Reading Faulkner

[hanzklein]

I recently decided to get into William Faulkner because of how much good things I've heard about him. I decided to try As I Lay Dying as my initiation to him. In hindsight, I feel like I should have started with his short stories, not because of any difficulty with the reading, but because I feel it would've been a more...enthralling read.

I'm up to page ~120, I haven't read the book for about a week. It feels like I'm just reading a comedy novel. It's made me laugh quite a bit. although that's a good thing I'm not necessarily in the mood for that genre.

Is there a human element to this book? I mean, these people - they don't even feel like characters. Is there some kind of meaning? I found some of the things they say to be enlightening and poetic but I wouldn't really call it Shakespeare or anything....I'm thinking about stopping my reading, I just can't seem to get myself interested in what is essentially, backwoods farmers lives in the 20's in detail. That's why I came here to ask: Is it worth it to continue on to the end? At times, some pages hold my interest but its far too sparse, for every interesting story advancement or entertaining/cool thing there's 10 pages of someone describing, in detail, some crap about a coffin being built or how the dirt looks.

I heard Faulkner was awarded the Nobel Prize for, in his own words, 'the human heart in conflict with itself'. I haven't seen a goddamn thing in this book that's actually touching on any degree whatsoever. Infact, I found it absolutely hilarious when Addy Bundren died, I seriously never laughed so hard. But now I think: I'm horrified by the dim thought in my mind though that someone out there might consider Addy dying while watching her coffin being built a really sad and emotional scene. Please tell me this book is actually a comedy and I'm not reading into this wrong?

And remember, no spoilers. I might decide to finish it.

[Rores28]

Finish it. I read it this year and it immediately became one of my favorite books. I think the book could probably be described as a black comedy. The things are funny in a sort of sad way I think.

Remember too, the sparse stream of conscious narration needs to be interpreted. Do not take what the characters are saying/thinking at face value.

I think one of the major "human" factors in this novel is the isolation of the characters, highlighted by each having specifically designated chapters, and made the more unsettling by the fact that this is a family.

Think also too what it says about poverty etc... and what a lack of money causes people to do even amongst there own family. Could this story be happening if they were even just middle class?

Another interesting point is how you see the same scene from multiple perspectives and it isn't quite the same, but is instead colored by differences in personality, motivation, and intellect. I think this was an engaging and illuminating way to paint the world in its truly subjective form, despite our everyday or shallow conception that it is objective.

Read it till the end... I promise you this is a fantastic book

[Jeremydav]

The human heart at conflict with itself doesn't imply Shakespearean tragedy...He wrote some of the most human characters of all time, and that's why they're so funny. People are funny. People joke a good portion of their lives. Addie's death probably wasn't meant for kicks, so I do believe you're being unjust in that respect.

[dfloyd]

His works run the gamut of pathos, bathos, and the sadness of human endeavor. This book is not so long that you can't finish it, so do that. I could appreciate the comedy found in the novel, but it can be a bit tedious. Next, try Absolom! Absolom! which is one of Faulkner's best.

[country doctor]

the doc has read 'absolom, absolom' and 'the sound and the fury'...there's is a subtle, intangible way that mr. faulkner puts his sentences together that will have the doc always reaching for some faulkner...in fact, this book is the next one on his list...

but even if one doesn't enjoy the way faulkner constructs his sentences, the american south and the matter of race relations is enough alone to be reaching for the man's works...not the way things should have been, but the way things were...

[laymonite]

Hang in there! Or, perhaps try his short fiction first--"Barn Burning" and "A Rose For Emily" are common English-course suggestions, and for good reason. I, myself, had a hard time with As I Lay Dying the first time. So, I moved on to The Sound and the Fury and it just began to click! Went back to AILD and was blown away by Faulkner's craft! In fact, I do this a lot with authors that tend to elude me: start with their short fiction, essays, or even letters (if available). This helps me establish a context for the work, the author's vision, intentions, style, etc.

[.Kafka]

I was in a similar position when urging myself to read Faulkner. I suppose, in a few years, my veins and eyes will cultivate the patience and sight to approach the sparsity of Faulkner. Garcia Marquez looked to Faulkner as a literary don. There must be something there. There must be. Mustn't there?

[Jeremydav]

There definitely is. Faulkner's prose is masterful and his characters are the most visceral and real I've ever seen. Faulkner is a master and isn't hard to get into, at all.

[.Kafka]

There definitely is. Faulkner's prose is masterful and his characters are the most visceral and real I've ever seen. Faulkner is a master and isn't hard to get into, at all.

I shall add that to my growing list of encouragements to read Faulkner. What worries me about a writer such as Faulkner is not getting into his words, but getting out.

[Jeremydav]

You need to let yourself go and experience it. I certainly do encourage you to read Faulkner, I will always be a huge proponent of his, but I want you, and everyone, to experience Faulkner in their own way. Let yourself get lost in it, read it in a thick Mississippi accent in your head and imagine the characters as real in their happiness, anger, jealousy, delusions, and ignorance.

[.Kafka]

Well, I have never heard anyone speak with a Mississippi accent, so imagining this will be of considerable difficulty. Yet there is something mystical about southern towns and the deserts that enclose them. I can imagine whole philosophies lingering in these arid, desert winds...and lives enacted, passions wrought, under the molten sun.

[Jeremydav]

There we are :) now, quick, read As I Lay Dying before you lose that frame of mind!

[tscherff]

i am a huge faulkner fan. i read as i lay dying years ago, so i can't speak directly to this book.
what i find most interesting about faulkner is his point of view. as i lay dying is told through the eyes of each family member. you need to consider that and enjoy how it adds great depth to the novel. in novels like absalom and the sound and the fury it is absolute genious the way he uses point of view. no one else i have ever read has been as creative as faulkner in this area. you will see there is a method to his madness.
suggest you may want to get a faulkner reference book as this will help. remember, he is not an easy read, but when you get it, you will read everything he has written.

[goatlips]

I confess to "not getting" Faulkner. You don't have to like an author just because he's won a Nobel prize or the profs teach him.

[Jeremydav]

I don't believe anyone said that was why they read him.

[JZD]

I have issues with Faulkner. Cormac McCarthy is my favorite living author, and I've heard he's heavily influenced by Faulkner, and Dostoevsky is my favorite author of all-time, and I've heard Faulkner was heavily influenced by Dostoevsky, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I rented As I Lay Dying, read 20 pages or so, and totally lost interest. There were like 5 people narrating at once and I had no idea who the hell any of them were or their relation to each other. I don't like novels with gimmicky styles like that. Just tell the story straight. I don't know. I just couldn't bring myself to commit to the book whatsoever. Am I missing something? Is everyone confused during the first few pages and you just have to hang in there?

[untroddenways]

Is everyone confused during the first few pages and you just have to hang in there?

For the most part, yes, but the results are very rewarding. The challenge of Faulkner's work, to me, is one of its major selling points. He is a master of the language, but obviously very experimental, and I revel in that experiment. Even if you do not like "gimmicky styles" as you say, I would continue with As I Lay Dying or at least another of his novels. Perhaps his short stories would be a better introduction... in that case, I would definitely recommend That Evening Sun or Barn Burning. The Tall Men is pretty great too. Just take your time, and do not feel that you must fall in love with him immediately; like anything else, his work can be an acquired taste. In my opinion, it's definitely a taste worth acquiring.

[Basil]

I'm reminded of a funny line by Faulkner:

INTERVIEWER: Some people say they can’t understand your writing, even after they read it two or three times. What approach would you suggest for them?

FAULKNER: Read it four times.

[Scheherazade]

In my opinion, it's definitely a taste worth acquiring.I agree. Had to read As I Lay Dying at university and, having never encountered anything like it before (and owing to my lacking English), I hated every single page of it. After 15 years, I gave him another try (As I Lay Dyingand The Sound and the Fury) and thoroughly enjoyed them.

No doubt his works are not "easy"; however, well worth the effort. I like his sense of humour the most.

[Der Wegwerfer]

I'd recommend to stick to his short stories for a better introduction.

there's a collected short stories book available from amazon for under $14

http://www.amazon.com/Collected-Stories-William-Faulkner/dp/0679764038

I found this title for $9 at a used book store.

and there's a "Reading Faulkner" book out there that helps people understand his methods, jargon, and historical context, for those of us who are Faulkner impared.... :goof:

http://www.upress.state.ms.us/books/599

[hanzklein]

I recently finished the book a few days ago, I think I 'get it' now once I saw the ending. It really picked up in the last few chapters