Why "The Dead" by James Joyce Is the Greatest Christmas Story

by Charles MudedeThe ghostly feast in John Huston's adaptation of "The Dead."At the center of James Joyce's short story (or, more accurately, novella) "The Dead" is a feast. It happens in a house on Ushers Island in Dublin not long after Europe enters the twilight of the long century. The hosts are two elderly sisters (who are professional singers) and their niece. The guests are close friends and relatives of the Three Graces, as some call the aunts and their niece. It's Christmas time, and the