A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners, by James Joyce, is part of the Barnes & Noble ClassicsKevin J. H. Dettmar is Professor o...
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Apr 08, 2010
Heather
rated it: 
This review is about Dubliners only:
I’m not really a short story person. I prefer to dig into something longer, but I thought I would make an exception for Dubliners. I read “The Dead” in a college literature class, and I loved it. Unfortunately, “The Dead” is the best story from this collection. I found that I didn’t love many of the other short stories.
From religion to alcoholism to gender roles, Joyce lays it all out in this short story collection. I don’t know much ab More...
I’m not really a short story person. I prefer to dig into something longer, but I thought I would make an exception for Dubliners. I read “The Dead” in a college literature class, and I loved it. Unfortunately, “The Dead” is the best story from this collection. I found that I didn’t love many of the other short stories.
From religion to alcoholism to gender roles, Joyce lays it all out in this short story collection. I don’t know much ab More...
May 06, 2011
David
rated it: 
I had already read Portrait, and wanted to check out Dubliners. It was a little like watching a cricket match- enjoyable but, being an American, there were parts of it that I just didn't understand. There was a story about Charles Parnell that I skipped altogether because I knew I was out to sea on that one. Still, there are helpful footnotes in this addition and even some maps - everyone is walking in this book and of course the outward journey represents the inward journey and all of that.
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Oct 10, 2011
Calley
rated it:
It feels pointless to rate a book like A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Having withstood the test of a century of readership, the book obviously has its merits. Therefore, my trivial 3-star rating is for my personal taste alone, and really not a reflection of the book itself, which is equal parts gorgeous and dull. I am personally not a fan of the stream-of-consciousness style. I'm more in line with the Nabokov school of psychological literature which is built on the complexity of though
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Jul 19, 2008
Cara
rated it:
widely regarded this, canonical that...don't tell me i'm required to give this four or five stars, okay? i mean, i'm glad i've read it and all, but it just wasn't my complete cup of tea. it was hot, steamy and fragrant, but without a touch of sweetness and a soothing caress of cream. i'm just sayin'.
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May 07, 2009
Lily
rated it: 
So basically this book is amazing, especially A Portrait...This is the most recent book that I have finished and I just love James Joyce's writing style - seriously - that man can do no wrong. The character Stephen really grows (obviously) but unlike other bildungsroman types - it was actually interesting to read about and understand the growth of not just a person, but an artist. The stream of consciousness writing was also just great and it really gives the effect of not only just reading and
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Dec 29, 2009
Kelsey
rated it:
It's hard to rate and review one of your favorite books ever. To put into words why you love something that meant so much. I imagine this is what judging your own child is like or something.
Everything from the form of the novel and the progression of language down to the eventual self actualization at the end of the novel is absolutely perfect. Joyce is a fantastic writer, and is quite poetic as well. One of my favorite quotes of the novel :
"His heart danced upo More...
Everything from the form of the novel and the progression of language down to the eventual self actualization at the end of the novel is absolutely perfect. Joyce is a fantastic writer, and is quite poetic as well. One of my favorite quotes of the novel :
"His heart danced upo More...
May 05, 2010
Mike
rated it:
OK - This is an impressive book. It is beyond my meager ability to write a review. My thoughts - a tough read if you truly try to read it on multiple levels; and it certainly has depth, like Don Quixote. The 'stream of conscious' writing is extremely well done (better than Faulkner, IMHO), and Joyce's introspection carries to sufficient extreme that one looses touch with reality and the voyerism within Stephen's head; only to be awakened, sometimes 10 or 20 pages later into a recognition of whet
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Jul 29, 2011
Tim
rated it:
When I was reading the Iliad in college, my Lit. professor told us to think of Achilles & Co. as aliens from another planet, it would be the best way to rationalize their often baffling behavior, by acknowledging they have a very different way of thinking. I was reminded of this advice while reading Joyce. It's not necessary, but it helps: 19th-20th century Ireland is, to me, practically another planet.
Portrait of the Artist is a mini-epic coming of age story laced with philosophy- perhaps More...
Portrait of the Artist is a mini-epic coming of age story laced with philosophy- perhaps More...
Jun 19, 2010
Abailart
rated it:
Edmund Wilson said that “no two persons ever read the same book”, and in my present fascination with revisiting books I read as a young man, unsurprisingly I find I am reading different books. Indeed, if a book, a mere sentence, can change you, then in some true sense your interpretations of the text will always be changing too. In any case, as with music, poetry, or any art, the interpretations and pleasure open slowly and in new ways with every encounter.
Joyce’s novel, in p More...
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May 05, 2008
Tyler
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Two short books in one volume; I preferred Dubliners to Portrait.
Dublin and vicinity is the glue that holds both books together. The stream-of-consciousness in Portrait occasionally distracts, but the novella succeeds in conveying the element of experience and the significance of particular moments, as opposed to particular themes, in a person's development.
Dubliners consists of about a dozen short stories having Dublin as their common theme, and leaving the reader with More...
Dublin and vicinity is the glue that holds both books together. The stream-of-consciousness in Portrait occasionally distracts, but the novella succeeds in conveying the element of experience and the significance of particular moments, as opposed to particular themes, in a person's development.
Dubliners consists of about a dozen short stories having Dublin as their common theme, and leaving the reader with More...
Dec 26, 2009
James
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james joyce's dubliners, a collection of short stories regarding the residents of his home-city is at times brilliantly lyrical and melancholy. the collection starts off strong, and ends incredibly strong, but somewhere about 3/4 of the way through, i found myself losing a bit of interest. whether that's due to my own readiness to be reading something else or whether it's due to the stories losing a bit of their personality and focusing a bit more on the political (with reference to figures an
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Aug 18, 2009
Patrick
rated it: 
OK, I have long wanted to get through at least one book by Joyce so after a false start trying to read Finnegan's Wake (impossible to read) I went for this one. I have so far nearly completed Portrait and feel that it is not very good. It seems that Joyce focuses on pointless details, leaving you trying to figure out where the actual story is. We'll see how Dubliner's goes when I get to that.
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Oct 31, 2011
Carol
rated it:
It may be interesting to read a story from the point of view within the character's head rather than dialogue, but if the subject is black like Rodin's Gates of Hell or Dante's Inferno in The Divine Comedy, then it is not interesting enough for me to enjoy the story. Portrait is so bleak that it became annoying.
Dec 20, 2010
Simon
rated it:
(For Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man)
Great early example of stream of consciousness narrative, and there are some brilliant moments, but it is VERY dense sometimes. I loved Joyce's style in the Dubliners short stories, but it just became a drag to read over a whole novel.
Great early example of stream of consciousness narrative, and there are some brilliant moments, but it is VERY dense sometimes. I loved Joyce's style in the Dubliners short stories, but it just became a drag to read over a whole novel.
Sep 03, 2009
Becky
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I like James Joyce only because he's an amateur musician himself being a tenor. He incorporated music into most of his works. However, linguistically speaking, some works could be too abstract to grasp for some people if you're not into the contemporary styles.
Dec 14, 2009
Rehneniah
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I like Joyce's stream of conscience writing style and I love Stephen as a child. I'm not sure how to think of him as he grows older. He becomes sort of arrogant almost, and yet he is still very intriguing. hmm hmm hmm
Oct 01, 2009
Kendra
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This is a great book! I love the fact that it is somewhat of an auto-biography. James Joyce is an amazing writer and the organization of his pieces are wonderful.
Dec 30, 2009
Marcus
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like my other read in november, this one is so steeped in catholicism, i wonder what the message is for me...there are scenes that will remain with me forever: most of all the christmas dinner. at the end, it seems clear that joyce already thought about leaving stephen dedalus for other shores, which did not reduce my pleasure in reading this. a book (like all by joyce) that i believe must be read aloud. if you just want to hear it being read, get jim norton's fantastic rendering on naxos.
Jan 17, 2010
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics) by James Joyce (2004)
Aug 12, 2009
David
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I did like this book. But this is number one on the Modern Library's list of all time greatest English language novels. I can't say that I agree.
Apr 12, 2009
Lorraine
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I 'love' "A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man", but have yet to get around to reading "Dubliners", thus the status. Otherwise it would already have five stars to it. :^)
Apr 10, 2010
Re-reading, excited to absorb myself in Joyce/Stephen's Stream of Consciousness genius.
Nov 25, 2009
William Thomas
rated it: 
all of the things virginia woolf said about you, james, are true.
Jan 26, 2009
Mark
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while easier to read, i found it more difficult to appreciate the humor of joyce in these works. ulysses and finnegans wake are just so much funnier.
Dec 10, 2011
Cliff
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The beauty in which this novel was composed makes me want to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.
