found a perfect interpreter. Listen.


(5 stars)

Excellently read by Tadgh, who has a number of wonderful readings on LibriVox (try his Hardy stuff), his style of reading is very well suited to this novel, a great marriage. While I didn't overly enjoy the stories; the writing itself was very good and it has wet my appetite for more Joyce books. I wish Tadgh read all the books on LibriVox.

Narrator: superb. Stories: Meh.


(4 stars)

This is my first exposure to James Joyce. From the reviews, I was expecting more from the stories. Maybe I just don't understand Joyce, but most of the stories didn't seem to have a resolution. They were vignettes with little plot, ending dully. Maybe I'm not intellectual enough or don't know enough of the place and time from which they come. *shrug* I give the stories themselves 3 stars and the narrator 5 glorious stars.

A Painful Case


(5 stars)

The greatest book of short stories possibly ever....beautifully read...A Painful Case and The Dead are two of best short stories of all time ...they stay with you...Dublin in 1904 comes alive...Two Gallants is another classic...eating grocer's peas with pepper and vinegar in a cheap cafe on the inner city Northside of Dublin...the images of Dublin he created...when he opens the paper in A Painful Case

Nothing to compare James Joyce read by an incredible talent


(5 stars)

I love James Joyce, but had never read "The Dubliners". I am so glad that I decided to listen to this. Not only are the stories touching vignettes exposing the good and bad aspects of the lives of the locals, they are brought to life by the most incredible reader. Thank Librivox for making this available to me.


(5 stars)

Tadgh is top class.The accent is spot on perfect..My favourite is the dead maybe because I know the house I always think of Joyce stories as snapshots in time.rather than traditional. stories with a conclusion.I hope Gabriel found his happy ever after but I think he may have remained troubled by self doubt or feelings of being second best.

Simply excellent


(5 stars)

A wonderful set of stories read with real clarity, understanding and a passion for the narrative. A simply excellent experience- one of the best I’ve had on LibriVox. His reading of ‘The Dead’ - the closing Epiphany in particular- was genuinely moving and helped me see clearly the meaning of this story. Thanks so much.

Pretty Darn Good


(4 stars)

This is a very well written collection of stories by James Joyce. Interesting to experience in light of what he went on to do in Portrait and Ulysses. The reader's voice sounds very Irish which fits the text nicely. The best version on LibriVox as of this date. 5th July '20.