About the Author

Born in Dublin, Ireland, James Joyce (1882-1941) studied philosophy and languages at the Dublin College of the Royal University. He left Ireland in 1902 and went to Paris, but upon learning that his mother was dying, he returned to Dublin in 1903. After his mother's death, Joyce taught school in Dublin and met Nora Barnacle, the woman who would be his lifelong companion. Joyce and Nora left Ireland in 1904 and traveled to Trieste, where Joyce taught languages at the Berlitz School. An attack of rheumatic fever in 1907 caused his vision to worsen throughout his life. Apart from one trip back to Dublin in 1912, Joyce spent the rest of his life on the Continent. Wealthy patrons subsidized his writing, and Joyce became the most influential novelist of the twentieth century. His writings include Chamber Music (1907), Dubliners (1914), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), Exiles (1918), Ulysses (1922), Pomes Penyeach (1927), and Finnegans Wake (1939).

Edna O'Brien is the author of The Love Object, A Scandalous Woman, A Rose in the Heart, A Fanatic Heart, The Country Girls Trilogy, The High Road, and Lantern Slides. Irish born, she lives in London.

Malachy McCourt was born in Brooklyn and from the age of three was raised in Limerick, Ireland. He left school at the age of thirteen to begin work in Ireland and England as a laborer. He returned to the U.S. at twenty and worked as a longshoreman and dishwasher until he became an actor, appearing in numerous Broadway and off-Broadway plays, soap operas, films, and TV shows, including the HBO prison series, Oz, as well as hosting a radio talk show and writing a newspaper column. Among his numerous books are Singing My Him Song, Danny Boy, Voices of Ireland, Malachy McCourt's History of Ireland, and the New York Times bestselling memoir A Monk Swimming.

Reviews

“A genuine storyteller with a unique personal vision.”—Frank O’Connor

“Joyce’s work is not about the thing—it is the thing itself.”—Samuel Beckett

Frank and Malachy McCourt and 13 Irish actors bring Joyce's short stories to life in this well-produced audiobook. None of the readers employ a thick accent in the narrative portions, but for dialogue they let their imitative talents shine and their Irish lilts bloom. Brendan Coyle and Charles Keating, reading "A Little Cloud" and "Grace" respectively, give such wonderful expression to the idiosyncrasies of every individual voice that the listener is never confused even when numerous men are talking. Joyce wrote only sparingly in actual dialect, but most of the readers interpret his intentions freely and successfully. Fionnula Flanagan is perfect reading "A Mother," her voice shifting easily between prim and proper tones and fiery indignation punctuated with little sighs. It helps that Joyce's writing is so masterful that when Flanagan and the two other actresses read the three stories that revolve around women, their words sound utterly natural. Not all the performances are on the same level-Stephen Rea's cold, somber voice is apt for the meditative beginning and ending sections of the collection's most famous story, "The Dead," but too flat for the central description of a lively party. This audiobook creates the atmosphere of a fireside storytelling session that will hold any listener in rapt attention. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"A genuine storyteller with a unique personal vision."-Frank O'Connor

"Joyce's work is not about the thing-it is the thing itself."-Samuel Beckett