Counterparts (short story) Counterparts (short story) "Counterparts" is a short story by James Joyce published in his 1914 collection "Dubliners". The story recounts an evening in the life of a man named Farrington, frequently referred to simply as "the man". Farrington’s difficulties begin at his clerical job when his boss -- whom he addresses as "Mr. Alleyne" -- berates him for not having finished an assignment. Instead of applying himself immediately to the task, the alcoholic Farrington slips out of the office for a quick "g.p." (glass of plain porter). When Alleyne yells at Farrington again, Farrington replies with an impertinent remark and
The Dead (short story) expands past him, edging into the surreal and encompassing the entirety of Ireland. As the story ends, we are told that "His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead." Dan Barry of "The New York Times" called "The Dead" "just about the finest short story in the English language" on the centennial of "Dubliners". T. S. Eliot called it one of greatest short stories ever written. Joyce biographer and critic Richard Ellmann wrote, "In its lyrical, melancholy