These vivid portraits of the author's native city weave a tapestry of Dublin and its people, yet also poignantly mourn the decline of Irish culture and civilization. Published in 1914, the collection was decried by some as obscene, but Joyce saw the work as "a chapter in the moral history" of Ireland. The stories present a vision of Dublin's claustrophobia and psychological paralysis, but the work's heaviness is balanced by an eccentric assortment of characters and the author's dry, often unexpected humor. Donal Donnelly narrates all 15 masterful stories, including "The Dead," "Araby," "The Boarding House," and "Eveline."