THE DEAD is the final short story in the 1914 collection Dubliners by James Joyce. It is the longest story in the collection and is often considered the best of Joyce's shorter works. The story centres on Gabriel Conroy on the night of the Morkan sisters' annual dance and dinner in the first week of January 1904, perhaps the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6). Typical of the stories in Dubliners, "The Dead" develops toward a moment of painful self-awareness; Joyce described this as an epiphany. The narrative generally concentrates on Gabriel's insecurities, his social awkwardness, and the defensive way he copes with his discomfort.
James Joyce
James Joyce's only book of short stories, DUBLINERS, provides snap-shots of turn-of-the-century Ireland and epiphanies of youth and adult-hood. Along with the fiction of Chekhov, these episodes pioneered the modern story of inaction, anticlimax, and personal discovery. Many of them number among short fiction's most admired works: "Araby," "Clay," "A Little Cloud," and especially the concluding story, "The Dead." As with the unabridged ULYSSES from Naxos, director Roger Marsh here effectively uses various Irish songs as evocative musical transitions between the stories. Jim Norton's reading is quietly dramatic, dignified, and effective at main-taining the melancholy, meditative tone of the book. He provides a rich, enjoyable listening experience. G.H.
James Joyce
Ingram short titles