A Summer of Faulkner: As I Lay Dying/The Sound and the Fury/Light in August (Oprah's Book Club)

Review of "As I Lay Dying":This is a story that should be read on a sweltering hot, humid day in the summer. But even if it isn't, the reader will still imagine such a day, as the words of the story, subtle but powerful, control the neuronal synapses of the reader. They capture the reader's imagination, framing it uniquely, and offering no flexibility in interpretation. And the characters? They are black stick figures, very suitable as participants in a Martha Graham dance: totally alien to experience, but somehow, through their actions, their dialog, and their introspection, instill appreciation in the reader's mind. Indeed, these characters are not "introduced". What the reader understands of them is to be found in their actions, their dialog, and their introspection.There is Darl, whose mind exhibits at first keen mathematical and geometric precision: he knows that he walks not approximately fifteen meters ahead of Jewel, but exactly fifteen meters ahead of him (the author again reminds the reader of this distance in the next paragraph, and later, when Jewel is ahead, but now by exactly five meters); the path on which Darl walks circles the cottonhouse at "four soft right angles". Darl is a quasi-Sartrian: experiencing the negation, for "sleep is is-not and rain and wind are was, it is not".There is the business sense of Cora, ala her optimization of the egg laying habits of her chickens. Her optimism also, and her faith in human nature, makes her overwhelmingly realistic.There are the carpentry skills of Cash, which beg for recognition, and once his carpentry projects are initiated, they are not to be interrupted, even by a torrential downpour, the latter of which is viewed, while Cash is sawing, as an "illusion of the mind." Carpentry finds semantic equivalence to poetry: he made the coffin "on the bevel" (Faulkner inserts a diagram to make the coffin geometry readily apparent...believing written descriptions inadequate?). His exactitude in his profession does not compare with his judgments of normality: "But I ain't so sho that ere a man has the right to say what is crazy and what ain't".There is the delightful skepticism and nihilism of Jewel, who finds no utility in God. None at all.There is Anse, who worries about the neighbors: he wants to maintain an aura of respectability when transporting the coffin. The selection of the proper horse takes precedence over his grief. Socially conscious but also aware of exploitation: "it takes them that runs the stores in the towns, doing no sweating, living off of them that sweats." Religion is his opiate and compensation for this: "there is a reward for us above."There is Samson, alienated from his neighbors, and unable to grasp the Bundren grief and their individuality.There is Dewey Dell, self-aware and knowing her place, as not being as "good as town people," and who feels like a "wet seed wild in the hot blind earth" (another Faulkner literary gem here). Dewey recognizes the anxiety of time: It is a "womb", a "hard girdle in which lie the outraged entrails of events." The trip to Jefferson therefore is agonizing in its length, but she relieves her agony in a characteristically standard way: "I believe in God, God. God, I believe in God."There is Tull, who is protected from the vicissitudes of the world by not thinking about them. Too much thinking he believes is not the will of God. The brain is like machinery, and it "won't stand a whole lot of racking." It is not to be used more than necessary. Tull is to be contrasted with Darl, who "thinks by himself too much."There is Vardaman, who cannot deal with tragedy (either successfully or unsuccessfully). His mother "is a fish": Vardaman conflates images in the world with images in his mind.There is the stark-deafening idealism of Peabody, whose view of death is that it is "merely a function of the mind", namely in the minds of those who are grieving for the one who is lost.And there is the dying woman, Addie Bundren: the narrative center.

The box set did not include "Light in August"; however, it included a book of 3 short stories by Faulkner instead. I bought the box set for summer reading this year, 2023. I have never read anything by Faulkner, and this was the best-priced set of books by the author on Amazon. I specifically am looking forward to reading "The Sound and the Fury." I am writing a review because the listing for this box set was misleading because it was missing one of the original novels.I intend to keep this box set because returning it would be a hassle. On a positive note, the three books in the set are in Good condition.

I will admit it.I have never watched Oprah on television. Thankfully, my wife is a fan. Otherwise I would have missed this opportunity to spend time with my favorite author - William Faulkner.I was introduced to Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County while I was in college. Back then I was asked to read The Sound and the Fury. I will admit I was more than a little confused with what I was later to learn was Faulkner's hallmark shifting of the narration from one character to another; his disorienting disruptions of a timely chronology.As I read more, I began to appreciate the genius behind the technique. It was like my days as a newspaper reporter. Each witness to a story had his or her version of what had happened. The more I dug, the more likely I was to emerge with a story that resembled the true event.While Faulkner's narration and characters appear complex, his themes are simple. He writes about life's great issues - life and death, good and evil, love and hate, wealth and poverty, individual and family, sanity and insanity, success and failure.Faulkner's characters speak to their ability to transcend their settings and endure their sufferings. They emerge pained, yet ennobled.Although I am not fond of the heat and humidity, I am looking forward to spending a portion of my summer's reading time in the Mississippi hill country of Yoknapatawpha County.

I always start out the summer thinking I will have all this time to laze around in the shade and read a good book and sip iced tea. So, I ordered these books and thought they would be the perfect read for the summer, just like Oprah said...and, guess what? I haven't even gotten through the first book because all that time I thought I would have has totally melted away just like the ice cubes in my iced tea!Oh, well...I won't give up - this fall, I'll have cool afternoons to sit next to the fire, watch the falling leaves and cozy up with a good book and.....I'm sure they're at least 4 stars, aren't you?well, you know the rest of the story!

These novels are not to be read for sheer pleasure, but rather for the challenge and the depth. They are not easy to read, though *Light in August* is the easiest of the three. The prose is so difficult at times that I needed to reread again and again. I had to stop and take numerous breaks because my brain got twisted around.I strongly suggest getting research materials from a university librray if at all possible to help navigate the stories. In the end, the depth of these novels is profound and extremely rewarding. It was only after I finished them (and read a lot of extra research articles) that I truly appreciated them. These novels are definitely amazing and a great account of southern life in the early part of the 20th century (and after the civil war), and I admire Faulkner more than I ever thought I could.If you thought James Joyce was complex, try Faulkner!

As expected took a while but arrived when it said it would. As described but for used kinda $$

Light in August, As I lay dying, and The Sound and the Fury are an excellent introduction to this major 20th century author. While some of the episodes are somewhat Joycean in their complexity, the beautiful prose lends itself to a second (or third) reading and well worth the effort.

Exactement comme décrit. Très satisfaite

Chegou tudo certinho. Quando eu for abrir, e iniciar a leitura, vou tentar postar aqui a diagramação.

OK if you have the patience to read this guy.

Having never heard of William Faulkner, I was amazed to learn that his works are deemed as some of the best literature of the twentieth century. I thus did some online research and settled for Oprah’s collection of three books.The comments of some reviewers on Amazon did indicate that Faulkner is a really tough read. People commented that Faulkner is not for the faint hearted and that he’ll force you to think especially about racism. Being from South Africa I thought it might be useful to be exposed to an American view. I expected a though provoking book, some challenging words, tough grammar etcetera. Basically I expected something like a very tough version of Emerson or War and Peace.Boy what a surprise when I tried to read it. Being stuck in a room listening to drunk drug addicts mumbling and arguing is more coherent than The Sound and The Fury. I gave up on page 95 after trying to read a 221 word sentence which was all over the place. Many of the paragraphs switches between italics and regular font, supposedly to indicate something like thoughts or mental back flashes. It took me almost the whole first chapter to figure out that this chapter is supposed to be the observations and thoughts of a character called Benji, who appear to be mentally disturbed.I’ll try the other two books as well, but am not going to waste any more time on this one.If you want to read Faulkner, my recommendation would be to try getting a copy from a library or to read a page or two on Amazon’s previews or Google books before you spend any money on this.