2.5 stars

James Joyce's Dubliners is a collection of Irish short stories written at the beginning of the 1900s. The stories are not connected, but are all set in Dublin and share a similar pattern of each one ending with a moment of realisation or epiphany. At first the endings felt quite abrupt to me, but once I realised what Joyce was up to I found it an intriguing concept.

In general, I don't like short stories. Each one feels like starting a new book and having to get used to new characters each time. Then just as you're getting used to them the story ends. Because of this, I just simply didn't engage with some of the stories. The only one that had some real meat on its bones was The Dead, and that was probably just due to its sheer length.

I'm never going to pretend I like a classic just because it's a classic. I have no doubt Joyce is a great writer (and this did come through on many occasions), but I'm not sure if the short story was the best place for him to shine. Sometimes I was bored. Sometimes I was amazed at a turn of phrase. A mixed bag.