The Dead

I've never read any Joyce before. I've always hoped to try Ulysses one day, but Joyce has always seemed so intimidating. That's what I like so much about The Art of the Novella Series from Melville House Books... their choices are often like gateways to authors you might not have tried otherwise. At first I found the story perplexing -- just a simple story about a dinner party... but then, well, it takes a turn towards something unexpected. Nothing supernatural, as the title might intimate, but something unexpected. I can't say I've ever run into a story quite like it. It is very bold in its way, and it makes a thoughtful point about the strange powers that death has over the living, even while we still live. This simple story will stay with me a long time, I expect, and it has certainly opened the door for me to read Joyce's more well known works.