Joyce inspired writers. This book includes some of the best. ( )

This is a book about how Dubliners view themselves. Published in 2005, this book is now a time capsule in a way that probably was not intended. It aimed to connect the pre-crisis Ireland with its pre-century forebear via Joyce, to highlight similarities and differences between the 'modern' (read 'rich') Ireland of 2005 and its 1905 ('poor') predecessor. Reading it 2012, the whole project appears skewed, almost startling in its innocence of the near future from which it was created, let alone the deep past.

Of course, comparisons with Joyce's literary ability are futile. This is not the work of a single master. What it is, is a solid collection of good stories that all attempt, in some way, to evoke Joyce - either by reference, pastiche or extension. As with all collections of this nature, some stories are more successful than others, but all are entertaining.

The stand out, for me, is 'Martha's Streets' by Dermot Bolger, which is the best explanation by far that I have read of the intimate and subjective appeal of Joyce's 'Ulysses'. ( )