Dublin, by Christopher Morash, is a delightful and personal journey through Dublin's rich literary history, neighborhood by neighborhood.

I was reading this at the same time as I was reading another book in the Writer's City series, the one on New Orleans, and they both worked their magic on me. I am very familiar with New Orleans but have only been to Dublin once and even then not for long enough to explore. In the end, my lack of familiarity with the city in question was secondary to my enjoyment, though it made the enjoyment of each different in nature.

My undergrad honors thesis in English was about expats and their writing about their homelands. So Joyce played a large part in that research, which gave me a decent appreciation of Dublin, albeit from one perspective. Coupled with the many other writers from there, or who were heavily influenced by the city, my interest in Dublin has always been piqued (admittedly aided by my love of Guinness). This short but information-packed volume showed me just how much I was interested.

All of the names you would expect to find are here, along with many you might not know. The places and the anecdotes make you feel like you're walking the streets yourself, sometimes as a modern-day tourist, sometimes as a contemporary of the writers being covered. In other words, while this will make a great guide for a visit, it is also a very good read in its own right.

I don't know if I will make it back to Dublin but this book allows me to become an armchair traveler, both geographically and historically. If you're like me and supplement your reading with various searches online, this becomes an even more immersive trip through time and space.

Those with a love of Dublin and/or Irish literature will find a lot here to enjoy and engage with. If you are planning a trip I think you'll find a few extra stops you might want to make.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )