NORA

This formidable fictional biography recounts the life of Nora Barnacle, the wife and long-term companion of writer James Joyce. Jenn McGuirk narrates this comprehensive examination of their passionate love affair and presents a compelling portrait of the life of the writer's wife over five decades. McGuirk portrays Nora as calm, determined, and pragmatic. Nora is without intellectual pretensions or sexual inhibitions. She is widely considered the model for Molly Bloom in ULYSSES. It's much easier to hear this production than to attempt to read Joyce's signature work. There are some Joycean touches, such as interior monologues, classical allusions, and witty metaphors. McGuirk's lilting Irish voice is pleasing and comprehensible. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine [Published: MARCH 2021]