DUBLINERS Box Set

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. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]