Dubliners by James Joyce, first published in 1914, is a collection of fifteen short stories that quietly and powerfully captures everyday Irish life during a pivotal time in Ireland's search for its own identity. Each story centers on characters experiencing 'epiphanies' that offer the narrative a thoughtful arc — a subtle tilt toward resolution, which can be unusual in short stories. Joyce's characters are softly displayed and gently handled as he turns them over, examining them from all sides. The standout story, The Dead, is the final entry in the collection — a novella and, by far, my favorite.

What I love about Dubliners, along with its quiet, meditative storytelling (and the brilliant audiobook performances), is imagining the through line from Joyce to a contemporary Irish author like Claire Keegan. While Joyce captured early 20th-century struggles with a focus on social constraints and masculine sensibilities — even with his female characters — Keegan offers a modern view with more natural nuance. Her work balances both male and female perspectives, filling in the feminine sensibilities that Joyce wasn't able to fully access. She portrays resilience and stoicism through a lens attuned to present-day values, creating a more cohesive portrait of existence. Irish storytelling is layered and rich with knowable characters, people you can see and feel. These two authors, separated by a century, are bookends of Irish literature that each reflect evolving cultural values and literary focuses, giving us a compelling, continuous portrait of Irish life and identity.