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The Sisters
1992 SOUND ROOM PUBLISHERS set of 2 UNABRIDGED AUDIO CASSETTES
10 pages, Library Binding
First published August 13, 1904
9 people are currently reading
285 people want to read
About the author
James Joyce
1,706 books9,462 followersJames Joyce was an Irish novelist, poet, and a pivotal figure in 20th-century modernist literature, renowned for his highly experimental approach to language and narrative structure, particularly his pioneering mastery and popularization of the stream-of-consciousness technique. Born into a middle-class Catholic family in the Rathgar suburb of Dublin in 1882, Joyce spent the majority of his adult life in self-imposed exile across continental Europe—living in Trieste, Zurich, and Paris—yet his entire, meticulous body of work remained obsessively and comprehensively focused on the minutiae of his native city, making Dublin both the meticulously detailed setting and a central, inescapable character in his literary universe. His work is consistently characterized by its technical complexity, rich literary allusion, intricate symbolism, and an unflinching examination of the spectrum of human consciousness. Joyce began his published career with Dubliners (1914), a collection of fifteen short stories offering a naturalistic, often stark, depiction of middle-class Irish life and the moral and spiritual paralysis he observed in its inhabitants, concluding each story with a moment of crucial, sudden self-understanding he termed an "epiphany." This collection was followed by the highly autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), a Bildungsroman that meticulously chronicled the intellectual and artistic awakening of its protagonist, Stephen Dedalus, who would become Joyce's recurring alter ego and intellectual stand-in throughout his major works.
His magnum opus, Ulysses (1922), is universally regarded as a landmark work of fiction that fundamentally revolutionized the novel form. It compressed the events of a single, ordinary day—June 16, 1904, a date now globally celebrated by literary enthusiasts as "Bloomsday"—into a sprawling, epic narrative that structurally and symbolically paralleled Homer's Odyssey, using a dazzling array of distinct styles and linguistic invention across its eighteen episodes to explore the lives of Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus in hyper-minute detail. The novel's explicit content and innovative, challenging structure led to its initial banning for obscenity in the United States and the United Kingdom, turning Joyce into a cause célèbre for artistic freedom and the boundaries of literary expression. His final, most challenging work, Finnegans Wake (1939), pushed the boundaries of language and conventional narrative even further, employing a dense, dream-like prose filled with multilingual puns, invented portmanteau words, and layered allusions that continues to divide and challenge readers and scholars to this day. A dedicated polyglot who reportedly learned several languages, including Norwegian simply to read Ibsen in the original, Joyce approached the English language not as a fixed entity with rigid rules, but as a malleable medium capable of infinite reinvention and expression. His personal life was marked by an unwavering dedication to his literary craft, a complex, devoted relationship with his wife Nora Barnacle, and chronic, debilitating eye problems that necessitated numerous painful surgeries throughout his life, sometimes forcing him to write with crayons on large white paper. Despite these severe physical ailments and financial struggles, his singular literary vision remained sharp, focused, and profoundly revolutionary. Joyce passed away in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1941, shortly after undergoing one of his many eye operations. Today, he is widely regarded as perhaps the most significant and challenging writer of the 20th century. His immense, complex legacy is robustly maintained by global academic study and institutions such as the James Joyce Centre in Dublin, which ensures his complex, demanding, and utterly brilliant work endures, inviting new generations of readers to explore the very essence of what it means to be hum
His magnum opus, Ulysses (1922), is universally regarded as a landmark work of fiction that fundamentally revolutionized the novel form. It compressed the events of a single, ordinary day—June 16, 1904, a date now globally celebrated by literary enthusiasts as "Bloomsday"—into a sprawling, epic narrative that structurally and symbolically paralleled Homer's Odyssey, using a dazzling array of distinct styles and linguistic invention across its eighteen episodes to explore the lives of Leopold Bloom, his wife Molly Bloom, and Stephen Dedalus in hyper-minute detail. The novel's explicit content and innovative, challenging structure led to its initial banning for obscenity in the United States and the United Kingdom, turning Joyce into a cause célèbre for artistic freedom and the boundaries of literary expression. His final, most challenging work, Finnegans Wake (1939), pushed the boundaries of language and conventional narrative even further, employing a dense, dream-like prose filled with multilingual puns, invented portmanteau words, and layered allusions that continues to divide and challenge readers and scholars to this day. A dedicated polyglot who reportedly learned several languages, including Norwegian simply to read Ibsen in the original, Joyce approached the English language not as a fixed entity with rigid rules, but as a malleable medium capable of infinite reinvention and expression. His personal life was marked by an unwavering dedication to his literary craft, a complex, devoted relationship with his wife Nora Barnacle, and chronic, debilitating eye problems that necessitated numerous painful surgeries throughout his life, sometimes forcing him to write with crayons on large white paper. Despite these severe physical ailments and financial struggles, his singular literary vision remained sharp, focused, and profoundly revolutionary. Joyce passed away in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1941, shortly after undergoing one of his many eye operations. Today, he is widely regarded as perhaps the most significant and challenging writer of the 20th century. His immense, complex legacy is robustly maintained by global academic study and institutions such as the James Joyce Centre in Dublin, which ensures his complex, demanding, and utterly brilliant work endures, inviting new generations of readers to explore the very essence of what it means to be hum
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
November 12, 2022
3★
" 'I wouldn't like children of mine' he said, 'to have too much to say to a man like that.'"
Mr Cotter is talking to the young narrator's uncle about the priest who had been the boy's friend. When the boy finally visits the house of mourning, his aunt begins talking to the priest's two sisters.
On the surface, it's all " 'Ah, poor James'... 'He had a beautiful death' ", but there is a definite undercurrent of something, as suggested in the opening quotation.
Today, with so many stories of priests abusing children, it seems almost too obvious to assume that's what is alluded to here. When Joyce was writing, however, stories like this would have been hard to find a publisher, so this allusion may have been considered daring at the time.
" 'It was that chalice he broke... That was the beginning of it. Of course, they say it was al right, that it contained nothing, I mean. But still... They say it was the boy's fault. But poor James was so nervous, God be merciful to him!'"
I don't know why the title is The Sisters, unless it is to indicate that the focus will be on them now instead of on their 'poor' brother (and his young friend, who seems genuinely distressed that the priest has died).
This is the first story in Dubliners, and I can't say I enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed many of the others. I can, however, see how it could have stirred up a lot of conversations a century ago.
" 'I wouldn't like children of mine' he said, 'to have too much to say to a man like that.'"
Mr Cotter is talking to the young narrator's uncle about the priest who had been the boy's friend. When the boy finally visits the house of mourning, his aunt begins talking to the priest's two sisters.
On the surface, it's all " 'Ah, poor James'... 'He had a beautiful death' ", but there is a definite undercurrent of something, as suggested in the opening quotation.
Today, with so many stories of priests abusing children, it seems almost too obvious to assume that's what is alluded to here. When Joyce was writing, however, stories like this would have been hard to find a publisher, so this allusion may have been considered daring at the time.
" 'It was that chalice he broke... That was the beginning of it. Of course, they say it was al right, that it contained nothing, I mean. But still... They say it was the boy's fault. But poor James was so nervous, God be merciful to him!'"
I don't know why the title is The Sisters, unless it is to indicate that the focus will be on them now instead of on their 'poor' brother (and his young friend, who seems genuinely distressed that the priest has died).
This is the first story in Dubliners, and I can't say I enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed many of the others. I can, however, see how it could have stirred up a lot of conversations a century ago.
February 15, 2023
The opening story in Joyce's collection Dubliners. The sisters are unmarried and dedicated to their brother, a priest, whose "life was, you might say, crossed." There was that incident of a broken chalice, but "They say it was the boy's fault."
The priest had a reputation —unspecified— but his friendship with the young protagonist is questioned by some as being … again, unspecified.
The suggestion of disreputable priests is one reason these stories had trouble finding an Irish publisher.
Having recently enjoyed A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, a deep dive into Russian masterpieces of the short story form, I then attempted to read two other collections and was disappointed (will not name those books). Of course, George Saunders picked the best of the best—if you read all of Chekhov you will discover that he also wrote many mediocre or repetitive stories.
All of this to say, as I read this story from Joyce, which I first read so long ago, it is like discovering the words anew, I am swimming in a pond in the rain: that is, all the senses are alive and engaged and the prose washes through me and shifts something deep inside, some nebulous thing that maybe I didn't even know was there.
The priest had a reputation —unspecified— but his friendship with the young protagonist is questioned by some as being … again, unspecified.
The suggestion of disreputable priests is one reason these stories had trouble finding an Irish publisher.
Having recently enjoyed A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life, a deep dive into Russian masterpieces of the short story form, I then attempted to read two other collections and was disappointed (will not name those books). Of course, George Saunders picked the best of the best—if you read all of Chekhov you will discover that he also wrote many mediocre or repetitive stories.
All of this to say, as I read this story from Joyce, which I first read so long ago, it is like discovering the words anew, I am swimming in a pond in the rain: that is, all the senses are alive and engaged and the prose washes through me and shifts something deep inside, some nebulous thing that maybe I didn't even know was there.
July 2, 2018
Modernism is definately not my thing. Nothing happens in the story and it leaves the reader to fill in the blanks. The themes are easy: sin, fall from grace, paralysis, and hints of child abuse. A lot of sentences are left unfinished in the dialogues. I can't deal with the frustration and the fact that the characters remain quiet about the whole situation. It is pretty evident! The title, by the way, has nothing to do with the plot and the author leaves us to guess.... I can't relate it with anything. I did not like this a lot but I will give this one an extra star just because of the richness of the themess & motifs it has.
May 2, 2025
I just don't like James Joyce's deliberate vagueness (overall).
It's so annoying and makes the stories less impactful than I wish they were (because these stories have potential and because they could totally be something memorable... oh, if only James would have avoided all the swimmy swommy unclear statements).
It's so annoying and makes the stories less impactful than I wish they were (because these stories have potential and because they could totally be something memorable... oh, if only James would have avoided all the swimmy swommy unclear statements).
December 24, 2022
Very well-written, though I would expect nothing less from Joyce. There’s a nihilistic tone to the story's unfolding, as well as a deliberate vagueness, which makes us tread a thin line between querying and queasy, but for some reason, it didn’t end up being as impactful as I wished it to be.
Dubliners #1
Dubliners #1
Read
June 14, 2023آقای جویس واقعا سخت سخن میگید؛ پدر آدم در میآید.
July 13, 2018
The cool thing about short-story collections is that it gives the reader a chance to check out an author without having to make a big commitment. Also, it can help you decide if you want to read any of the author's full-length novels. When I read 20th Century Ghosts, a collection of short-stories by Joe Hill, I loved it so much that I knew I was going to have to read all of his novels. However, after I read some of Ernest Hemingway's short stories, I decided that his full-length novels were probably not going to appeal to me. The latter is probably going to be the case with James Joyce.
I started reading "The Sisters" with an understanding that Joyce, like Hemingway, makes you read between the lines. I read the text slowly and tried to use my imagination as much as possible. I came to the conclusion that the priest in the story may have been abusive. Some of the analyses that I read online came to that same conclusion. Joyce's language is easy to understand and paints vivid pictures in your mind. I am now a fan. I will be enjoying more of James Joyce, but only in small doses.
I started reading "The Sisters" with an understanding that Joyce, like Hemingway, makes you read between the lines. I read the text slowly and tried to use my imagination as much as possible. I came to the conclusion that the priest in the story may have been abusive. Some of the analyses that I read online came to that same conclusion. Joyce's language is easy to understand and paints vivid pictures in your mind. I am now a fan. I will be enjoying more of James Joyce, but only in small doses.
April 24, 2024
Meh.
Not worth reviewing.
For the moment at least.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1904] [10p] [Classics] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Meh.
No vale la pena reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1904] [10p] [Clásicos] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Not worth reviewing.
For the moment at least.
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1904] [10p] [Classics] [Not Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
Meh.
No vale la pena reseñarlo.
Al menos por ahora.
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1904] [10p] [Clásicos] [No Recomendable]
-----------------------------------------------
October 26, 2021
With many of Joyce's works, I'm either bored by it or totally impressed. With this text, I'm kinda torn. He did expose the working of the Catholic church, its ironies and sins, the abuse the protagonist's experiences, and even the hauntings she encounters because of him (presumably). The ending, like many Modernist stories, is quite shocking, and it's the part that allows the rest of the story to be justifiably slow and unmoving. But I wish the dialogue was clearer... many would appreciate it more if it was.
April 3, 2010
Two sisters Eliza and Nannie recall the death of thier brother Father Flynn who apparently broke a chalice an act which affected him mentally and ultimately led to his death. The story begins with recollections by a boy the initial narrator who spent quite a lot of time with Father Flynn whilst growing up.
January 31, 2016
Paralysis.
I always appreciate a fine derision of the Church and of its debilitating knack.
I always appreciate a fine derision of the Church and of its debilitating knack.
March 9, 2022
Not a banger
October 29, 2022
"I pretended to pray but I could not gather my thoughts because the old woman's mutterings distracted me."
February 25, 2025
f*cking creepy 😍
November 19, 2022
A short story which the author wrote in the late 19th/20th century. I have heard that Joyce was heretic due to struggles the Irish people faced because of the control of church and British Britons. I think the story indirectly reflects this... the narrator of the story is a young Irish boy under the care of an English priest. After the priest's death, people expected the boy to overwhelmingly grieve over the priest. However, the boy felt a sense of liberation... an unexpected freedom... he feels as if it's wrong to have this feeling but he couldn't stop himself feeling free from the priest. The boy even tried to think of Christmas trees to distract himself from thinking of the grey face person... who came to his dream and told him about paralysis... the boy confessed to the priest in his dream that is uncomfortable around him.
I think the boy represents the Irish people that are being suppressed by the English and Catholic Church. Doyle wanted us to see the Irish people's experiences which of course are fictitious but give us ideas and notions of how they think.
I think the boy represents the Irish people that are being suppressed by the English and Catholic Church. Doyle wanted us to see the Irish people's experiences which of course are fictitious but give us ideas and notions of how they think.
November 17, 2024
The introduction to the book itself has 49 pages, written by Terence Brown.
The short story itself has 10 pages.
The short story itself is annotated, 41 annotations making up 7 pages.
Terence 1
James 0
The short story itself has 10 pages.
The short story itself is annotated, 41 annotations making up 7 pages.
Terence 1
James 0
November 22, 2022
Intriguingly and well written, but leaves one somewhat wondering where the story was going?
January 19, 2025
Am I lazy and adding this even though it's technically part of Dubliners (which I have only read in the vaguest sense of the word cause I had to read it for uni)? yes. But I like this story. And you can't tell me what to do. So.
February 8, 2025
tío pero que nos mandan ler pa clase
October 15, 2024
first story of the
Dubliners
deliberate vagueness that leaves the reader uneasy and the nihilistic tone makes the characters remain at a cool remove.
deliberate vagueness that leaves the reader uneasy and the nihilistic tone makes the characters remain at a cool remove.
June 15, 2021
Hi, I have been writing all my book reviews in my book review site at https://srishcrits.blogspot.com/ If you found this review helpful and it made you want to read the story, you can check out my other reviews at https://srishcrits.blogspot.com/ Happy reading! :))
In this short story by James Joyce which was first published in the Irish Homestead, Joyce had made several revisions, cutting back on spoon to mouth feeding of facts to the readers. This is reflected in the final published version where it is only after rereads and picking up on certain phrases does one realise the underpinings related to catholic church and priesthood, both of which were points of concern for the writer.
Although, in today's times the hints might be more obvious than usual with several films already having been made on real life events of exposing the church, for example, Spotlight (2015). In an era when church was considered a top authority in more matters than one the hints are cleverly put by Joyce inside his story of the then ongoing but hardly talked about actions of the church.
Other than the plot, the characters are well woven with the dead protagonist coming alive through his coffin from stories still being told about him and the little remarks by the young boy who narrates. Small phrases from each of the people left behind are crucial to give the whole picture as it is in every real-life scandal and this is a story of one such scandal. That is also why this short read warrants a deep and detailed read if not a reread to truly experience the breadth of plot Joyce has explored in this short story and which was written by him in a few day's notice after the magazine which published it requested one such story.
In this short story by James Joyce which was first published in the Irish Homestead, Joyce had made several revisions, cutting back on spoon to mouth feeding of facts to the readers. This is reflected in the final published version where it is only after rereads and picking up on certain phrases does one realise the underpinings related to catholic church and priesthood, both of which were points of concern for the writer.
Although, in today's times the hints might be more obvious than usual with several films already having been made on real life events of exposing the church, for example, Spotlight (2015). In an era when church was considered a top authority in more matters than one the hints are cleverly put by Joyce inside his story of the then ongoing but hardly talked about actions of the church.
Other than the plot, the characters are well woven with the dead protagonist coming alive through his coffin from stories still being told about him and the little remarks by the young boy who narrates. Small phrases from each of the people left behind are crucial to give the whole picture as it is in every real-life scandal and this is a story of one such scandal. That is also why this short read warrants a deep and detailed read if not a reread to truly experience the breadth of plot Joyce has explored in this short story and which was written by him in a few day's notice after the magazine which published it requested one such story.
September 22, 2018
This is absolutely genius. By far my favorite short story from Dubliners.
I have always wondered as to why this book was denied of publication for so many years. Joyce finalized it when he was 22 yet it didn’t get published till a couple years later. Well, now I know why..!
The sisters’ truly daring themes of caricaturing priesthood and the not-so-subtle hints of a possible sexual assault of a little boy practiced by a priest definitely had something to do with the constant rejection of publication Joyce kept getting from publishers.
It’s crazy how the narrator takes a secondary position in the story and completely isolates his personal verdict to let the reader be the judge of the priest’s ,obviously, ironic death. This narrative technique proves Joyce’s stylistic genius, for it completely fits with the controversial themes of satirizing Catholicism’s mishaps.
This truly made the book for me! And made the crush I have for Joyce even bigger :’).
I have always wondered as to why this book was denied of publication for so many years. Joyce finalized it when he was 22 yet it didn’t get published till a couple years later. Well, now I know why..!
The sisters’ truly daring themes of caricaturing priesthood and the not-so-subtle hints of a possible sexual assault of a little boy practiced by a priest definitely had something to do with the constant rejection of publication Joyce kept getting from publishers.
It’s crazy how the narrator takes a secondary position in the story and completely isolates his personal verdict to let the reader be the judge of the priest’s ,obviously, ironic death. This narrative technique proves Joyce’s stylistic genius, for it completely fits with the controversial themes of satirizing Catholicism’s mishaps.
This truly made the book for me! And made the crush I have for Joyce even bigger :’).
February 6, 2020
Recently having read this short story and the short story Araby, I must say that I rather like this author and most likely will find myself reading more of his works in the near future.
The story "The Sisters" is rather unsettling mainly due to the mystery around the intentions of the Priest leaving the reader wondering whether he was malevolent or benevolent. The hinting of the sisters at the fragile state of his mind and suggested disease only further amplifies the mystery.
I found myself wanting to read more, to know more about the story, the priest, his history with the protagonist. But, I am to be left unsatisfied and wondering, still in suspense, even after the story has been concluded by the author.
If you like unsettling stories almost bordering on the macabre I would definitely advise this short story.
The story "The Sisters" is rather unsettling mainly due to the mystery around the intentions of the Priest leaving the reader wondering whether he was malevolent or benevolent. The hinting of the sisters at the fragile state of his mind and suggested disease only further amplifies the mystery.
I found myself wanting to read more, to know more about the story, the priest, his history with the protagonist. But, I am to be left unsatisfied and wondering, still in suspense, even after the story has been concluded by the author.
If you like unsettling stories almost bordering on the macabre I would definitely advise this short story.
February 19, 2020
In The Sisters, the same happens as in Araby. You have to read between the lines to really understand what's going on. I like to hear about these things afterwards, but they weren't clear to me when I was reading the story. The story was very vague to me and after I finished, I wasn't sure what exactly I had read. I thought there wasn't a clear ending (or even a clear story).
March 9, 2023
It got me by surprise if I am honest I had wrong expectations about the story but once I read it I liked it and I found it easy to read. I enjoyed the story because I'm a fan of mystery and I tend to like all books of this genre. Even the mentioned before from my point of view I don't consider "The sisters" a masterpiece or brilliant writing so that's why my rating is three stars.
May 6, 2018
This story felt very vague and fiddled about a lot, not a whole lot happens and due to it being told in first person it is at times somewhat hard to follow.
I was also somewhat confused what the title actually did for the story. Nevertheless this one might be worth a reread at some point.
I was also somewhat confused what the title actually did for the story. Nevertheless this one might be worth a reread at some point.
Read
October 23, 2019I read (listened to) this because of my dumbass university elective, it was H E L L A boring. I do not care for James Joyce, I watched the big sleep and it was convoluted and I felt like overall unnecessary.
October 18, 2022
This short story illustrates the constant misfortunes and misery of the Irish people. The dictates and doctrines imposed by the priests of the Catholic Church drive and handcuff the people to this paralysis of suffering.
January 4, 2024
Without a doubt, the scariest thing I've ever read. The terror that settles in after your done reading is frightening. I don't know how to explain it, but no fiction book has ever left me this scared of examining it.
August 25, 2025
i read this sorry for english class, so we looked at this story through every character’s point of view, which i enjoyed. i forget what we analyzed since this was last year, but i know that joyce’s writing always makes us form more thoughts and conclusions, which i love.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews