Stephen Hero (1944)

While the book is definitely not part of Joyce's "untouchable four" prose fiction masterpieces it is undoubtedly a lot of fun in its own right. Instead of the soaring descriptive passages found in Dubliners and A Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man you get vast swaths of dialogue batted back and forth between Stephen and various other cohorts. This suits Joyce just fine since dialogue is one of his many gifts. Sadly the book in this publication remains incomplete so I took off a half star. It does thicken Stephen's character and explains decisions Joyce made in his personal life (if you read the excellent Ellmann biography) that otherwise could remain a mystery. This is definitely not a starting point to enter the works of Joyce, but it is notably superior to Chamber Music, Exiles, and Pomes Penyeach. All of the mentioned works in this review are well worth the read, however, even if some of it is for fans. ( )