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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Wow, what a masterpiece ... and yet I feel like I can't fully appreciate such complex nuanced writing outside of a classroom. Still Faulkner's tale of the misery inflicted on the family of ruthless and and ambitious Thomas Sutpen was a story I couldn't put down and I was eager untwist the winding plot. It takes place in rural northern Mississippi throughout the 1800s and early 1900s but focused primarily on the years around the Civil War when the legacy Sutpen strived to create began to fall apart.
I am now kicking myself for not taking the Faulkner class offered by my college. Not only did I miss out on another class with an awesome professor, I missed out on an author I clearly would have enjoyed reading. Picking apart the intricate storytelling device used here would be a dream to write a paper about.
I would pair this with Gone With the Wind as books that can help a Northerner understand a Southerner's perspective on the Civil War. This one doesn't go into as much depth about the privations suffered during and after the war, but Quentin trying to explain the story to his Canadian roommate goes a long way to cross the cultural divide. Clearly I've not read enough Southern literature if those are the only titles I can think of that explain the Civil War from the South's perspective, but I'm working on it.
Long and winding, but absolutely worth it if you're up for the challenge.
I am now kicking myself for not taking the Faulkner class offered by my college. Not only did I miss out on another class with an awesome professor, I missed out on an author I clearly would have enjoyed reading. Picking apart the intricate storytelling device used here would be a dream to write a paper about.
I would pair this with Gone With the Wind as books that can help a Northerner understand a Southerner's perspective on the Civil War. This one doesn't go into as much depth about the privations suffered during and after the war, but Quentin trying to explain the story to his Canadian roommate goes a long way to cross the cultural divide. Clearly I've not read enough Southern literature if those are the only titles I can think of that explain the Civil War from the South's perspective, but I'm working on it.
Long and winding, but absolutely worth it if you're up for the challenge.
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The entire time I was reading Absalom, Absalom! I kept thinking about how it reminded me of As I lay Dying, which makes sense because Faulkner wrote that as well! How I missed that, I do not know-- but if you didn't enjoy AILD, you def won't enjoy Absalom, Absalom. Which I didn't.
It's definitely not the kind of book you read for the plot. You read it for the analysis. I found it really helpful to actually spark notes each chapter before I read it and look up the symbolism, especially since I was reading it individually so I had no one to discuss it with. Even still-- I kept waiting for it to hit me like East of Eden did but it just dragged on and didn't arrive anywhere. I feel like Faulkner retold the same story a million times, albeit from different perspectives which drove home the overall message, but it became redundant quickly.
That being said, the book had a lot of great subtext and symbolism and brought up powerful points of irony, especially at the end. I just can't get into books that use incest as a literary device for some reason.
It's definitely not the kind of book you read for the plot. You read it for the analysis. I found it really helpful to actually spark notes each chapter before I read it and look up the symbolism, especially since I was reading it individually so I had no one to discuss it with. Even still-- I kept waiting for it to hit me like East of Eden did but it just dragged on and didn't arrive anywhere. I feel like Faulkner retold the same story a million times, albeit from different perspectives which drove home the overall message, but it became redundant quickly.
That being said, the book had a lot of great subtext and symbolism and brought up powerful points of irony, especially at the end. I just can't get into books that use incest as a literary device for some reason.
dark
medium-paced
At first I felt weary of Faulkner's portrait of the Gothic South and wasn't sure I wanted to return to it after many years of much less challenging prose. But the tide of Faulkner's words soon took over and I just let myself enjoy the force of them rather than trying to care about the Wrenching Truth of the story.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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:
Yes