As I Lay Dying by Faulkner

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Hi, Im thinking of buying this book
Has anyone read it?
What did you think of it without giving anything away?

[uranderson]

I loved it, I read it in a class with an excellent professor who made all the philosophical and religious implications very clear. That helped, I don't know if I would've enjoyed it nearly as much without him pointing out things like the influence of Bergson.

Be warned it's not an easy read, especially at first. The narration shifts from character to character, always in first-person iirc, and has several stream-of-consciousness passages that can leave you scratching your head. There is also a great deal of symbolism, you don't need to fully grasp the symbols to enjoy it, but it can help.

In my opinion it's an intense and beautiful work of genius. But you might want to read it with some cliff's notes or some other study guide, particulary if you're not used to reading experimental fiction or don't have a solid grounding in Faulkner's work.

[metal134]

I just started this book yesterday! I haven't had a hard time following it so far, but I think that most people would. There's one or two things that I'm a little baffled about, but I think they'll become clear as I read on.

[Babbalanja]

Definitely one of the Modernist masterworks that assumed that readers would rise to a considerable challenge.

One of the central Faulkner novels, an essential read for anyone interested in knowing what the Faulkner phenomenon was and is all about. No offense to Sanctuary, but As I Lay Dying is one of his major works and not just one of his famous novels.

[chasestalling]

one of faulkner's most accessible, this and the bear.

[nicholas25]

one of faulkner's most accessible, this and the bear.
I wouldn't say anything from Go Down Moses was his most accessible. It was probably his most complex and philosophical, even more so than Absalom.

[chasestalling]

I wouldn't say anything from Go Down Moses was his most accessible. It was probably his most complex and philosophical, even more so than Absalom.

the last section of the bear was quite inaccessible, i agree, but its preceding parts did much to compensate.

i wonder: a rose for emily, does it predate go down moses?

[nicholas25]

the last section of the bear was quite inaccessible, i agree, but its preceding parts did much to compensate.

i wonder: a rose for emily, does it predate go down moses?
True, some of it we had seen before, but The Bear and Delta Autumn is really intense and I think some of Faulkner's best work and commentary on life.

Yes, A Rose for Emily was Faulkner's first short story to be published. It was later in Collections and These 13. Go Down Moses was around 12 years later.

[metal134]

I finished the novel last night. Excellent book. Not as good as "The Sound and the Fury", but I loved it nonetheless. The only thing that still has me baffled is the fish. I understand what it means from Vardaman's point of view, but there just has to be some kind of symbolism to it and I'm just not seeing it.

[Bethan]

I loved this book, one of my personal favourites of Faulkners. As others have said its a bit heavy to start but so worth the read. Go for it!

[chasestalling]

True, some of it we had seen before, but The Bear and Delta Autumn is really intense and I think some of Faulkner's best work and commentary on life.

Yes, A Rose for Emily was Faulkner's first short story to be published. It was later in Collections and These 13. Go Down Moses was around 12 years later.

much obliged

[Redzeppelin]

ALD is a masterpiece. The Sound and the Fury gets all the press (and it is something to behold) but ALD has its own granduer - a hillbilly take on many of the themes in SATF. Of Faulkner's great works, ALD has the most straightforward chronology (though there are some confusing moments here as well). Watch especially how Ch. 40 (Addie's only chapter) reinterprets how you view both the prior 39 sections and the following 12. A wonderful, startling book. But read it 2-3 times. Once is rarely enought to absorb Faulkner's highly complex novels.

[Morwen]

I'm reading As I Lay Dying and I'm having trouble with understanding this novel. What is the best way to read Faulkner and this work? Do you by any chance know any literary criticism on the novel? Maybe you know a good website about it?

[JBI]

Try getting a Bloom's Critical Interpretations on Faulkner, or if he edited one, on As I lay Dying.

[JBI]

Unfortunately, he didn't write one on that book. Just Sanctuary, Light in August, The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom, and the short stories.

You sure there isn't an overview in the Bloom's Major Novelist series? Either way, there are countless essays on the work circulating.

[mayneverhave]

Unfortunately, he didn't write one on that book. Just Sanctuary, Light in August, The Sound and the Fury, Absalom, Absalom, and the short stories.


That would indeed be strange, as from what I gather of from his Introduction to his collection of criticism on the Sound and the Fury, Bloom seems to generally regard As I Lay Dying as Faulkner's masterpiece, above the Sound and the Fury and Absalom, Absalom! Though I haven't actively sought out As I Lay Dying Criticism from him.

Harold Bloom aside, As I Lay Dying benefits greatly from a second read through. Once you become accustomed to Faulkner's narrative style, following the plot (which, for Faulkner, tends to be secondary to style and form) shouldn't be too difficult. The online Spark Notes and Cliff Notes are pretty beneficial for following the plot, but any thematic criticism of theirs should be taken with a grain of salt.

Perhaps look at "A Readers Guide to William Faulkner" at your local library. It was a pretty interesting read, laying out and analyzing the plots of all Faulkner novels (with specific emphasis on his best 4).