Dubliners

You don't need to be a genius to appreciate the finer qualities of James Joyce, but it can be a struggle no matter how 'qualified' you are.

I'm not a fan.

If you're thinking about experimenting with this author, this book is a decent non-committal place to start as a collection of short stories. If you don't like the contents, skip attempting his bigger works and save yourself the pain.

Even though I like Dubliners in parts, it's can be a toil because of Joyce's famous stream of consciousness with little or no plot or storyline. He writes whatever he wants in mostly beautiful prose, but that's not always much fun!

Right from the start, the The Sisters has profound dialogue and atmosphere but no discernable message and nothing memorable about it, and the rest of the book is pretty much the same. Ivy Day in the Committee Room is an excruciatingly dull story about blokes drinking bottles of booze in a dingy room while arguing about syndicates and politics, reminiscent of what it's like to be poor and oppressed in Dublin.

Two Gallants is a decent tale in comparison, about a couple of guys who con young ladies into parting with their hard-earned cash. They mooch around, observe, brag and speculate about their mini heists.

And The Dead is probably the most well-known story from this collection because of how profound, dark and doomed it is. It could be worth the nominal entrance fee and picking up this entire volume for.

I'm giving this collection three stars because it's well written, easy to put down and a great way of deciding to progress with more serious works by the author.

However, based on my experience with this book and after reading Ulysses, I will NOT be reading anything else by James Joyce, especially Finnegans Wake (sic).