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Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce
Acclaimed Irish novelist Nuala O’Connor’s bold reimagining of the life of James Joyce’s wife, muse, and the model for Molly Bloom in Ulysses is a “lively and loving paean to the indomitable Nora Barnacle” (Edna O’Brien).
Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway who left school at twelve, is a chambermaid at Finn’s Hotel, and has all but given up on a happy ending. But on June 16—Bloomsday—her life is changed when she meets James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows him in pursuit of a life beyond Ireland, and they surround themselves with a buoyant group of friends that grows to include Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and Sylvia Beach.
But as their life unfolds, Nora finds herself in conflict between their intense desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living in poverty throughout Europe. She desperately wants literary success for Jim, believing in his singular gift and knowing that he thrives on being the toast of the town, and it eventually provides her with a security long lacking in her life and his work. So even when Jim writes, drinks, and gambles his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, but at a cost to her own happiness and that of their children.
With gorgeous and emotionally resonant prose, Nora is a heartfelt portrayal of love, ambition, and the quiet power of an ordinary woman who was, in fact, extraordinary.
Dublin, 1904. Nora Joseph Barnacle is a twenty-year-old from Galway who left school at twelve, is a chambermaid at Finn’s Hotel, and has all but given up on a happy ending. But on June 16—Bloomsday—her life is changed when she meets James Joyce, a fateful encounter that turns into a lifelong love. Despite his hesitation to marry, Nora follows him in pursuit of a life beyond Ireland, and they surround themselves with a buoyant group of friends that grows to include Samuel Beckett, Peggy Guggenheim, and Sylvia Beach.
But as their life unfolds, Nora finds herself in conflict between their intense desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living in poverty throughout Europe. She desperately wants literary success for Jim, believing in his singular gift and knowing that he thrives on being the toast of the town, and it eventually provides her with a security long lacking in her life and his work. So even when Jim writes, drinks, and gambles his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, but at a cost to her own happiness and that of their children.
With gorgeous and emotionally resonant prose, Nora is a heartfelt portrayal of love, ambition, and the quiet power of an ordinary woman who was, in fact, extraordinary.
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First published January 5, 2021
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About the author
Nuala O'Connor
21 books99 followersNuala O’Connor lives in Co. Galway, Ireland. In 2019 she won the James Joyce Quarterly competition to write the missing story from Dubliners, ‘Ulysses’. Her fourth novel, Becoming Belle, was published to critical acclaim in the US, Ireland and the UK. Her most recent novel Nora is about Nora Barnacle, wife and muse to James Joyce. Nuala is editor at flash e-zine Splonk.
She also writes as Nuala Ní Chonchúir.
She also writes as Nuala Ní Chonchúir.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 194 reviews
September 14, 2020
Nora Barnacle was a wife of James Joyce, his muse and the model for Molly Bloom in Ulysses. This is her story, boldly reimagined.
Ireland, 1904. Nora Barnacle comes from Galway to Dublin where she works as a maid at Finn’s Hotel. At twenty-years-old, she meets Dubliner James Joyce. When James secures a teaching post in Zurich, he asks Nora to leave with him. Despite his hesitation to marry, she follows him. As it turns out, the teaching is not for him. It’s too constricted. He is a free spirit, who craves to express his thoughts in writing. He struggles to find a publisher and it leads him to reach for spirits more and more. His money spent on drinking doesn’t help the constantly struggling family.
Nora, with education ending at the age of twelve, now takes in laundry and ironing to make some money. Despite living in poverty throughout Europe, her support and believe for James’ gift is unwavering. And admittedly, she knows that they’re not good at managing money.
The characters are interestingly developed and with engrossing prose, the pages turn quickly. What Nora thinks and says is entertaining at times and the word choice is attention-grabbing: “I don’t have to love it when someone is dripping herself all over you like honey.” “I glare at her, not daring to open my beak for fear of what squawky madness might fly out.”
Nora is a bit of a rogue. She could curb her tongue a bit with their sexual endeavors and when apart expressing their desires in letters. But on the other hand, I understand the author giving it a very real feel, creating real characters. Two very different characters, one intellectual and one coming from a simple background and in their own way they connect.
Phenomenal job on creating not only real characters, but also real situations, including the financial hardship they go through. It puts some strains on their marriage, but at the end of the day it’s their love and support for each other that conquer it all.
Nora lacks education, but she is the glue of the family. The one who is needed by James and protective of children, even with the strained relationship with her daughter she chooses peace over fight. Her natural instinct as a mother and a strong believe in her husband’s talent make her keep the family together despite many hardships. Thus, making her a strong woman. A woman who lived in her husband’s shadow and whose story deserves to be told.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ireland, 1904. Nora Barnacle comes from Galway to Dublin where she works as a maid at Finn’s Hotel. At twenty-years-old, she meets Dubliner James Joyce. When James secures a teaching post in Zurich, he asks Nora to leave with him. Despite his hesitation to marry, she follows him. As it turns out, the teaching is not for him. It’s too constricted. He is a free spirit, who craves to express his thoughts in writing. He struggles to find a publisher and it leads him to reach for spirits more and more. His money spent on drinking doesn’t help the constantly struggling family.
Nora, with education ending at the age of twelve, now takes in laundry and ironing to make some money. Despite living in poverty throughout Europe, her support and believe for James’ gift is unwavering. And admittedly, she knows that they’re not good at managing money.
The characters are interestingly developed and with engrossing prose, the pages turn quickly. What Nora thinks and says is entertaining at times and the word choice is attention-grabbing: “I don’t have to love it when someone is dripping herself all over you like honey.” “I glare at her, not daring to open my beak for fear of what squawky madness might fly out.”
Nora is a bit of a rogue. She could curb her tongue a bit with their sexual endeavors and when apart expressing their desires in letters. But on the other hand, I understand the author giving it a very real feel, creating real characters. Two very different characters, one intellectual and one coming from a simple background and in their own way they connect.
Phenomenal job on creating not only real characters, but also real situations, including the financial hardship they go through. It puts some strains on their marriage, but at the end of the day it’s their love and support for each other that conquer it all.
Nora lacks education, but she is the glue of the family. The one who is needed by James and protective of children, even with the strained relationship with her daughter she chooses peace over fight. Her natural instinct as a mother and a strong believe in her husband’s talent make her keep the family together despite many hardships. Thus, making her a strong woman. A woman who lived in her husband’s shadow and whose story deserves to be told.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 2, 2020
In her novel Nora, Nuala O'Connor channels Nora Barnacle as she tells the story of her life with James Joyce. Warned against him as a wild and savage madman, Nora affirms that part of him, for she also has a wildness inside.
I was drawn in by Nora's distinct voice and her unorthodox, independent character.
The novel covers Nora's entire life, from the workhouse to meeting Joyce, agreeing to go abroad with him without marriage, their rise from poverty to Jim's financial success, and their marital and family troubles.
Warning: The novel begins with a sexual encounter and there will be more later in the novel.
The novel begins on Juneteenth 1904 when a young Jim Joyce walked out with twenty-year-old Nora Barnacle. She understands what he wants and they have their first sexual encounter. Jim had found someone adventurous and sensual; no one of 'his class' could be so open and willing. They stayed together until Jim's death.
Jim worked uninspiring jobs to support them as he wrote his stories and worked on his novel. He drank too much and spent too much.
Nora was left alone too much and had to scramble to put food on the table and raise their children. Like the wives of so many writers, Nora's fidelity and support required her to take on the greater part of providing for their basic needs. She found allies and friends, including Jim's brother.
The early part of the novel is wonderful. It has a nice continuity and I felt immersed in the story. The later part of their life jumps across time, hitting on important events. The story of their daughter's mental illness could merit a novel all its own.
This is the story of an independent, strong woman who defies social convention for a relationship that evolves and endures over a lifetime. The novel will appeal to readers interested in Joyce but also to the broader readership of women's fiction and even romance.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
I was drawn in by Nora's distinct voice and her unorthodox, independent character.
The novel covers Nora's entire life, from the workhouse to meeting Joyce, agreeing to go abroad with him without marriage, their rise from poverty to Jim's financial success, and their marital and family troubles.
Warning: The novel begins with a sexual encounter and there will be more later in the novel.
The novel begins on Juneteenth 1904 when a young Jim Joyce walked out with twenty-year-old Nora Barnacle. She understands what he wants and they have their first sexual encounter. Jim had found someone adventurous and sensual; no one of 'his class' could be so open and willing. They stayed together until Jim's death.
Jim worked uninspiring jobs to support them as he wrote his stories and worked on his novel. He drank too much and spent too much.
Nora was left alone too much and had to scramble to put food on the table and raise their children. Like the wives of so many writers, Nora's fidelity and support required her to take on the greater part of providing for their basic needs. She found allies and friends, including Jim's brother.
The early part of the novel is wonderful. It has a nice continuity and I felt immersed in the story. The later part of their life jumps across time, hitting on important events. The story of their daughter's mental illness could merit a novel all its own.
This is the story of an independent, strong woman who defies social convention for a relationship that evolves and endures over a lifetime. The novel will appeal to readers interested in Joyce but also to the broader readership of women's fiction and even romance.
I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
June 3, 2023
In the bank holiday week in Dublin there was no avoiding two things: airport queues and ads for this book. This was the first time I’d ever seen a novel advertised by a poster hanging from a railway bridge.
I knew the material fairly well - James Joyce and Nora Barnacle’s chaotic life together - and was curious to see how it’d be handled. This isn’t quite ‘Marian Keyes does Joyce’ - as a Dublin bookseller said - but it’s a surprisingly light read. It’s told in glimpses, much like David Nicholls’ One Day. This is a handy device, since it allows the author to take what she needs and leave out the rest. And, in case you were wondering, those letters play their part in the story.
It was a sensible choice not to have the book read like Molly Bloom’s monologue stretched out. Nora was the model for the character, but she wasn’t her. While she had little formal education, her emotional intelligence plainly far outweighed Joyce’s. This brings you close to the book’s problem, which is one the film Nora and Brenda Maddox’s biography also had to confront. Without Nora Barnacle, James Joyce would likely have pissed his life away just like his father. Yet we only know of Nora Barnacle because of James Joyce, that whoring, hard-drinking, egomaniacal genius. The novel does it best to bring Nora’s inner life into focus and is not afraid to sound somewhat Mills and Boon-y to do so. But often Nora sounds like a mere point of reference to her husband despite O’Connor’s intentions.
There is a major problem with the text, published by Dublin-based New Island books. At least half a dozen times the lines of text are crushed together with less space to spare than the tube at rush hour. That’s a blunder James Joyce would never have tolerated. However enjoyable, this really is an extended, lively footnote to his career.
I knew the material fairly well - James Joyce and Nora Barnacle’s chaotic life together - and was curious to see how it’d be handled. This isn’t quite ‘Marian Keyes does Joyce’ - as a Dublin bookseller said - but it’s a surprisingly light read. It’s told in glimpses, much like David Nicholls’ One Day. This is a handy device, since it allows the author to take what she needs and leave out the rest. And, in case you were wondering, those letters play their part in the story.
It was a sensible choice not to have the book read like Molly Bloom’s monologue stretched out. Nora was the model for the character, but she wasn’t her. While she had little formal education, her emotional intelligence plainly far outweighed Joyce’s. This brings you close to the book’s problem, which is one the film Nora and Brenda Maddox’s biography also had to confront. Without Nora Barnacle, James Joyce would likely have pissed his life away just like his father. Yet we only know of Nora Barnacle because of James Joyce, that whoring, hard-drinking, egomaniacal genius. The novel does it best to bring Nora’s inner life into focus and is not afraid to sound somewhat Mills and Boon-y to do so. But often Nora sounds like a mere point of reference to her husband despite O’Connor’s intentions.
There is a major problem with the text, published by Dublin-based New Island books. At least half a dozen times the lines of text are crushed together with less space to spare than the tube at rush hour. That’s a blunder James Joyce would never have tolerated. However enjoyable, this really is an extended, lively footnote to his career.
April 14, 2024
4,5 ****
Nora, dat is Nora Barnacle, geliefde, muze, en na 20 jaar samenleven en twee volwassen kinderen uiteindelijk ook wettige echtgenote van James Joyce.
Het is het verhaal van de jonge Nora, amper 20 jaar oud, die in Dublin 'haar Jim' ontmoet. Het is liefde op het eerste zicht - langs beide kanten - en een jaar later volgt ze hem naar Zurich. Ze zal hem haar hele leven lang blijven volgen in zijn onrustige zwerversbestaan tot ze een 30-tal jaren later, opnieuw in Zurich aanbelanden waar James zal overlijden.
Nuala O'Connor laat in haar boek Nora zelf aan het woord en dat geeft een mooi beeld van een nuchtere vrouw die duidelijk besefte dat zij op intellectueel vlak haar mans mindere was maar langs de andere kant heel goed wist waar haar merites wél lagen - en gelukkig besefte James dat ook - kortom een vrouw die met haar beide voetjes stevig op de grond stond.
... Jim loves me without question, without condition. At the start - so long ago it's nearly hard to remember - he tried to make something of me, with books and advice and so on, but he failed. And that's good for all of us. Doesn't he say himself that he hates women who know things? I know little. Well, that's not true, of course, for I know plenty about ordinary things, just not bookish...
Geschreven in een relatief eenvoudig Engels doorspekt met Ierse, Italiaanse, Duitse en Franse termen, al naargelang de plaats waar de Joyces zich op dat moment bevonden.
Heel aangenaam om te lezen.
Nederlandse vertaling bestaat al.
Nora, dat is Nora Barnacle, geliefde, muze, en na 20 jaar samenleven en twee volwassen kinderen uiteindelijk ook wettige echtgenote van James Joyce.
Het is het verhaal van de jonge Nora, amper 20 jaar oud, die in Dublin 'haar Jim' ontmoet. Het is liefde op het eerste zicht - langs beide kanten - en een jaar later volgt ze hem naar Zurich. Ze zal hem haar hele leven lang blijven volgen in zijn onrustige zwerversbestaan tot ze een 30-tal jaren later, opnieuw in Zurich aanbelanden waar James zal overlijden.
Nuala O'Connor laat in haar boek Nora zelf aan het woord en dat geeft een mooi beeld van een nuchtere vrouw die duidelijk besefte dat zij op intellectueel vlak haar mans mindere was maar langs de andere kant heel goed wist waar haar merites wél lagen - en gelukkig besefte James dat ook - kortom een vrouw die met haar beide voetjes stevig op de grond stond.
... Jim loves me without question, without condition. At the start - so long ago it's nearly hard to remember - he tried to make something of me, with books and advice and so on, but he failed. And that's good for all of us. Doesn't he say himself that he hates women who know things? I know little. Well, that's not true, of course, for I know plenty about ordinary things, just not bookish...
Geschreven in een relatief eenvoudig Engels doorspekt met Ierse, Italiaanse, Duitse en Franse termen, al naargelang de plaats waar de Joyces zich op dat moment bevonden.
Heel aangenaam om te lezen.
Nederlandse vertaling bestaat al.
September 27, 2022
I knew nothing about James Joyce or his wife Nora before beginning this novel. The first two pages were interesting (steamy) to read, so I looked up James Joyce....and one Wikipedia entry explains that what happened on the first two pages of this book actually happened in real life, and on the very first night they met.
I read through a little more of the Wikipedia entry and it was like reading the book I was holding in my hand. O'Connor follows very, very closely along this timeline of James Joyce's life but sprinkles in the story of Nora to add some fictitious flare.
Ultimately, it is too long of a story as it is a consistently told tale to its Wikipedia entry. They were so impoverished at every step of their lives, and James was too often absent, obsessed with his writing and just never a person to tie your ship to, but Nora could not be without her James.
I read through a little more of the Wikipedia entry and it was like reading the book I was holding in my hand. O'Connor follows very, very closely along this timeline of James Joyce's life but sprinkles in the story of Nora to add some fictitious flare.
Ultimately, it is too long of a story as it is a consistently told tale to its Wikipedia entry. They were so impoverished at every step of their lives, and James was too often absent, obsessed with his writing and just never a person to tie your ship to, but Nora could not be without her James.
November 1, 2021
This fictional account of the relationship of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce was recently selected One Dublin One Book 2022. I read this for a short course on the wives of WB Yeats and James Joyce. I agree with class participants who feel there is not enough about Joyce's writing process and work. There is a lot of negative stuff about his neglect of his family, and wasting their scarce resources on drink. And there is a lot of sex between the two. We get a good sense of this part of their relationship but not enough about other aspects of their lives.
I don't know the motivation of the selection of this book for the One Dublin One Book. It could be that it is hoped this account may make Dubliners more receptive to Joyce who is not highly revered in the city of his birth. It is a decent story which my 3 stars represent. Okay but not one I consider a "must read". I listened to the audiobook which I recommend to those who would like to read this book.
I don't know the motivation of the selection of this book for the One Dublin One Book. It could be that it is hoped this account may make Dubliners more receptive to Joyce who is not highly revered in the city of his birth. It is a decent story which my 3 stars represent. Okay but not one I consider a "must read". I listened to the audiobook which I recommend to those who would like to read this book.
August 15, 2022
Nora is the fictional memoir of Nora Barnacle, James Joyce’s wife and their peripatetic life around Europe. It’s a fantastic read: colourful, evocative, entertaining and poignant. Even if you have no interest whatsoever in James Joyce, I think it would be enjoyable. It’s worth reading alone for the story of his daughter Lucia and how her life unfolded, but there’s so much more to the book.
Nora was a saint for what she put up with from Joyce, a creative genius undoubtedly, but an alcoholic, a philanderer, a spendthrift who lived on his wits and, if the portrayal in this book is anything to go by, a complete pain in the arse!
The dialogue in the book is impeccable, you get a real sense of the undying love and passion between Jim and Nora (holy smoke those letters are raunchy 🔥), and the relative poverty they lived in for much of their lives.
The short/episodic chapters make it highly readable and pacey. Highly recommended, I loved it - far more than I expected to. 4-4.5/5 ⭐️
Nora was a saint for what she put up with from Joyce, a creative genius undoubtedly, but an alcoholic, a philanderer, a spendthrift who lived on his wits and, if the portrayal in this book is anything to go by, a complete pain in the arse!
The dialogue in the book is impeccable, you get a real sense of the undying love and passion between Jim and Nora (holy smoke those letters are raunchy 🔥), and the relative poverty they lived in for much of their lives.
The short/episodic chapters make it highly readable and pacey. Highly recommended, I loved it - far more than I expected to. 4-4.5/5 ⭐️
August 18, 2023
This book was so dull - written in first person, laid out like a journal. Now imagine how you think it's going to be so interesting to read someone else's journal, but then it turns out to a lot of boring details about life, sweeping generalizations about things you wish were expanded, and too much self-obsessing (and a little too much detail about sex). Nora Barnacle Joyce lived through two world wars while living on the European continent and barely mentions either one! Half way through this book I switched to the audio version, which at least helped me enjoy hearing these boring stores in a cute Irish accent.
May 23, 2021
Having read a great deal about Joyce and Nora and having gone to Trinity College Dublin to study Joyce and Yeats, Ms. O'Connor wrote more of a pulp novel than even a literary fiction about their relationship. While she indeed draw upon aspects of their real relationship, she made Nora all about the "long suffering" Irish woman dealing with poverty and drink, when in fact, Nora's spending was as bad as her husband. To really delve into their relationship, read Brenda Maddox's Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom or Richard Ellman's great bio of Joyce.
May 19, 2021
Writing a biographical fiction of Nora Barnacle, whose life has already been closely scrutinised by academia as a kind of corollary to the life of her husband James Joyce (Jim), is a dangerous undertaking. How much factual information should the author include? How much should be invented? How do you go about giving pride of place to Nora without her being overshadowed by Joyce and his genius?
I don't know what I expected, but I didn't quite expect the precision of detail, the utterly engaging style, the deep psychological exploration of Nora and her relationship to her family and friends, the compelling balance between her as a humble, sensible girl/woman from Galway, and the glittering entourage of her Paris life. Nuala O'Connor has pulled off something quite special, there's no doubt.
The novel is told in the first person from Nora's point of view. It spans Nora's life from the time she met Joyce in Dublin on what was to become Bloomsday (June 16, 1904), to her death in Zurich. It is conveniently structured as short chapters each headed with a place and date as a point of reference, as well as a title. Nora's colourful turns of phrase, rooting her firmly in her native Galway, with the odd Irish word as part of her speech, and Italian phrases to convey that the family spoke Triestine dialect at home, add charm and authenticity to the excellent characater portrayal.
O'Connor has stuck very closely to what is known of Nora Barnacle, and there is a lot. I can only imagine it must have been difficult to include so much factual information without making it sound didactic, but it doesn't. In fact, it is in the invention that O'Connor shines. She gets right inside Nora Barnacle's head, offering entirely convincing dialogues between husband and wife - as well as Nora's own thoughts - that build a picture of this intriguing relationship. People often wonder how James Joyce could have loved a woman who had left school at a young age, who was mocking of his writing, not understanding it, and liked to teasingly put him in his place. The novel explores this, bringing Nora's womanly wisdom to life in a realistic way. Her unfussy practical nature in the face of often chaotic living circumstances, as well as her love of Jim and the children is central to the novel, as is her resilience in dealing with Jim's alcoholism and the many moves they made throughout Europe. By the end of the novel we understand just to what extent she was his rock, what she endured out of a sense of love, and we understand that few women would have had the resilience, grace or wisdom to put up with so much.
Questions are sometimes raised about Nora's closeness to Joyce's brother Stanislaus while they all lived under the one roof in Trieste. In this biographical fiction, it is dealt with in a realistic, compassionate way. It may be the author's imagination, but her sensitive take on it puts to rest those questions by underscoring the bottom line: if there had ever been some frisson of romance between them, it was slight and shortlived. Nora's loyalty was with her husband to the very end, while at the same time she was true to herself and never shied from the great affection she held for Stanislaus.
What I found particularly insightful is the way O'Connor deals with the fraught relationship between Nora and her daughter, Lucia. The reality was a heart-breaking situation that culminated in Nora not seeing her daughter after she was institutionalised for the last time. It's hard to accept that a mother would not visit her daughter once in over 10 years, but O'Connor brings us into Nora's thoughts on her daughter and the emotional pain of dealing with someone who at the time seemed completely out of control, and even physically threatening, so that by the end of the novel we fully accept and sympathise with Nora's position.
O'Connor has given careful thought to the matter of the "dirty letters" and has managed to present her fictional versions, representing the most intimate aspects of Nora's and Jim's private life, with the respect they deserve. She also imagines the exchanges between Joyce and Nora in relation to his writing, how he consulted her for details to include in his work, most famously "The Dead", how he took notes of things Nora said so as to later use them. Even when someone isn't familiar with the author's writing or process, general banter can clarify things for an author, or throw up ideas that may be useful. Nora's input in this regard must, as O'Connor makes clear, have been invaluable to Joyce.
Everything in the novel has been carefully measured and painstakingly researched to present what I think is as accurate a portrayal of Nora Barnacle as is possible. If you are familiar with the life of the Joyces, this novel is immensely rewarding in that you know you can trust O'Connor's accuracy and, therefore, her construct. If you know little, you will learn a lot. Either way, I highly recommend it.
I don't know what I expected, but I didn't quite expect the precision of detail, the utterly engaging style, the deep psychological exploration of Nora and her relationship to her family and friends, the compelling balance between her as a humble, sensible girl/woman from Galway, and the glittering entourage of her Paris life. Nuala O'Connor has pulled off something quite special, there's no doubt.
The novel is told in the first person from Nora's point of view. It spans Nora's life from the time she met Joyce in Dublin on what was to become Bloomsday (June 16, 1904), to her death in Zurich. It is conveniently structured as short chapters each headed with a place and date as a point of reference, as well as a title. Nora's colourful turns of phrase, rooting her firmly in her native Galway, with the odd Irish word as part of her speech, and Italian phrases to convey that the family spoke Triestine dialect at home, add charm and authenticity to the excellent characater portrayal.
O'Connor has stuck very closely to what is known of Nora Barnacle, and there is a lot. I can only imagine it must have been difficult to include so much factual information without making it sound didactic, but it doesn't. In fact, it is in the invention that O'Connor shines. She gets right inside Nora Barnacle's head, offering entirely convincing dialogues between husband and wife - as well as Nora's own thoughts - that build a picture of this intriguing relationship. People often wonder how James Joyce could have loved a woman who had left school at a young age, who was mocking of his writing, not understanding it, and liked to teasingly put him in his place. The novel explores this, bringing Nora's womanly wisdom to life in a realistic way. Her unfussy practical nature in the face of often chaotic living circumstances, as well as her love of Jim and the children is central to the novel, as is her resilience in dealing with Jim's alcoholism and the many moves they made throughout Europe. By the end of the novel we understand just to what extent she was his rock, what she endured out of a sense of love, and we understand that few women would have had the resilience, grace or wisdom to put up with so much.
Questions are sometimes raised about Nora's closeness to Joyce's brother Stanislaus while they all lived under the one roof in Trieste. In this biographical fiction, it is dealt with in a realistic, compassionate way. It may be the author's imagination, but her sensitive take on it puts to rest those questions by underscoring the bottom line: if there had ever been some frisson of romance between them, it was slight and shortlived. Nora's loyalty was with her husband to the very end, while at the same time she was true to herself and never shied from the great affection she held for Stanislaus.
What I found particularly insightful is the way O'Connor deals with the fraught relationship between Nora and her daughter, Lucia. The reality was a heart-breaking situation that culminated in Nora not seeing her daughter after she was institutionalised for the last time. It's hard to accept that a mother would not visit her daughter once in over 10 years, but O'Connor brings us into Nora's thoughts on her daughter and the emotional pain of dealing with someone who at the time seemed completely out of control, and even physically threatening, so that by the end of the novel we fully accept and sympathise with Nora's position.
O'Connor has given careful thought to the matter of the "dirty letters" and has managed to present her fictional versions, representing the most intimate aspects of Nora's and Jim's private life, with the respect they deserve. She also imagines the exchanges between Joyce and Nora in relation to his writing, how he consulted her for details to include in his work, most famously "The Dead", how he took notes of things Nora said so as to later use them. Even when someone isn't familiar with the author's writing or process, general banter can clarify things for an author, or throw up ideas that may be useful. Nora's input in this regard must, as O'Connor makes clear, have been invaluable to Joyce.
Everything in the novel has been carefully measured and painstakingly researched to present what I think is as accurate a portrayal of Nora Barnacle as is possible. If you are familiar with the life of the Joyces, this novel is immensely rewarding in that you know you can trust O'Connor's accuracy and, therefore, her construct. If you know little, you will learn a lot. Either way, I highly recommend it.
November 29, 2020
Is anyone else fascinated by the lives of the writers known as The Lost Generation who lived in Paris in the 1920s?
I would never want to emulate their lives (way too much alcohol and ennui and relationship drama), but I can’t stop reading about them. That’s why, when @harpercollins sent me Nora by @nuala_oconnor, I was so excited to read this old story told from a new perspective!
Nora Barnacle is James Joyce life partner (they don’t marry for a very long time), and she truly lives the life of being in love with a stereotypical, self-absorbed, alcohol-loving author. Told from her perspective, you’ll fall in love with Nora and feel anger at James for his mistreatment of her (then understand why she stays with him when he doesn’t) as you follow them from Ireland to Trieste to Zurich, and finally, to Paris. Through wars and children and disease, it’s a fascinating look at the ups and downs of one of the literary worlds favorite love stories.
O’Connor does a brilliant job or bringing Nora and her family to life, making you feel more like you’re reading her personal diary than historical fiction. I loved every moment of reading it!
I would never want to emulate their lives (way too much alcohol and ennui and relationship drama), but I can’t stop reading about them. That’s why, when @harpercollins sent me Nora by @nuala_oconnor, I was so excited to read this old story told from a new perspective!
Nora Barnacle is James Joyce life partner (they don’t marry for a very long time), and she truly lives the life of being in love with a stereotypical, self-absorbed, alcohol-loving author. Told from her perspective, you’ll fall in love with Nora and feel anger at James for his mistreatment of her (then understand why she stays with him when he doesn’t) as you follow them from Ireland to Trieste to Zurich, and finally, to Paris. Through wars and children and disease, it’s a fascinating look at the ups and downs of one of the literary worlds favorite love stories.
O’Connor does a brilliant job or bringing Nora and her family to life, making you feel more like you’re reading her personal diary than historical fiction. I loved every moment of reading it!
June 29, 2021
A Portrait of the Woman
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Harper Perennial paperback (January 1, 2021)
Review in Progress
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Harper Perennial paperback (January 1, 2021)
Review in Progress
April 13, 2022
Joyce’s Guardian Angel
Works of genius, like those of James Joyce, radiate a mysterious glow that envelopes and launches us into a loftier realm. We’re so beholding to those who liberate us from the parochial tedium of daily living that we’re inclined to mythologize anyone who casts such a spell over us, and forgive them for a multitude of sins that would ordinarily alienate us.
Nuala O’Connor’s marvelous novel tells the story of Nora Barnacle’s uneasy relationship with the inimitable James Joyce, a literary colossus whose shadow continues to extend far and wide a century after the publication of his masterpiece,Ulysses.
Rooted in earnest research and glistening with verbal fluidity, the easily digestible flow of O’Connor’s crisp, brief chapters transport the reader through this lovers’ tale of valleys and mountain tops in the luxury of first-class literary accommodations.
James Joyce was no saint. A functional alcoholic, he was unpredictable and unreliable when it came to mortal responsibilities. If he left their residence for a bracer or two, his lifelong partner Nora Barnacle never knew if and when he’d return. His jobs were always transient and, until later in life when his work became canonized, their financial situation was perpetually precarious. Like his father John Stanislaus Joyce, James and his family were almost always on the brink of being evicted and scurrying for a new residence.
Yet Nora lived up to her surname, she stuck by him. And, as the author clearly relates, Joyce did have saving graces; his devotion to his writing which she admired, his preoccupation with the salacious which immensely gratified her, and, most notably, Joyce’s love for his children and infinite compassion for their deeply disturbed daughter, Lucia.
Nora loved James. James loved Nora. Nuala O'Connor captures what that meant through her astute usurpation of Nora’s voice in this literary memoir, and through subtle nuances in the words she employs to give depth and credibility to the person emerging from these pages. We can feel Nora’s pulse, anxiety, moments of glad grace and even sexual intensity. In fact the passages dealing with the latter experience are more likely to stir the libidinal juices of the reader than their fabled counterparts in Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.
One Dublin One Book has chosen Nuala O’Connor’s Nora as the book to read during this centenary year. A wise choice.
Works of genius, like those of James Joyce, radiate a mysterious glow that envelopes and launches us into a loftier realm. We’re so beholding to those who liberate us from the parochial tedium of daily living that we’re inclined to mythologize anyone who casts such a spell over us, and forgive them for a multitude of sins that would ordinarily alienate us.
Nuala O’Connor’s marvelous novel tells the story of Nora Barnacle’s uneasy relationship with the inimitable James Joyce, a literary colossus whose shadow continues to extend far and wide a century after the publication of his masterpiece,Ulysses.
Rooted in earnest research and glistening with verbal fluidity, the easily digestible flow of O’Connor’s crisp, brief chapters transport the reader through this lovers’ tale of valleys and mountain tops in the luxury of first-class literary accommodations.
James Joyce was no saint. A functional alcoholic, he was unpredictable and unreliable when it came to mortal responsibilities. If he left their residence for a bracer or two, his lifelong partner Nora Barnacle never knew if and when he’d return. His jobs were always transient and, until later in life when his work became canonized, their financial situation was perpetually precarious. Like his father John Stanislaus Joyce, James and his family were almost always on the brink of being evicted and scurrying for a new residence.
Yet Nora lived up to her surname, she stuck by him. And, as the author clearly relates, Joyce did have saving graces; his devotion to his writing which she admired, his preoccupation with the salacious which immensely gratified her, and, most notably, Joyce’s love for his children and infinite compassion for their deeply disturbed daughter, Lucia.
Nora loved James. James loved Nora. Nuala O'Connor captures what that meant through her astute usurpation of Nora’s voice in this literary memoir, and through subtle nuances in the words she employs to give depth and credibility to the person emerging from these pages. We can feel Nora’s pulse, anxiety, moments of glad grace and even sexual intensity. In fact the passages dealing with the latter experience are more likely to stir the libidinal juices of the reader than their fabled counterparts in Molly Bloom’s soliloquy.
One Dublin One Book has chosen Nuala O’Connor’s Nora as the book to read during this centenary year. A wise choice.
March 29, 2024
This is a book that grew on me, I wasn't sure what to expect at first (especially with those explicit opening chapters) but the more I spent time with Nora, the more invested I came in her story and her children.
Full disclosure, I'm Irish and I've never read James Joyce (though I have been to the Cliffs of Moher that Netflix's Irish Wish described as 'something out of a James Joyce novel'). I think for most of my reading life, I've heard Joyce being lauded so much, I decided to veer in the other direction and I also much prefer reading books by or about women - which is why I ended up picking Nora as normally the best way I can become interested in a man in history, is learning about the women he surrounded himself with.
The book does start with a shock in the form of some sexual encounters Nora and James have at the start of their relationship, and the author doesn't shy away from the very sexual need that remained between the two for the majority of their relationship. I can't say I liked these parts very much but they definitely cemented the very real love and physical bond the pair had - even when James was being useless for Nora, she still desired him.
I liked learning about their time in Trieste, and I feel like i learned a lot about James Joyce through this novel - his trials and tribulations, as well as his inspirations and the support he received from many women in his life from Nora, his daughter and patrons of his (mostly American women). I also found it funny to see that Americans' interest in Joyce was always there!
I think the book felt slightly rushed near the end or maybe it's because it felt like the book heavily focused on the first 10 years or so of Nora and James' relationship and after that we kind of spun through the rest before refocusing on their troubled time with Lucia, who became mentally ill.But this book turned me into someone who didn't have a huge interest in Joyce to now being someone who is tentatively thinking about picking up Dubliners!
Full disclosure, I'm Irish and I've never read James Joyce (though I have been to the Cliffs of Moher that Netflix's Irish Wish described as 'something out of a James Joyce novel'). I think for most of my reading life, I've heard Joyce being lauded so much, I decided to veer in the other direction and I also much prefer reading books by or about women - which is why I ended up picking Nora as normally the best way I can become interested in a man in history, is learning about the women he surrounded himself with.
The book does start with a shock in the form of some sexual encounters Nora and James have at the start of their relationship, and the author doesn't shy away from the very sexual need that remained between the two for the majority of their relationship. I can't say I liked these parts very much but they definitely cemented the very real love and physical bond the pair had - even when James was being useless for Nora, she still desired him.
I liked learning about their time in Trieste, and I feel like i learned a lot about James Joyce through this novel - his trials and tribulations, as well as his inspirations and the support he received from many women in his life from Nora, his daughter and patrons of his (mostly American women). I also found it funny to see that Americans' interest in Joyce was always there!
I think the book felt slightly rushed near the end or maybe it's because it felt like the book heavily focused on the first 10 years or so of Nora and James' relationship and after that we kind of spun through the rest before refocusing on their troubled time with Lucia, who became mentally ill.But this book turned me into someone who didn't have a huge interest in Joyce to now being someone who is tentatively thinking about picking up Dubliners!
April 5, 2022
Loved it. I was transported into Nora's world, seeing their life (Nora's and James Joyce's) and travels, their many challenges and a unique connection that kept them together throughout.
I knew nothing of their life before picking this up, but knowing now all the many places they lived and how Europe allowed them to live free of convention, I'm interested to see the stories Joyce created while Nora was keeping everything at home together for him.
Not an easy life within which to raise two children, especially the constant moving about, their shallow roots contributed to their faltering no doubt.
It's incredible that Nuala O'Connor managed to put together such a cohesive story given the actions of Joyce's grandson Stephen, who did all he could to prevent access or usage of the family archive, including the destruction of hundreds of letters.
I knew nothing of their life before picking this up, but knowing now all the many places they lived and how Europe allowed them to live free of convention, I'm interested to see the stories Joyce created while Nora was keeping everything at home together for him.
Not an easy life within which to raise two children, especially the constant moving about, their shallow roots contributed to their faltering no doubt.
It's incredible that Nuala O'Connor managed to put together such a cohesive story given the actions of Joyce's grandson Stephen, who did all he could to prevent access or usage of the family archive, including the destruction of hundreds of letters.
June 29, 2021
‘Jim styles me his sleepy-eyed Nora. His squirrel girl from the pages of Ibsen. I am pirate queen and cattle raider. I’m his blessed little blackguard. I am, he says, his auburn marauder. I’m his honourable barnacle goose…. “Nora,” Jim says, “you are story.”’
NORA by Nuala O’ Connor was published April 10th with New Island Books. It recounts the love story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce as seen through the eyes of Nora and it is an absolutely authentic and convincing retelling of one of the most famous relationships in literature of two unorthodox individuals who lived outside the rules of society and who just continue to fascinate and intrigue.
My fascination with the Joyce Family began only a few years back when I listened to a podcast where a book by Jessa Crispin was mentioned. In The Dead Ladies Project (Sept 2015) ‘Crispin interweaves biography, incisive literary analysis, and personal experience into a rich meditation on the complicated interactions of place, personality, and society that can make escape and reinvention such an attractive, even intoxicating proposition.’ It was here that I first encountered Nora Barnacle and my interest was piqued. Later I read The Joyce Girl (June 2016) by Annabel Abbs followed by Saving Lucia (April 2020) by Anna Vaught. On a trip to Dublin a few years ago I visited The James Joyce Tower & Museum at the Martello Tower, Sandycove, a treasure trove of information and ‘the setting of the opening chapter of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. The unique collection of Joycean memorabilia on display in the James Joyce Museum, evoke many stories from its literary past.' When I heard that Nuala O’ Connor was writing NORA I was very excited at the prospect of reading it and it most certainly did not disappoint.
I have an unusual relationship with James Joyce in that I have never read his work. I am Irish. I read about the annual Bloomsday celebrations in Dublin and have heard many conversations about Ulysses and The Dubliners. I do not own any of James Joyce’s writings but, I am very much intrigued by the women in his life . The tragic life of Lucia Joyce is well-documented. She was a haunted individual seeking reassurance and love but never achieving the freedom and acclaim she so desired, ultimately ending her days in a sanatorium. Her mother Nora Barnacle, a Galway girl, was a free spirit, destined to live a life of extremes with an unconventional and obsessive man by her side. Nora Barnacle caught the eye of James (Jim) Joyce and together they created a world full of passion and eccentricities, leaving Catholic Ireland behind and settling for some time in Trieste, Italy, as well as stints in Paris, Rome, Zurich, back and forth over the years.
‘”We are not, perhaps, living the easy life we hoped for, Nora, but when my book is published, we’ll be high on the hog” “Will we? I hope so Jim”. I want so much to trust him’
Unmarried and penniless, they lived from day to day off the generosity of others, in particular from the generosity of Stanislaus Joyce, James’ brother. Their years were fraught with heightened arguments over money and the down-at-heel lifestyle they lived, always scrounging, always dependent on others, yet somehow they survived. With two children, Giorgio and Lucia, Nora Barnacle and James Joyce married later in life in 1931. The institution of marriage was something that James Joyce dismissed but eventually he was persuaded otherwise when Giorgio himself wanted to marry and wished for his own birth to be legitimised.
Nora and James lived a bohemian lifestyle and, more often than not, a pauper’s existence. His infrequent teaching was their main income but most of what he earned he spent on drink, leaving Nora with two small mouths to feed in a country not her own.
She resorted to taking in laundry, willing to do anything to put food on their table. James Joyce was so obsessed with his writing, his rejection from his country of birth, his exile to a foreign land that, although his ardour for Nora was clear, he was selfish to the extreme. Nora was by no means perfect. She too embraced many of the peculiarities of their lives. When James eventually garnered the recognition of some of the more established and respected literary circle he buried himself even more into his writing with little time given over to his family and his own personal wellbeing. His health suffered greatly but he ploughed on, determined to gain respect for his work, at any cost.
Giorgio and Lucia had a strange and distinctive upbringing. Their parents so very much wrapped up in their own lives, gave little to their children. Giorgio and Lucia craved parental attention and love but they were ofttimes, and very obviously, in the way.
The story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce is beautifully brought to life through the words of Nuala O’ Connor. Their pain and anguish spill out from the pages. James Joyce’s frustration regarding publication of his work is a constant battle, one that echoes throughout the book. There are highs in their life but it is the lows that stick in the mind of the reader long after the final page is turned. And as the years passed James Joyce was almost blinded from the drink, with continuous and very serious eye complaints, leaving him in terrible pain and disenchanted with his world.
‘”Paris will wait for you, Jim. And the gombeen newspapermen with their fancies, too. But you’ll be a corpse if you continue the way you’re going. Would that suit you? Or do you want, above all else, to be a man-about-town? Stumbling around rotten with drink?
If you want to put wine and your writer friends and larking about in the Bal Bullier before your family and work, so be it” I point in his face. “But, Jim, mark me, you’ll neither see nor hear from us again. Do you understand? I’m nearly twenty years putting up with your nonsense, Jim Joyce. No more. Do you hear me?” He drops his head. ” I hear you, Gooseen.”'
His refusal to look after himself caused much upset and, at times, resentment for Nora but she remained by his side until the bitter end after many years of constant upheaval across multiple borders.
NORA is an outstanding novel. Nuala O’ Connor has created a remarkable tribute to Nora Barnacle exploring her relationship with one of Ireland’s literary greats and giving the reader an insight into the terrible hardships she endured in the name of love for nearly four decades. A very evocative and poignant novel NORA explores the intensity of their relationship and their extraordinary love. NORA is vivid. NORA is sensuous. NORA is sumptuous. NORA is a love story….
“What in God’s name will my life be without him? We were like one person with many sides and, now, my best part is gone. Oh Jim, oh my lovely darling, I don’t know how to go on without you.”
NORA by Nuala O’ Connor was published April 10th with New Island Books. It recounts the love story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce as seen through the eyes of Nora and it is an absolutely authentic and convincing retelling of one of the most famous relationships in literature of two unorthodox individuals who lived outside the rules of society and who just continue to fascinate and intrigue.
My fascination with the Joyce Family began only a few years back when I listened to a podcast where a book by Jessa Crispin was mentioned. In The Dead Ladies Project (Sept 2015) ‘Crispin interweaves biography, incisive literary analysis, and personal experience into a rich meditation on the complicated interactions of place, personality, and society that can make escape and reinvention such an attractive, even intoxicating proposition.’ It was here that I first encountered Nora Barnacle and my interest was piqued. Later I read The Joyce Girl (June 2016) by Annabel Abbs followed by Saving Lucia (April 2020) by Anna Vaught. On a trip to Dublin a few years ago I visited The James Joyce Tower & Museum at the Martello Tower, Sandycove, a treasure trove of information and ‘the setting of the opening chapter of James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses. The unique collection of Joycean memorabilia on display in the James Joyce Museum, evoke many stories from its literary past.' When I heard that Nuala O’ Connor was writing NORA I was very excited at the prospect of reading it and it most certainly did not disappoint.
I have an unusual relationship with James Joyce in that I have never read his work. I am Irish. I read about the annual Bloomsday celebrations in Dublin and have heard many conversations about Ulysses and The Dubliners. I do not own any of James Joyce’s writings but, I am very much intrigued by the women in his life . The tragic life of Lucia Joyce is well-documented. She was a haunted individual seeking reassurance and love but never achieving the freedom and acclaim she so desired, ultimately ending her days in a sanatorium. Her mother Nora Barnacle, a Galway girl, was a free spirit, destined to live a life of extremes with an unconventional and obsessive man by her side. Nora Barnacle caught the eye of James (Jim) Joyce and together they created a world full of passion and eccentricities, leaving Catholic Ireland behind and settling for some time in Trieste, Italy, as well as stints in Paris, Rome, Zurich, back and forth over the years.
‘”We are not, perhaps, living the easy life we hoped for, Nora, but when my book is published, we’ll be high on the hog” “Will we? I hope so Jim”. I want so much to trust him’
Unmarried and penniless, they lived from day to day off the generosity of others, in particular from the generosity of Stanislaus Joyce, James’ brother. Their years were fraught with heightened arguments over money and the down-at-heel lifestyle they lived, always scrounging, always dependent on others, yet somehow they survived. With two children, Giorgio and Lucia, Nora Barnacle and James Joyce married later in life in 1931. The institution of marriage was something that James Joyce dismissed but eventually he was persuaded otherwise when Giorgio himself wanted to marry and wished for his own birth to be legitimised.
Nora and James lived a bohemian lifestyle and, more often than not, a pauper’s existence. His infrequent teaching was their main income but most of what he earned he spent on drink, leaving Nora with two small mouths to feed in a country not her own.
She resorted to taking in laundry, willing to do anything to put food on their table. James Joyce was so obsessed with his writing, his rejection from his country of birth, his exile to a foreign land that, although his ardour for Nora was clear, he was selfish to the extreme. Nora was by no means perfect. She too embraced many of the peculiarities of their lives. When James eventually garnered the recognition of some of the more established and respected literary circle he buried himself even more into his writing with little time given over to his family and his own personal wellbeing. His health suffered greatly but he ploughed on, determined to gain respect for his work, at any cost.
Giorgio and Lucia had a strange and distinctive upbringing. Their parents so very much wrapped up in their own lives, gave little to their children. Giorgio and Lucia craved parental attention and love but they were ofttimes, and very obviously, in the way.
The story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce is beautifully brought to life through the words of Nuala O’ Connor. Their pain and anguish spill out from the pages. James Joyce’s frustration regarding publication of his work is a constant battle, one that echoes throughout the book. There are highs in their life but it is the lows that stick in the mind of the reader long after the final page is turned. And as the years passed James Joyce was almost blinded from the drink, with continuous and very serious eye complaints, leaving him in terrible pain and disenchanted with his world.
‘”Paris will wait for you, Jim. And the gombeen newspapermen with their fancies, too. But you’ll be a corpse if you continue the way you’re going. Would that suit you? Or do you want, above all else, to be a man-about-town? Stumbling around rotten with drink?
If you want to put wine and your writer friends and larking about in the Bal Bullier before your family and work, so be it” I point in his face. “But, Jim, mark me, you’ll neither see nor hear from us again. Do you understand? I’m nearly twenty years putting up with your nonsense, Jim Joyce. No more. Do you hear me?” He drops his head. ” I hear you, Gooseen.”'
His refusal to look after himself caused much upset and, at times, resentment for Nora but she remained by his side until the bitter end after many years of constant upheaval across multiple borders.
NORA is an outstanding novel. Nuala O’ Connor has created a remarkable tribute to Nora Barnacle exploring her relationship with one of Ireland’s literary greats and giving the reader an insight into the terrible hardships she endured in the name of love for nearly four decades. A very evocative and poignant novel NORA explores the intensity of their relationship and their extraordinary love. NORA is vivid. NORA is sensuous. NORA is sumptuous. NORA is a love story….
“What in God’s name will my life be without him? We were like one person with many sides and, now, my best part is gone. Oh Jim, oh my lovely darling, I don’t know how to go on without you.”
February 16, 2021
I used to read historical fiction when I was younger, and I slowly fell away from it over the years. I’ve been working to incorporate it back into my reading, and books like Nora make me glad that I’m returning to the genre.
Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce is exactly that—a fictionalized account of the Irish author and his wife. Although I’m familiar with James Joyce, I knew absolutely nothing about Nora Barnacle before picking up this novel. I’m now eager to read some biographies about these two!
To start, I was a little hesitant because the book is written in first person. I’m not a huge fan of first-person narration, but I grew to appreciate its use here. I really respected O’Connor’s decision to exclusively tell this story from the half of the romantic duo who isn’t a published author.
The novel begins when Nora and James first meet and it continues through the end of their lives. Their romantic relationship is central to the story, but O’Connor also paints a full picture of their lives beyond their involvement with one another. Neighbors, family members, and the various European cities in which they live play key roles in the narrative.
At different points, the characters are more relatable or likeable than others, which make sense given the number of decades that this novel spans. Perhaps because the book covers such a large time period, it’s very fast paced. The short chapters encouraged me to keep going “for just one more chapter” until half the book was gone in one sitting.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. O’Connor gives life to a vibrant cast of characters and skillfully portrays their evolutions as the years go by. Through Nora’s eyes, I experienced the thrills of setting out for new places, the hardships of marriage, and the difficult love that can exist within a family. If you’re a fan of historical fiction or James Joyce, I recommend adding this one to your list.
Nora: A Love Story of Nora and James Joyce is exactly that—a fictionalized account of the Irish author and his wife. Although I’m familiar with James Joyce, I knew absolutely nothing about Nora Barnacle before picking up this novel. I’m now eager to read some biographies about these two!
To start, I was a little hesitant because the book is written in first person. I’m not a huge fan of first-person narration, but I grew to appreciate its use here. I really respected O’Connor’s decision to exclusively tell this story from the half of the romantic duo who isn’t a published author.
The novel begins when Nora and James first meet and it continues through the end of their lives. Their romantic relationship is central to the story, but O’Connor also paints a full picture of their lives beyond their involvement with one another. Neighbors, family members, and the various European cities in which they live play key roles in the narrative.
At different points, the characters are more relatable or likeable than others, which make sense given the number of decades that this novel spans. Perhaps because the book covers such a large time period, it’s very fast paced. The short chapters encouraged me to keep going “for just one more chapter” until half the book was gone in one sitting.
Overall, it was a very enjoyable read. O’Connor gives life to a vibrant cast of characters and skillfully portrays their evolutions as the years go by. Through Nora’s eyes, I experienced the thrills of setting out for new places, the hardships of marriage, and the difficult love that can exist within a family. If you’re a fan of historical fiction or James Joyce, I recommend adding this one to your list.
September 23, 2021
Apart from having watched the movie Nora in the early 00's and hearing a few bits and pieces about Nora Barnacle over the years, I really am pretty much new to her. As an introduction to a major figure like this, I'd probably choose to read a biography, focusing on the facts of that person's life. However, I decided to read this book, having attended an online seminar with the writer Nuala O'Connor and another bio-fic author I've read recently, Eibhear Walshe (The Last Day at Bowen's Court). From that talk, I got a sense of how well researched this novel was, and decided to do two things. 1. surrender to the novelistic approach, and 2. not get too caught up in the facts of the story - dates, places, etc. Normally when I'm reading a biography, I have the pencil and atlas out, and I'm plotting and doing side research as I go along. For this, I just focused on Nora's personality.
Nora does come across as a very likable character. James Joyce seems quite feckless and frustrating as a husband, though ultimately Nora and James' unique love for each other shines through. I probably preferred the second half/last third of this novel, as we got into the Parisian period. There were a lot of peripheral characters who I never realised had a connection to the Joyce's (e.g. Samuel Beckett, Hazel and Peggy Guggenheim) and I reading about Nora in that milieu. I found Nora's reaction to that world plausible. Lucia Joyce's deteriorating mental health is a major theme of the latter part of the novel. It created a huge amount of concern and distress for everyone involved, especially as Nora and James Joyce reacted to her illness in very different ways.
Overall, I thought this was a great read. It puts Nora's voice and perspective front and centre and in O'Connor's hands it's a voice well worth listening to. I definitely feel encouraged at some point to go back and study a major biography of James Joyce or Nora Barnacle herself.
Nora does come across as a very likable character. James Joyce seems quite feckless and frustrating as a husband, though ultimately Nora and James' unique love for each other shines through. I probably preferred the second half/last third of this novel, as we got into the Parisian period. There were a lot of peripheral characters who I never realised had a connection to the Joyce's (e.g. Samuel Beckett, Hazel and Peggy Guggenheim) and I reading about Nora in that milieu. I found Nora's reaction to that world plausible. Lucia Joyce's deteriorating mental health is a major theme of the latter part of the novel. It created a huge amount of concern and distress for everyone involved, especially as Nora and James Joyce reacted to her illness in very different ways.
Overall, I thought this was a great read. It puts Nora's voice and perspective front and centre and in O'Connor's hands it's a voice well worth listening to. I definitely feel encouraged at some point to go back and study a major biography of James Joyce or Nora Barnacle herself.
December 30, 2020
Book #106 of 2020 • Nora by Nuala O'Connor • Finished 11.23.20
Book Club 2.0's pick for November was an ARC of an upcoming January 5, 2021 release • Written by Irish novelist Nuala O'Connor, Nora reimagines the love story of James Joyce and Nora Barnacle - his wife, muse, and model for Molly Bloom in Joyce's Ulysses
Anticipating a novel celebrating Nora the individual, we were disappointed how her story was told as a response to what was happening in Joyce's life • Their relationship was quite tumultuous, making it hard to understand how & why they remained together until his death • While the title calls it their "love" story, it was more of a toxic obsession with each other • O'Connor writes in somewhat of a diary approach minus the emotional background, almost like a laundry list of events • The sexual language and depictions were awkward and felt very shock value vs necessary - and this is coming from a regular romance reader • The last quarter or so addressed their daughter's mental illness which was the most intriguing part of the book
Unfortunately, Nora was not a winning pick for myself or our book club but we felt it could be a very niche read for anyone interested in Joyce, his family, and life events
Book Club 2.0's pick for November was an ARC of an upcoming January 5, 2021 release • Written by Irish novelist Nuala O'Connor, Nora reimagines the love story of James Joyce and Nora Barnacle - his wife, muse, and model for Molly Bloom in Joyce's Ulysses
Anticipating a novel celebrating Nora the individual, we were disappointed how her story was told as a response to what was happening in Joyce's life • Their relationship was quite tumultuous, making it hard to understand how & why they remained together until his death • While the title calls it their "love" story, it was more of a toxic obsession with each other • O'Connor writes in somewhat of a diary approach minus the emotional background, almost like a laundry list of events • The sexual language and depictions were awkward and felt very shock value vs necessary - and this is coming from a regular romance reader • The last quarter or so addressed their daughter's mental illness which was the most intriguing part of the book
Unfortunately, Nora was not a winning pick for myself or our book club but we felt it could be a very niche read for anyone interested in Joyce, his family, and life events
February 5, 2023
This was well-written and mostly engaging, but if I was Nora, I'd have left James Joyce after...probably 4 to 8 years. No longer than that! Sure, they had great sex initially, and he was a genius, but does that make good partner material? As with many books telling things from the woman's perspective, I wanted more of HER thoughts and desires, as distinct from her man's and not just in relation to what he was doing. And what he was doing was being a selfish, self-indulgent chancer about town for most of their early relationship. Drinking, debt and disorder was about the sum of it. I haven't read much Joyce though, and this did make me think I should give Ulysses another go. If only for Nora's sake!
May 9, 2022
A bit repetitive in places, as they were so poor for so long, and Joyce was a selfish alcoholic for his entire life, and thus her complaints about this are all she often has to talk about. It was interesting to see how she stuck with him through thick and thin, not because he was a literary genius, but because she loved him. But also, what other choice did she have? That she couldn't work beyond doing laundry limited her in so many ways, as did her lack of marriage, and her children. It was a hard life, but I doubt that she would have been any happier in conservative Ireland. She and Jim were kindred spirits, and had serious sexual chemistry, even if she didn't read his books.
January 6, 2021
Nora Barnacle: lover, muse and common law wife to the famed James Joyce. The novel opens up with their first meeting on June 16th, 1904, when Nora was a chambermaid working at a hotel in Dublin, Ireland and Joyce was a struggling writer, sleeping on couches. The novel follows this erotic relationship throughout the rest of their lives, as the two go traveling in Europe, begin a family and attempt to find money wherever they can. The novel delves into their later life as well, including a large portion about their children’s lives. First of all, if you’re not a fan of sexually explicit books, then you’re going to hate this one. The letters alone could give some modern day romance writers some MAJOR tips. At first, I found myself very fed up with Nora and I felt like she was either pathetic for letting Joyce treat her the way that he did or that she somehow had some kind of Stockholm Syndrome. However, Nora’s personality (helped by the author’s brilliant depiction of her) managed to win me over in the end. She’s headstrong, she loves her family and she takes no shite from anyone. If you’re in the mood for a strong female character whose family oriented and unabashedly herself, then this is a great book for you.
October 11, 2021
This book is an amazing reimagining of the life of Nora Barnacle, who loved, lived with, and finally married James Joyce. The book feels right. Irish. Joycean.
Joyce didn't like intellectual women. Nora had little education. When he met her, she worked cleaning a hotel. She was full of beauty and verve.
Nora had the nerve to leave Ireland for Europe with a man she had known only a few months, a man who refused to marry her. He didn't decide to marry her until nearly thirty years later, when their son wanted to be legitimate for his own marriage.
Joyce was impossible. Drinking, drinking.
Often my feminist sensibilities said, give up. Leave him. But she had a baby soon, and stayed.
The book portrays Nora as strong, often scolding him, though she ultimately always yielded. She had a hard life, but a passionate one. He often made sport of her lack of interest in literature, but apparently he doted on her. I was impatient with the sex scenes in the early chapters, but clearly the physical bond was a major part of their relationship.
Nuala O'Connor does an excellent job of making Nora real. Nora was a love of a woman, and this is a love of a book.
Joyce didn't like intellectual women. Nora had little education. When he met her, she worked cleaning a hotel. She was full of beauty and verve.
Nora had the nerve to leave Ireland for Europe with a man she had known only a few months, a man who refused to marry her. He didn't decide to marry her until nearly thirty years later, when their son wanted to be legitimate for his own marriage.
Joyce was impossible. Drinking, drinking.
Often my feminist sensibilities said, give up. Leave him. But she had a baby soon, and stayed.
The book portrays Nora as strong, often scolding him, though she ultimately always yielded. She had a hard life, but a passionate one. He often made sport of her lack of interest in literature, but apparently he doted on her. I was impatient with the sex scenes in the early chapters, but clearly the physical bond was a major part of their relationship.
Nuala O'Connor does an excellent job of making Nora real. Nora was a love of a woman, and this is a love of a book.
May 14, 2024
Ik weet niet of dit echt een goeie roman is, maar ik heb hem wel erg graag, vanwege het hoofdpersonage: James Joyce. Het boek wordt verteld door zijn vrouw Nora Barnacle en zo krijg je toch het gevoel dat je schaamteloos mag binnengluren in het gezin van één van de grootste schrijvers aller tijden. Dat dat ook een gevoelige vader, een "truntende" zieke of een geile vrijer was, zijn dingen die je bijna beschroomd verneemt tijdens het lezen. Dat het ook een beetje een etter, een onverbeterlijke drinkebroer en een weinig attente echtgenoot was, wisten we al, maar om het uit de mond van Nora Barnacle te horen, raakt je wel.
Voor de rest volgt het boek gewoon de levensloop van het echtpaar Joyce en heeft het weinig literaire ambities en dat had misschien wel gemogen voor een boek over zo'n bijzondere stilist.
Voor de rest volgt het boek gewoon de levensloop van het echtpaar Joyce en heeft het weinig literaire ambities en dat had misschien wel gemogen voor een boek over zo'n bijzondere stilist.
April 1, 2022
I listened to the audio version of the book and it was a great. The reader had a charming Irish accent which added to the veracity of this beautifully written biography.
Nora really was a strong woman given all she had to go through living with James Joyce. You would think that life with a famous author would have been comfortable but it really wasn't even up until the end. The story felt similar to another author's life, Thomas Mann, in The Magician. Moving around Europe during the World Wars and coping with their children's problems really made life so difficult and emotionally draining for both the Joyces and Manns. I have to say that after I finished this, I didn't like James Joyce very much. He really was an arrogant, self centered jerk much of the time but I did respect Nora's ability to keep her family intact.
Nuala O'Connor has a beautiful style of writing and did justice to Nora's story.
Nora really was a strong woman given all she had to go through living with James Joyce. You would think that life with a famous author would have been comfortable but it really wasn't even up until the end. The story felt similar to another author's life, Thomas Mann, in The Magician. Moving around Europe during the World Wars and coping with their children's problems really made life so difficult and emotionally draining for both the Joyces and Manns. I have to say that after I finished this, I didn't like James Joyce very much. He really was an arrogant, self centered jerk much of the time but I did respect Nora's ability to keep her family intact.
Nuala O'Connor has a beautiful style of writing and did justice to Nora's story.
August 13, 2022
I am even more amazed to learn that this was a real story, though of course, with some dramatized elements. To know that these characters where real people only highlights O’Connors ability to adapt stories into thrilling and successful novels. I am amazed at the lives of these people and greatly appreciate having lived their stories through Nora’s perspective. I will forever aspire to love as Nora love and stood by Jim.
January 2, 2024
Nora Barnacle was the wife of James Joyce and other than her name I knew nothing of the life she and James led. This is an account of their lives together. The basic facts of the book are real but the day to day thoughts and feelings of Nora are fiction to add a dimension of reality. It was a very interesting read and even though I have Ulysses in my library I have yet to read it. Now that I know something of the Joyce’s story I am more inclined to check it out.
August 8, 2021
Excellently written and fast paced imagining of the life of Nora Barnacle who was a force of nature and more than a match for her (eventual) husband, James Joyce.
June 20, 2022
Biographical fiction is the art of bringing historical figures back to life. Well Nuala O'connor has done an amazing job in bringing Nora Barnacle Joyce back to life. I believe this story is very true to the reality that was her life. Listen on audio you won't regret it!
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