Dubliners is an enthralling collection of modernist short stories which
form a turalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around
Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. Joyce's first major work,
written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for
the first time. These stories, including such unforgettable ones as
"Araby," "Grace," and "The Dead," delve into the heart of the city of
Joyce's birth, capturing the cadences of Dubliners' speech and
portraying with an almost brute realism their outer and inner lives. The
initial stories in the collection are rrated by child protagonists, and
as the stories continue, they deal with the lives and concerns of
progressively older people. This is in line with Joyce's tripartite
division of the collection into childhood, adolescence and maturity.