I greatly enjoyed all of these stories. Turn of the 20th century Dublin sounds a lot like turn of the 21st century America with its love of beating children. Several characters in several stories wax poetic about whipping boys, almost as if they get some kind of perverse pleasure out of it. I enjoyed the progression of the main character of each story, starting with juvenile main characters and moving to old age. I was really expecting someone to die in the last short Story. An Encounter (2nd short Story) and Eveline (4th short Story) stood out to me the most. I liked that Two Gallants (6th short story) and A Little Cloud (8th short story) reflected where I am in life now perfectly. This was my first encounter with James Joyce, but it will not be my last.

This is the stuff of demons. I've had to read this for my AP English class and while I can understand the literary significance, it is horribly dry and boring. Also very long. This isn't something to read for pleasure, it's to analyze.