One well-known American work that bears comparison with Dubliners is Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio (1919), a collection of short stories based on the author's experiences in his home-town of Clyde, Ohio. Like many of his contemporaries, Joyce is indebted to the work of the Russian short-story writer (and playwright) Anton Chekhov (1860 -1904). Virtually all of Chekhov's short fiction is available in translation. Two good recent collections are Early Short Stories 1883-1888 and Later Short Stories 1888-1903 (both edited by Shelby Foote, Modern Library, 1999). Finally, Katherine Mansfield, a contemporary of Joyce's from New Zealand, also owes much to Chekhov. Readers who enjoy Dubliners will very likely want to look at some of her work, especially Bliss and Other Stories (1920) and The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922).

"The Dead" was adapted for the screen by director John Huston in 1987 with Donal McCann in the role of Gabriel and Anjelica...