Often hailed as the finest short story ever written in the English language, James Joyce's "The Dead" tells the story of a young woman who hears a familiar song unexpectedly at a Christmas party. The melody brings memories of a long-dead lover flooding back to her. Joyce's description of the multi-layered situation, characters, and atmosphere are unsurpassed. The reader is drawn into the stifling world of Dublin society with its aspirations, pretensions, repressed morals, and furtively enjoyed freedoms. Beautiful and evocative.