This elegantly written and illuminating study of Joyce’s Dubliners is a powerful argument for the view that the deepest understanding of Joyce’s work is to be found in the dense network of its allusions to the cultural and historical contexts of Ireland at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Irish Studies Review
Journey Westward is a welcome addition ... Read moreto recent historicist work that focuses on contextualizing Dubliners’ position in the Irish Literary Revival. Journey Westward is certainly a useful resource for those seeking to place Joyce’s early work within the context of Revival and also for those interested in Irish literary antecedents of the collection.
James Joyce Literary Supplement, Spring
'This is a sparklingly written and unflaggingly enjoyable book, founded on a deep and wide-ranging knowledge of Joyce and his times.' Bernard O'Donoghue 'Who would think that a new study of James Joyce's first book could break fresh ground? Frank Shovlin has done it. His riveting book on 'Dubliners' shows that Joyce began at his best. After the power and beauty of his short stories, Joyce had nowhere to go except into complexity and length.' Brenda Maddox, Times Literary Supplement
Times Literary Supplement
'Shovlin’s book functions as an act of cultural memory in its retrieval of social and historical narratives attached to phrases, names, places, and songs that Joyce deploys. Journey Westward thus is part of a growing area in Joyce studies with cultural memorial concerns.' Oona Frawley, James Joyce Quarterly Show Less