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challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm really impressed by this, but I'm only giving it four stars because I'm not sure I understand it, and I don't want to call it a masterpiece when I may just be enamored with its status as Great American Literature.
I had no idea what I was in for when I picked this up. I've never read Faulkner before. I've not really read anything stream-of-consciousness before either. This was a wholly new experience for me. I loved the gradual progression from incomprehensible to lucid as the narrator changes over the course of the novel. Benjy's P.O.V., which takes up the first seventy-five pages of the novel, is an impressive artistic achievement. We are trapped inside the head of a person who has little sense of self and no cohesive concept of time.
Speaking of Benjy's section, this book is difficult to read at times. Cruelty, depression, and casual bigotry are centerpieces of this story. Faulkner does a wonderful job of injecting the reader into another person's mind, and the minds he wants to trap us in for The Sound and the Fury are by design some of the most difficult to live in. Maybe that's the key to this whole thing: to take characters that should be entirely Other and force you to understand that you can understand them, you can be them.
I'll likely try more Faulkner later on, and I'll probably reread this one eventually. I hope on reread I can feel more confident in my interpretation.
I had no idea what I was in for when I picked this up. I've never read Faulkner before. I've not really read anything stream-of-consciousness before either. This was a wholly new experience for me. I loved the gradual progression from incomprehensible to lucid as the narrator changes over the course of the novel. Benjy's P.O.V., which takes up the first seventy-five pages of the novel, is an impressive artistic achievement. We are trapped inside the head of a person who has little sense of self and no cohesive concept of time.
Speaking of Benjy's section, this book is difficult to read at times. Cruelty, depression, and casual bigotry are centerpieces of this story. Faulkner does a wonderful job of injecting the reader into another person's mind, and the minds he wants to trap us in for The Sound and the Fury are by design some of the most difficult to live in. Maybe that's the key to this whole thing: to take characters that should be entirely Other and force you to understand that you can understand them, you can be them.
I'll likely try more Faulkner later on, and I'll probably reread this one eventually. I hope on reread I can feel more confident in my interpretation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Racial slurs
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism
Minor: Bullying, Death, Incest
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Incest
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Writing: 3.25⭐️/5
How to rate a classic novel that is technically fine but you didn’t enjoy? I wanted the writing to call to me more, but it didn’t. It lept for the page a few times, but they were little hops, too weak to make it too far. I wanted more from it and, despite there being nothing technically wrong, it didn’t sing to me. It’s an incredibly difficult read as well because it displays a stream of consciousness style for certain characters. Again, while I applaud the technical ability it takes to write in that style, nothing jumped out at me.
Characters: 3.5⭐️/5
The majority of characters are horrible people or people who are slowly morphing into horrible people or, perhaps, just people being treated horribly. The characters had moments that gleaned off the page, for better and worse reasons, though, which did in fact make them feel real and horribly vibrant.
Plot: 3.25⭐️/5
Again, the plot is difficult to parse, requiring it to be read slower and with greater intention. I don’t necessarily hate that; however, a book that fixates on the inevitable destruction of a family is hard to love as you watch a few characters fling themselves towards becoming more unredeemable. For some, it could be a necessary story of moral corruption and social decline, and it would be precisely perfect for that.
Who Should Read This Book?
- Fans of classics
- Those looking for a literary challenge with a dark and sombre theme
- Readers wanting to understand the complexities of the southern United States post the Civil War
Content Warnings?
- Abuse, Racial Slurs, Racism, Colonialism, Misogyny, Sexism, Abelism, Suicide, Emotional Abuse, Death, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Alcohol, substance abuse
Post-Reading Rating: 2.5⭐️/5
I wanted to like it much more than I did. I understand the gist, I get why people think it’s brilliant, but it’s not a story that made me feel anything but sadness and frustration and, though I know that was the point, I didn’t have fun. It may be a book I return to. Maybe I read it at the wrong time.
Final Rating: 3⭐️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation
I don't like the writing style, it's hard to read with the ableism and period-typical stuff. I just could not get into it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Classism
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Stalking, Death of parent
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I doubt anyone needs me to tell them this is a Good Book, but yes, it is considered a masterpiece by many, and justifiably so. If you’re like me and your close reading skills need some dusting off, the appendix is crucial. Also, to save you a degree of the confusion: there are 2 Quentins.
Otherwise, it’s a beautifully inscrutable and captivating novel that treats everyone, even people I would hate in real life, with equal lack of cruelty or sentimentality. I had no idea what was happening half the time yet couldn’t put it down. I want to reread it immediately.
Otherwise, it’s a beautifully inscrutable and captivating novel that treats everyone, even people I would hate in real life, with equal lack of cruelty or sentimentality. I had no idea what was happening half the time yet couldn’t put it down. I want to reread it immediately.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Misogyny, Racial slurs
Moderate: Antisemitism