Classics Without All the Class discussion

Now that our group read of Dubliners is coming to an end, are you glad you read it? What are the reasons you think it's worth reading?

I came up with a few of my own, which I posted last week on my blog, The Snail on the Wall. Feel free to take a look at my "10 Reasons to Read Dubliners" at http://snailonthewall.com/2015/02/28/...

I look forward to hearing your reasons for reading or recommending it to others!

I've enjoyed the downbeat, unvarnished nature of the stories. The only sentimentalism is in the characters' own speeches. Joyce doesn't judge them; he just observes them, very acutely, no matter how insignificant they may seem to be.

And since some of my ancestors came from Dublin, it's been an interesting insight into the way of life there a century ago. The point you made on your blog about the sense of paralysis trapping the inhabitants is, I think, very true. Their options were limited if they stayed. (Out of 9 great-aunts and uncles born in Dublin, eight left.)