When Nora Barnacle, a twenty-year-old maid from Galway, meets young James Joyce on a summer’s day in Dublin, she is instantly attracted to him. But she cannot yet imagine the extraordinary life they will share together. All Nora knows is she likes her Jim enough to leave behind family and home, in search of a bigger, more exciting life.

The story starts over one hundred years ago but O'Connor writes in such a way that I feel like I am reading my contemporaries. We follow Nora as they move from Ireland to Europe, struggle through years of poverty and war, and eventually achieve a sense of stability. One part I wasn't expecting was the story of their daughter Lucia (who I knew little about).

I will freely admit that I've read very little of Joyce. I have completed two chapters of Ulysses which is an achievement considering the work but the two most striking things I came away with after reading this amazing work of bio-fiction was James Joyce was some eejit, and he and Nora loved each other passionately.

Joyce may be considered a genius, but I feel he would never have achieved this without Nora by his side. He was an alcoholic and would often stay out all night drinking and doing whatever he wanted with little consideration to the money that may have been better put to use elsewhere. At one point he commissioned a painting of Nora when they barely had money to feed and house themselves. In return, she gave him love, stability and a clip around the ear when he needed it.

Nora is the archetype of the suffering wife to the creative genius, but she loved him beyond all measure. Some parts I found her naive and wanted her to leave him if only to teach him a lesson but of course she would never do that. She defended him to everyone while at the same time challenging him to do better,

This is a heavily researched work of bio-fiction but O'Connor has also taken some fictional license - as you would expect. I listened on audiobook and the narrator did a brilliant job of bringing the words to life particularly Nora's voice.

A definite recommendation on this one no matter what you think about Joyce. ( )

This is just a quick review because I am a bit preoccupied with rescuing some data from a trial software program before I lose access to it. (Because #LongBoringStory I am not going to pay for it all over again!)

Nora is, as the subtitle says, a love story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce, known to booklovers as the author of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake, even if they haven't read them. Nora was selected for the One Dublin, One Book program and I won a copy of it in a giveaway for Reading Ireland Month from Cathy at 746 Books.

#Digression: Intrigued, I looked up the previous books chosen for the One Dublin, One Book program. It turns out that I've read or have on the TBR some of the titles chosen over the years, and a couple are reviewed on this blog:

• 2006: At Swim Two Birds (1939) by Flann O'Brien


• 2007: A Long Long Way (2005) by Sebastian Barry, on the TBR


• 2008: Gulliver's Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift, read ages ago


• 2010: The Picture of Dorian Grey (1890) by Oscar Wilde, read ages ago


• 2012: Dubliners (1914) by James Joyce


• 2019: The Country Girls Trilogy (1960) by Edna O'Brien, on my wishlist

Sales must be wonderful for the contemporary authors whose books are chosen. This year's choice BTW is an historical novel called The Coroner's Daughter by Andrew Hughes.

Ok, back to Nora...

The novel is written entirely from Nora's point of view, in first person. Blurbers suggest that the portrayal is reasonably faithful to real life, and the story traces the couple's meeting in Ireland in 1904, and their peripatetic, often poverty-stricken lifestyle in Europe and the UK. It shows Joyce's determination to live by the pen, and the extraordinary impact that publication had on their precarious finances. It also shows Nora's loyalty in the face of (a-hem) unreasonable behaviour by Joyce, and it makes the case that she was his muse and that, without her, his masterpieces would not have been written. Although she was an uneducated, unsophisticated woman who (under sufferance) read only bits and pieces of his work — and she never contemplated helping him with the writing even when his eyes were intolerably bad — she was intelligent and made good company when they were gadding about socially.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2023/01/10/nora-a-love-story-of-nora-barnacle-and-james... ( )

A Portrait of the Woman
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook edition, released simultaneously with the Harper Perennial paperback (January 1, 2021)

Review in Progress ( )

Occasionally, a book comes a long that in much better as an audiobook. This is one of them. Nora is the common law wife of James Joyce. Told in her voice, the narrator, Jenn McGuirk, can change voices for different characters and portrays Nora Joseph Barnacle’s love for Joyce even as he drinks, writes and gambles his way to literary stardom. Nora’s life was hard. She was the one picking up the pieces. Both the writing and the narration give testament to the full range of Nora’s emotions. She deserves a lot more credit for keeping Joyce moving forward as she struggled to take care of their family. ( )

In her novel Nora, Nuala O'Connor channels Nora Barnacle as she tells the story of her life with James Joyce. Warned against him as a wild and savage madman, Nora affirms that part of him, for she also has a wildness inside.

I was drawn in by Nora's distinct voice and her unorthodox, independent character.

The novel covers Nora's entire life, from the workhouse to meeting Joyce, agreeing to go abroad with him without marriage, their rise from poverty to Jim's financial success, and their marital and family troubles.

Warning: The novel begins with a sexual encounter and there will be more later in the novel.

The novel begins on Juneteenth 1904 when a young Jim Joyce walked out with twenty-year-old Nora Barnacle. She understands what he wants and they have their first sexual encounter. Jim had found someone adventurous and sensual; no one of 'his class' could be so open and willing. They stayed together until Jim's death.

Jim worked uninspiring jobs to support them as he wrote his stories and worked on his novel. He drank too much and spent too much.

Nora was left alone too much and had to scramble to put food on the table and raise their children. Like the wives of so many writers, Nora's fidelity and support required her to take on the greater part of providing for their basic needs. She found allies and friends, including Jim's brother.

The early part of the novel is wonderful. It has a nice continuity and I felt immersed in the story. The later part of their life jumps across time, hitting on important events. The story of their daughter's mental illness could merit a novel all its own.

This is the story of an independent, strong woman who defies social convention for a relationship that evolves and endures over a lifetime. The novel will appeal to readers interested in Joyce but also to the broader readership of women's fiction and even romance.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased. ( )