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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Great story, of course. But it was tough to get through with the racial slurs. I know it was written at a different time, but that doesn't make it less awful to modern readers, or in this case, audiobook listeners.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jesus....what a book to read. I got bogged down for two weeks reading this book, constantly feeling lost in the meaning and narrative, meanwhile sometimes stuck by how obscure yet fascinating Faulkner’s writing is. In terms of the form of the novel, I don’t know if Faulkner was the first writer who told a story from multiple characters’ perspectives. Not only that, if comparing the beginning (mostly by Rosa) and latter part of the book(mostly by Quentin and his friend), Faulkner deliberately changed the forms of narratives based on the characteristics of the narrators, which have very different emotional connotations (confused, chaotic and angry vs. calm, story telling and analytic). The whole story is southern version of American dream, built on blood and race, the obsession of which in turns destroyed the mirage.
I didn't know what was going on till 3/4 of the way through. And it was a difficult read. His sentences go on and on, and, well, he's Faulkner! That guy follows no rules. That all being said, I loved the ending, when it all came together, and (spoiler alert) reading the chronology to learn the fate of Quentin. It's those types of things that will keep me reading Faulkner, and I will eventually re-read this book...but not for a while.
The start of this book feels like being punched in the face with adjectives and being expected to weave together a narrative from the bruises. And then, slowly, the narrative begins to weave itself for you, and you begin to cherish the aches and pains it accords you in its wake. Being embarrassingly late to the Faulkner party-- and doubly ashamed for nevertheless being such an avid McCarthy fan-- I hardly need to expound upon how wonderfully complex a writer Faulkner is. This is Southern gothic at its absolute best: an ephemerally beautiful darkness that unravels itself in a slow, dense, meandering poetry that evokes the heaviness of the Mississippi heat and the captivating allure of hidden drama and private tragedies. I was transfixed by every page; I sense a Faulkner binge coming on.
I'd forgotten how much I like Faulkner's writing--he has such a distinct style that manages to be luxuriant, almost to the point of obscurity at times, and yet it causes me to marvel at what I read, to struggle with the reread to unlock certain passages and ideas. He allows one to revel in the reading experience and then go back to appreciate even more what just happened. For those new to Faulkner, I offer the advice of wiser GR members who've said it's often best not to try and decipher as you go along but trust that all (or most) of it will come together in the end.
Told in a series of non-chronological flashbacks by a narrator recounting his own memory, as well as that of others, Absalom creates a multi-layered look at the American South through the tale of Thomas Sutpen. A recent article actually referred to this as a novel about "the American dream" and that notion has stuck with me as Sutpen relentlessly attempts to create a legacy from nothing. Fate, history, and perhaps unadulterated karma rear their heads and we're left with a tale as much about humanity as it is about one man's attempt to impose his will upon a culture and nature changing before his eyes. In essence, the outline of the story is laid out in the first few pages with subsequent chapters revealing and/or clarifying essential details... offering different pieces of a puzzle whose whole shows the hubris that allowed/allows us to believe we can and may control the lives of other humans.
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WORDS I'M STILL TRYING TO LEARN FROM THIS BOOK:
phaeton | scuppernong | octoroon | strophe/anti-strophe | chatelaine | portmanteau | schotische | faience | purlieu | virago | volte | lustrum | hoydem | lambence | viand | ukase | embusque | rubicund | puling | spavinating | coign | sybarite | lagniappe | nosegay | miscegenation | morganatic | catafalque
Told in a series of non-chronological flashbacks by a narrator recounting his own memory, as well as that of others, Absalom creates a multi-layered look at the American South through the tale of Thomas Sutpen. A recent article actually referred to this as a novel about "the American dream" and that notion has stuck with me as Sutpen relentlessly attempts to create a legacy from nothing. Fate, history, and perhaps unadulterated karma rear their heads and we're left with a tale as much about humanity as it is about one man's attempt to impose his will upon a culture and nature changing before his eyes. In essence, the outline of the story is laid out in the first few pages with subsequent chapters revealing and/or clarifying essential details... offering different pieces of a puzzle whose whole shows the hubris that allowed/allows us to believe we can and may control the lives of other humans.
----------------------------------------------------------
WORDS I'M STILL TRYING TO LEARN FROM THIS BOOK:
phaeton | scuppernong | octoroon | strophe/anti-strophe | chatelaine | portmanteau | schotische | faience | purlieu | virago | volte | lustrum | hoydem | lambence | viand | ukase | embusque | rubicund | puling | spavinating | coign | sybarite | lagniappe | nosegay | miscegenation | morganatic | catafalque