boring stories about boring people living in a dull city full of fog and misery leaving you with a melancholic feeling and a sense that no matter what you hope for in life you will be disappointed
i dont know if i got filtered or what but to me all the stories seemed like random happenings with no symbolic significance behind them which always end in emptiness and futility
>which always end in emptiness and futility
The ultimate aim of the collection is exactly that, to capture a point of failure, a point of paralysis, where the narrator fails to move forward, trapped in the hell that is Dublin
Lenehan, despite loathing himself and the life he's living, makes no move to improve his situation, and keeps on the same lowly, parasitic path. Mr. Duffy refuses to engage in an affair, chosing to remain a hermit, and runs from his emotional turmoil when he learns Mrs. Sinico has died. The Boy fails in his quest to buy something from the Bazaar for his love. Eveline can't find it in herself to leave ireland with her sailor boy. On and on, various Irish people from various walks of life fail to better their lot in novel ways.
It can in a way, be read as a meta narrative for the state of Ireland itself. A sad little bog that will wallow in it's misery, never having the courage or ability to take a necessary step forward.
Based as well, that was the second one that came to mind for me.
1 month ago
Anonymous
Good taste. What aspect of Counterparts resonated with you most?
1 month ago
Anonymous
The unnaturalness of modern society. Why is it that a tiny, bitter, miserly man can order around a full grown masculine man and exercise total control over his economic prospects? If such a man acted that way during any other millennia of human existence he would have been pounded to a pulp and henceforth exercised better judgement. Instead, the larger man is forced to fully repress this natural assertion of dignity and justified reaction and is driven into such an unnatural state that he turns to inebriation and finally an explosion towards the final and absolute unnaturalness: beating his own small child. Unironically says a lot about society. What were your thoughts?
You've already come this far. How about just reading The Dead and ending it there? Some people consider it one of the best short stories ever. I like it a lot, and I want to see if you'll shit on it.
1 month ago
Anonymous
Seems longer than the rest. Will take me a bit, but I'll give it a shot.
1 month ago
Anonymous
You've already come this far. How about just reading The Dead and ending it there? Some people consider it one of the best short stories ever. I like it a lot, and I want to see if you'll shit on it.
Yeah, it's not for me. Another meandering story where nothing happens. Pages and pages of rather tedious small talk and gossip at a party, then some basic observations on mortality.
I'm just left wondering what was the point of this story.
1 month ago
Anonymous
This has to be bait. There's no way you're this clueless.
1 month ago
Anonymous
I found nothing particularly interesting or engaging. What am I missing?
A mixed bag. A couple of the stories are so esoterically rooted in contemporary politics that it is indecipherable to a modern day reader outside of Ireland. Some of the stories are masterpieces though.
good reading
I'm thinking Dubliners?
Average Irish life
The Dubliners were a great folk band. Luke Kelly and Ronnie were absolutely GOATed and no traditional folk singer has ever come close since.
Perpetual, paralyzing tragedy, as is the life of the irishman
boring stories about boring people living in a dull city full of fog and misery leaving you with a melancholic feeling and a sense that no matter what you hope for in life you will be disappointed
This except they're not boring and meant to represent the state of Ireland before, during, and after the struggle for independence.
i dont know if i got filtered or what but to me all the stories seemed like random happenings with no symbolic significance behind them which always end in emptiness and futility
>all stories MUST have symbolic significance
filtered HARD. go read kafka or watch lynch-slop
>which always end in emptiness and futility
The ultimate aim of the collection is exactly that, to capture a point of failure, a point of paralysis, where the narrator fails to move forward, trapped in the hell that is Dublin
Lenehan, despite loathing himself and the life he's living, makes no move to improve his situation, and keeps on the same lowly, parasitic path. Mr. Duffy refuses to engage in an affair, chosing to remain a hermit, and runs from his emotional turmoil when he learns Mrs. Sinico has died. The Boy fails in his quest to buy something from the Bazaar for his love. Eveline can't find it in herself to leave ireland with her sailor boy. On and on, various Irish people from various walks of life fail to better their lot in novel ways.
It can in a way, be read as a meta narrative for the state of Ireland itself. A sad little bog that will wallow in it's misery, never having the courage or ability to take a necessary step forward.
So what am I supposed to do? Kill myself? I can't do anything with my life
You can read Dubliners.
No. Never
I picked this up today and read the first two stories. They seem pretty dull and pointless. If the rest are like this, I will probably drop it.
Skip to "A Painful Case". If you don't like that one, there's no point reading the rest.
Based pick, but Counterparts was my personal favorite. The ending scene was what really got me.
Based as well, that was the second one that came to mind for me.
Good taste. What aspect of Counterparts resonated with you most?
The unnaturalness of modern society. Why is it that a tiny, bitter, miserly man can order around a full grown masculine man and exercise total control over his economic prospects? If such a man acted that way during any other millennia of human existence he would have been pounded to a pulp and henceforth exercised better judgement. Instead, the larger man is forced to fully repress this natural assertion of dignity and justified reaction and is driven into such an unnatural state that he turns to inebriation and finally an explosion towards the final and absolute unnaturalness: beating his own small child. Unironically says a lot about society. What were your thoughts?
Done. I guess Joyce isn't for me.
You've already come this far. How about just reading The Dead and ending it there? Some people consider it one of the best short stories ever. I like it a lot, and I want to see if you'll shit on it.
Seems longer than the rest. Will take me a bit, but I'll give it a shot.
Yeah, it's not for me. Another meandering story where nothing happens. Pages and pages of rather tedious small talk and gossip at a party, then some basic observations on mortality.
I'm just left wondering what was the point of this story.
This has to be bait. There's no way you're this clueless.
I found nothing particularly interesting or engaging. What am I missing?
The Dead, which is one of the greatest stories written in the twentieth century
I read a few years ago and still haven't recovered, I wonder how many people on here can symphatize with 'A Painful Case'.
bad dialogue and depression from getting astroturphed by the Irish after reading the most overrated writer in forever
A mixed bag. A couple of the stories are so esoterically rooted in contemporary politics that it is indecipherable to a modern day reader outside of Ireland. Some of the stories are masterpieces though.
skip all stories except the last two
read those and then throw it in the trash and move on to Portrait