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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An incredibly powerful and incredibly important (even today — perhaps most so today, because the Now is the only time where we can learn from the ghosts of our past) story. Intentionally challenging but undeniably worth it!!
Such a masterpiece that took me so much time to finish. I loved the last two chapters because at last the whole core of the story was revealed.
Loved the writing, the style and even the setting (was not expecting that last one!). The plot did become a little bit too 'soapy' or clichéd dramatic for my taste (although still interestingly intricated)–but the style was just absolutely amazing!
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5-
Well this certainly deserves its reputation as difficult even by Faulkner's standards. I had to read most chapters at least twice, but each re-reading was consistently more revealing and rewarding than the last. That said, it's a little hard to be sure that I'd have persevered so insistently were it not for the respect demanded by a behemoth like Faulkner.
Stylistically speaking, I must admire the richness of the writing's atmosphere; when acclimated to and properly savoured it is as evocative and memorable as anything I have encountered before. I can't help but feel the sheer extravagance of his style is not strictly necessary for achieving this evocative intensity, but it works so well for him that I can't really begrudge it even if my instinctive preference is for a lighter touch. I also feel that the fractured narrative and the unreliable narration worked well together with the difficulty of the language - Faulkner intensifies the mystery and the drama of the story by obfuscating, interrupting, interleaving and retelling in different and parallel ways, where I think a lesser author would have just created a completely incomprehensible mess.
Narratively speaking, I found it a little difficult to connect with the story itself; perhaps because of that same fragmentation (hard to see the forest for the trees?) and the need to repeatedly re-read. That said, certain major moments were not just magnificently written but I think very effectively positioned within the narrative.
Clearly at least part of what Faulkner is getting at in this novel is less about the sequence of events themselves, and more about how histories are told, forgotten, retold and adapted over time until distilled into myth, and this angle I thoroughly enjoyed; Rosie Coldwell stands out for the sheer intensity of her loathing descriptions of Sutpen, who himself is just a delight to read about from the myriad perspectives presented in the novel. Probably one to re-read...but not for a while!
Well this certainly deserves its reputation as difficult even by Faulkner's standards. I had to read most chapters at least twice, but each re-reading was consistently more revealing and rewarding than the last. That said, it's a little hard to be sure that I'd have persevered so insistently were it not for the respect demanded by a behemoth like Faulkner.
Stylistically speaking, I must admire the richness of the writing's atmosphere; when acclimated to and properly savoured it is as evocative and memorable as anything I have encountered before. I can't help but feel the sheer extravagance of his style is not strictly necessary for achieving this evocative intensity, but it works so well for him that I can't really begrudge it even if my instinctive preference is for a lighter touch. I also feel that the fractured narrative and the unreliable narration worked well together with the difficulty of the language - Faulkner intensifies the mystery and the drama of the story by obfuscating, interrupting, interleaving and retelling in different and parallel ways, where I think a lesser author would have just created a completely incomprehensible mess.
Narratively speaking, I found it a little difficult to connect with the story itself; perhaps because of that same fragmentation (hard to see the forest for the trees?) and the need to repeatedly re-read. That said, certain major moments
Spoiler
Bon as Sutpen's son! Discovering Henry in the manor at the end!Clearly at least part of what Faulkner is getting at in this novel is less about the sequence of events themselves, and more about how histories are told, forgotten, retold and adapted over time until distilled into myth, and this angle I thoroughly enjoyed; Rosie Coldwell stands out for the sheer intensity of her loathing descriptions of Sutpen, who himself is just a delight to read about from the myriad perspectives presented in the novel. Probably one to re-read...but not for a while!
Rating: 4.5 stars
This was my first introduction to William Faulkner, and I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but âI don't hate it ... I don't. I don't! I don't hate it! I don't hate it!â :)
This story, while complex and a little difficult at times to understand, is about human nature and the desire to change and become better. While it chronicles the life of Thomas Sutpen, the lives of those he has contact with or who have learned his story change as well. I can understand why it has been deemed one of the greatest novels. The prose, run on sentences aside, is simply beautiful.
I am excited to read The Sound and the Fury, which also has Quentin Compson.
This was my first introduction to William Faulkner, and I was afraid I wouldn't like it, but âI don't hate it ... I don't. I don't! I don't hate it! I don't hate it!â :)
This story, while complex and a little difficult at times to understand, is about human nature and the desire to change and become better. While it chronicles the life of Thomas Sutpen, the lives of those he has contact with or who have learned his story change as well. I can understand why it has been deemed one of the greatest novels. The prose, run on sentences aside, is simply beautiful.
I am excited to read The Sound and the Fury, which also has Quentin Compson.