Dubliners

"Dubliners" by James Joyce is a series of short stories sharing slices of life from Dublin residents in the late 1800s. The stories give a close, sometimes harsh, account of people dealing with feeling stuck, finding who they are, and trying to make sense of the world. The first story, "The Sisters," shows a boy dealing with the recent death of Father Flynn, a priest who played a big role in his life, but not always in a positive way. The boy has mixed feelings about the priest's death, remembering confusing moments they shared. Visits with relatives and friends of the family bring up different opinions about Father Flynn's life and the kind of person he was. Joyce uses strong images and delicate emotions to explore ideas about death, regret, and the search for comprehension. The reader is left with a feeling of problems to come that appear frequently throughout the collection.