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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Wow. This book was an ordeal. I'm not sure what else I can say. It's complicated . . . Two snaps up and around the world.
I was tasked with reading this monolithic book for my Intro to English Studies class. I did not know, going in, that it was a prequel of sorts to The Sound and the Fury. This is a book that I've wanted to read for a while now, if only due to it being a Faulkner novel and due to its interesting title and themes. However, my experience with the novel being all said and done, I must admit that this book gave me the greatest challenge to read and understand out of any that I have ever read. Many passages were utterly incomprehensible to me. After each chapter, I forced myself to read at least two different chapter summaries solely for the sake of comprehension, as after restlessly reading the ceaseless pages-upon-pages long paragraphs I was often left stupefied. I am convinced that this is a novel that can only be enjoyed after it has been fully read twice.
The themes of the novel are taboo and fascinating, being a story of restlessness and futility beneath a ceaseless and tyrannical Southern sky. The Sutpens are plagued by a curse, to die and wither and crumble, their meager efforts all ultimately unraveling due to a self-fulfillment of misguided fate. The family is fascinating, though I admittedly do not currently comprehend all of the nuances between the rambling paragraphs divulging incestuous yearnings, interracial temptations and tensions, and pedophilic attempts at making an impossible dream possible.
Some of the language used in the novel (when understandable) was very good. The first and last chapters stick out as being my favorites, likely due to their relative simplicity, but also due to the clear desolation and ruin resting between the pages.
I fear that I cannot fully review the novel at this time since I am very far from really knowing the text. I would like to reread Absalom, Absalom! in the future, though I can wait a couple years before attempting to do so.
The themes of the novel are taboo and fascinating, being a story of restlessness and futility beneath a ceaseless and tyrannical Southern sky. The Sutpens are plagued by a curse, to die and wither and crumble, their meager efforts all ultimately unraveling due to a self-fulfillment of misguided fate. The family is fascinating, though I admittedly do not currently comprehend all of the nuances between the rambling paragraphs divulging incestuous yearnings, interracial temptations and tensions, and pedophilic attempts at making an impossible dream possible.
Some of the language used in the novel (when understandable) was very good. The first and last chapters stick out as being my favorites, likely due to their relative simplicity, but also due to the clear desolation and ruin resting between the pages.
I fear that I cannot fully review the novel at this time since I am very far from really knowing the text. I would like to reread Absalom, Absalom! in the future, though I can wait a couple years before attempting to do so.
This was a pain in the a$$ but the ending was soooo worth it! Those last few pages were unbelievable.
I should probably read this again now that I have an appreciation for Faulkner. At the time, I was just trying to read it for class without much enjoyment.
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Cross-posted from my blog: http://quietandbusy.blogspot.com
I bought my copy of Absalom, Absalom! when I was in high school (which is about 18 years ago now). I was just getting interested in building up a personal library of classics, but I didn't really know where to start. My knowledge of literature was in its infancy, and all I had to go on was name recognition of certain authors and an appreciation for the handful of books we read in class. I decided to do some research and looked up a list of classics. The list I found was organized alphabetically by title, and this book was at the top of it. So that's how Absalom, Absalom! came to sit on my shelf. Obviously, I didn't end up reading it at the time and I've carried it from home to home over the years.
In the years since then, I have learned much more about different genres, time periods, and authors. I've learned enough to know that William Faulkner is probably not a good match for me. However, when I was making my Classics Club list, I decided to give this book a try since I had hung onto it for so long and because Faulkner is one of the most famous authors I've never read anything from. Reluctantly, I finally picked it up this week.
The plot of the novel follows the rise and fall of the Sutpens, a wealthy family living in Mississippi during the Civil War era. It's patriarch, Thomas Sutpen, arrived in the town of Jefferson prior to the war with a group of slaves, an architect, and almost no money in his pocket. Through some shady dealings with a Native American, he manages to purchase a large parcel of land and works throughout the next several years to build an empire upon it. He becomes rich and successful and eventually marries a local woman named Ellen Coldfield. They have two children together named Henry and Judith. For a time, it seems that everything has worked out according to Sutpen's plan, but certain events from his past soon come back to haunt him. His own past decisions, the decisions of his children, the fall of the Confederacy, and his arrogant, reckless attempts to solve his problems eventually lead to the downfall of everything he had built.
This story is told entirely in flashbacks from a few different perspectives, with most of the story being told through Quentin Compson, a young man living in Jefferson several generations later. He hears the story of the Sutpen family mostly through his father and grandfather and partially through Rosa Coldfield, a cousin of the Sutpen family who was actually there when events were unfolding. The narration is difficult to follow, told out of order, and not always accurate. There are several instances in which information is merely guessed at or speculated upon and presented as fact. In doing this, Faulkner is playing with history and commenting on how "truth" will vary depending on who is telling the story. All of the information the characters give is accurate to the best of their knowledge, but it is invariably colored by their own feelings, prejudices, and life experiences. As such, we never get the true version of the Sutpen story, but we get enough to understand the key events and main reasons for the family's failure.
Faulkner's difficult writing style is well-known, and it is a true challenge to read this novel and actually understand it. He uses stream of consciousness to convey the story, with most of his sentences going on for half a page or more. There are very few paragraph breaks as well. The subject and speaker of the sentences changes frequently, often mid-sentence, making it difficult to keep track of who is talking and what they are talking about. I was able to understand the gist of it while I was reading, but I did find myself consistently turning to chapter summaries online, just to make sure I was interpreting everything correctly. It wasn't as bad as Ulysses to make sense of, but it wasn't a fun read either. I could see Faulkner's skill throughout the novel, and I did get the sense that he was doing something difficult and significant in his writing. I can appreciate his experimentation and uniqueness, but it was not enjoyable to read this. I had to put myself on a strict regimen of 50 pages a day, otherwise I knew I would never finish. I was not happy to pick it up each day. I did end up finishing the whole thing, but this is not the way I want to feel when I am reading for pleasure. Like I thought, Faulkner is not a good match for me.
The writing style was not the only thing that was difficult about Absalom, Absalom! The subject matter was probably the ugliest I had read in any book. This is a story of cruelty, rape, incest, murder, and unbelievably intense racism. The n-word appears hundreds of times in this book--almost on every page. Children and slaves are molested. Every revelation about the Sutpen family involves something horrifying, disgusting, or illegal. It was rough.
Faulkner is a Southern writer from the 1930s. His story is set from the perspective of a family living in Mississippi during the Civil War. Of course, one would expect the characters to be racist and for the story to contain racist elements. It felt like more than that here though. Racism was so deeply imbued into every aspect of this novel that it felt impossible that Faulkner wouldn't have been deeply racist himself. I found an article that explored an interesting contrast that seems to pervade his writing--his characters are often racist and suffer for it. He seems to point to the failure of the South as coming from he cruelty of and callousness of the institution of slavery. However, at the same time, he was openly and unapologetically racist in his personal life. This opens up an important question for me: how much of this can I excuse? I'm finding myself less and less able to stomach these kinds of attitudes in my classics as I get older. With so much out there to read, is it worth it to spend my time on a story like Absalom, Absalom! purely to experience the writing style? For me, I don't think it is.
I'm troubled by the idea that Faulkner is so highly regarded. He is one of the United States' most celebrated authors. He's won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer, and the National Book Award. Even now, the Goodreads reviews on this novel are glowing, calling Faulkner a genius. Most of the ones I skimmed through sidestep the content of the novel and focus on its construction. What must it feel like for a person of color to read one of his works or even just to see his books so highly regarded? Do we throw all decency and respect for each other out of the window to honor a writing style? I know this issue probably requires a more nuanced view, but I just can't do it. This will be my last Faulkner novel. At least now I know what he's about and I can say I gave him a try. He's unequivocally not for me.
I bought my copy of Absalom, Absalom! when I was in high school (which is about 18 years ago now). I was just getting interested in building up a personal library of classics, but I didn't really know where to start. My knowledge of literature was in its infancy, and all I had to go on was name recognition of certain authors and an appreciation for the handful of books we read in class. I decided to do some research and looked up a list of classics. The list I found was organized alphabetically by title, and this book was at the top of it. So that's how Absalom, Absalom! came to sit on my shelf. Obviously, I didn't end up reading it at the time and I've carried it from home to home over the years.
In the years since then, I have learned much more about different genres, time periods, and authors. I've learned enough to know that William Faulkner is probably not a good match for me. However, when I was making my Classics Club list, I decided to give this book a try since I had hung onto it for so long and because Faulkner is one of the most famous authors I've never read anything from. Reluctantly, I finally picked it up this week.
The plot of the novel follows the rise and fall of the Sutpens, a wealthy family living in Mississippi during the Civil War era. It's patriarch, Thomas Sutpen, arrived in the town of Jefferson prior to the war with a group of slaves, an architect, and almost no money in his pocket. Through some shady dealings with a Native American, he manages to purchase a large parcel of land and works throughout the next several years to build an empire upon it. He becomes rich and successful and eventually marries a local woman named Ellen Coldfield. They have two children together named Henry and Judith. For a time, it seems that everything has worked out according to Sutpen's plan, but certain events from his past soon come back to haunt him. His own past decisions, the decisions of his children, the fall of the Confederacy, and his arrogant, reckless attempts to solve his problems eventually lead to the downfall of everything he had built.
This story is told entirely in flashbacks from a few different perspectives, with most of the story being told through Quentin Compson, a young man living in Jefferson several generations later. He hears the story of the Sutpen family mostly through his father and grandfather and partially through Rosa Coldfield, a cousin of the Sutpen family who was actually there when events were unfolding. The narration is difficult to follow, told out of order, and not always accurate. There are several instances in which information is merely guessed at or speculated upon and presented as fact. In doing this, Faulkner is playing with history and commenting on how "truth" will vary depending on who is telling the story. All of the information the characters give is accurate to the best of their knowledge, but it is invariably colored by their own feelings, prejudices, and life experiences. As such, we never get the true version of the Sutpen story, but we get enough to understand the key events and main reasons for the family's failure.
Faulkner's difficult writing style is well-known, and it is a true challenge to read this novel and actually understand it. He uses stream of consciousness to convey the story, with most of his sentences going on for half a page or more. There are very few paragraph breaks as well. The subject and speaker of the sentences changes frequently, often mid-sentence, making it difficult to keep track of who is talking and what they are talking about. I was able to understand the gist of it while I was reading, but I did find myself consistently turning to chapter summaries online, just to make sure I was interpreting everything correctly. It wasn't as bad as Ulysses to make sense of, but it wasn't a fun read either. I could see Faulkner's skill throughout the novel, and I did get the sense that he was doing something difficult and significant in his writing. I can appreciate his experimentation and uniqueness, but it was not enjoyable to read this. I had to put myself on a strict regimen of 50 pages a day, otherwise I knew I would never finish. I was not happy to pick it up each day. I did end up finishing the whole thing, but this is not the way I want to feel when I am reading for pleasure. Like I thought, Faulkner is not a good match for me.
The writing style was not the only thing that was difficult about Absalom, Absalom! The subject matter was probably the ugliest I had read in any book. This is a story of cruelty, rape, incest, murder, and unbelievably intense racism. The n-word appears hundreds of times in this book--almost on every page. Children and slaves are molested. Every revelation about the Sutpen family involves something horrifying, disgusting, or illegal. It was rough.
Faulkner is a Southern writer from the 1930s. His story is set from the perspective of a family living in Mississippi during the Civil War. Of course, one would expect the characters to be racist and for the story to contain racist elements. It felt like more than that here though. Racism was so deeply imbued into every aspect of this novel that it felt impossible that Faulkner wouldn't have been deeply racist himself. I found an article that explored an interesting contrast that seems to pervade his writing--his characters are often racist and suffer for it. He seems to point to the failure of the South as coming from he cruelty of and callousness of the institution of slavery. However, at the same time, he was openly and unapologetically racist in his personal life. This opens up an important question for me: how much of this can I excuse? I'm finding myself less and less able to stomach these kinds of attitudes in my classics as I get older. With so much out there to read, is it worth it to spend my time on a story like Absalom, Absalom! purely to experience the writing style? For me, I don't think it is.
I'm troubled by the idea that Faulkner is so highly regarded. He is one of the United States' most celebrated authors. He's won the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer, and the National Book Award. Even now, the Goodreads reviews on this novel are glowing, calling Faulkner a genius. Most of the ones I skimmed through sidestep the content of the novel and focus on its construction. What must it feel like for a person of color to read one of his works or even just to see his books so highly regarded? Do we throw all decency and respect for each other out of the window to honor a writing style? I know this issue probably requires a more nuanced view, but I just can't do it. This will be my last Faulkner novel. At least now I know what he's about and I can say I gave him a try. He's unequivocally not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery
Moderate: Incest, Rape
The story itself could be interesting, but the way it's told is so redundant and drawn out. This book is probably about 200 pages too long. You're told the same story about 3 times, each retelling going a little more into detail about certain parts or coming from the perspective of a different character. However, two of these retellings are from sources so far removed from the actual plot that there's no way to actually know the truth. And holy shit William Faulkner has never heard of a period in his life. Look, I'm sorry, I know it's classical literature but so is Charles Dickens and at least he remembers to have characters actually talk to each other every now and then.
Η πολυφωνική κατασκευή του Faulkner τοποθετείται χρονικά κατά την περίοδο του εμφυλίου πολέμου και γεωγραφικά στον Αμερικάνικο Νότο. Παρότι η πλοκή φαινομενικά αφορά την άνοδο και πτώση του Thomas Sutpen, ουσιαστικά εξετάζεται η πορεία της οικογένειας του εν συνόλω, οι επιλογές των μελών της και ο τρόπος που η ζωή τους επηρεάστηκε από τις ενέργειες του Sutpen. Το κείμενο του Faulkner είναι επιεικώς απαιτητικό, επιβάλλει την πνευματική συμμετοχή του αναγνώστη κι αποτελεί ερμηνευτική άσκηση.
Με μακροσκελείς προτάσεις, και χωρίς να διασπάται στο ελάχιστο η συνοχή των όσων λέει ο εκάστοτε χαρακτήρας, ξετυλίγονται τα γεγονότα των παρελθόντων ετών, μέσα από τις εγκιβωτισμένες αναμνήσεις της Rosa αλλά και του παππού του πρωταγωνιστή Quentin Compson, μέσα από γράμματα και μέσω υποθέσεων από πλευράς του Quentin και του φίλου του Shreve. Η εικονοποιία της αμερικανικής υπαίθρου του 17ου αιώνα είναι έντονη και αληθοφανής, ωστόσο η αφήγηση βασίζεται κυρίως στη γλώσσα. Ο λόγος, οι λεξιλογικές επιλογές, είναι που υποβάλλουν, στο γλωσσικό πεδίο αποτυπώνονται τα στοιχεία εκείνα της τραγικότητας του ανθρώπου, ωστόσο και η ατμόσφαιρα που στήνει ο Faulkner κατά τη διάρκεια του μονολόγου των χαρακτήρων, της ροής συνείδησης, κατά την οποία το αφηγηματικό παρόν συμφύρεται με το παρελθόν, γεννά έντονα συναισθήματα. Η ιστορία του εμφυλίου ενδιαφέρει λίγο στην εξέλιξη της πλοκής, ενώ ο φακός εστιάζει στο δράμα της οικογένειας, κυρίως, και στις δομές της. Εντούτοις, δεν αποφεύγονται οι κριτικές απόψεις πάνω στην ιστορική κατάσταση της χώρας, όπως στη σελίδα 260: [...]the South would realize that it was now paying the prize for having erected its economic edifice not on the rock of stern morality but on the shifting sands of opportunism and moral brigandage.
Τα διακειμενικά παιχνίδια είναι αρκετά, καθώς ο Faulkner κάνει χρήση κλασικών αλλά και χριστιανικών προτύπων. Από τον τίτλο ακόμη προβάλλεται το βιβλικό πρόσωπο του Αβεσσαλώμ, ο τρίτος γιος του Δαβίδ, η ιστορία του οποίου προοικονομεί την πορεία ενός εκ των χαρακτήρων του έργου και μαρτυρά την τραγική διάσταση που κυριαρχεί. Παράλληλα, το κείμενο διαβάζεται σαν μια σύγχρονη εκδοχή αρχαίας τραγωδίας. Το μυθολογικό υπόβαθρο είναι διαρκώς παρόν, με αναφορές στην Κασσάνδρα, την Κλυταιμνήστρα και τον Αγαμέμνονα, τη Θίσβη και τον Πύραμο, αλλά και στην σπορά από δόντια δράκου, που αποτελεί μέρος του μύθου του Κάδμου και της ίδρυσης της Θήβας. Αξιοσημείωτα δάνεια της αρχαιοελληνικής τραγωδίας αφενός το θέμα του αναπόδραστου της μοίρας, της εἱμαρμένης, Fate, destiny, retribution, irony – the stage manager, call him what you will, που καθιστά τον άνθρωπο έρμαιο των συγκυριών, ανίκανο να πάει αντίθετα στα όσα έχουν οριστεί γι’ αυτόν (there was something about a man’s destiny (or about the man) that caused the destiny to shape itself to him like his clothes did), αφετέρου το θέμα της αμαρτίας που ταλανίζει γενιές, το αμπλάκημα που επιβιώνει στο αίμα των επιγόνων και καθορίζει την κατάληξή τους ([...]as though there were a fatality and curse on our family and God Himself were seeing to it that it was performed and discharged to the last drop and dreg. […]even I used to wonder what our father or his father could have done before he married our mother that Ellen and I would have to expiate and neither of us alone be sufficient;).
Στο δεύτερο μέρος, περίπου, του έργου είναι που διαφαίνεται η πραγματική επιδίωξη του συγγραφέα. Ο Faulkner θέτει το ερώτημα του αν μπορεί κανείς να ξέρει τα πάντα γύρω από μια υπόθεση, κατά πόσο μπορεί κανείς να φτάσει στην απόλυτη αλήθεια. Ο πρωταγωνιστής Quentin κι ο συνάδελφος στο Πανεπιστήμιο και φίλος του Shreve επιχειρούν συνεχώς να γεμίσουν τα κενά της διήγησης της miss Rosa, να επανεφεύρουν τι συνέβη στα θολά σημεία. Καθώς λοιπόν στο πρώτο μισό του έργου η ανάπτυξη ήταν ελλειπτική, από το κείμενο έμοιαζαν να λείπουν κομμάτια που θα του επέτρεπαν τη συνοχή, κάτι που εφαρμόζεται στα περισσότερα μοντερνιστικά κείμενα, στο δεύτερο μισό ο Faulkner αγγίζει τα όρια του μεταμοντέρνου. Ο Roland Barthes γράφει στο [b:The Death of the Author|11289919|The Death of the Author|Roland Barthes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352662289s/11289919.jpg|16217337]:
Με το παιχνίδι της οπτικής γωνίας ο Faulkner καταφέρνει να καταδείξει το μυθιστόρημα ως κατασκευή, περιγελώντας τον αναγνώστη, καλώντας τον να κρίνει ο ίδιος την πραγματικότητα των όσων διαβάζει, προτείνοντας την υιοθέτηση μιας μπρεχτικής ανάγνωσης. Οι αφηγητές είναι αναξιόπιστοι και συχνά υπαινίσσονται συμβάντα που πιθανότατα ποτέ να μην έχουν λάβει μέρος.
*Δε θα μπορούσα να μην εκθειάσω τις υποσημειώσεις της Έλλης Μαρμαρά στην ελληνική έκδοση του Αβεσσαλώμ, Αβεσσαλώμ!, άκρως βοηθητικές ως προς τα ιστορικά γεγονότα και τις προσωπικότητες της εποχής, αλλά και τις αναρτήσεις της Λέσχης - παρότι άργησα να συμμετάσχω στη συνανάγνωση έκανα χρήση των κατατοπιστικότατων σημειώσεων κατά την κατ’ ιδίαν ανάγνωση.
https://thesuspendedstep.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/...
Με μακροσκελείς προτάσεις, και χωρίς να διασπάται στο ελάχιστο η συνοχή των όσων λέει ο εκάστοτε χαρακτήρας, ξετυλίγονται τα γεγονότα των παρελθόντων ετών, μέσα από τις εγκιβωτισμένες αναμνήσεις της Rosa αλλά και του παππού του πρωταγωνιστή Quentin Compson, μέσα από γράμματα και μέσω υποθέσεων από πλευράς του Quentin και του φίλου του Shreve. Η εικονοποιία της αμερικανικής υπαίθρου του 17ου αιώνα είναι έντονη και αληθοφανής, ωστόσο η αφήγηση βασίζεται κυρίως στη γλώσσα. Ο λόγος, οι λεξιλογικές επιλογές, είναι που υποβάλλουν, στο γλωσσικό πεδίο αποτυπώνονται τα στοιχεία εκείνα της τραγικότητας του ανθρώπου, ωστόσο και η ατμόσφαιρα που στήνει ο Faulkner κατά τη διάρκεια του μονολόγου των χαρακτήρων, της ροής συνείδησης, κατά την οποία το αφηγηματικό παρόν συμφύρεται με το παρελθόν, γεννά έντονα συναισθήματα. Η ιστορία του εμφυλίου ενδιαφέρει λίγο στην εξέλιξη της πλοκής, ενώ ο φακός εστιάζει στο δράμα της οικογένειας, κυρίως, και στις δομές της. Εντούτοις, δεν αποφεύγονται οι κριτικές απόψεις πάνω στην ιστορική κατάσταση της χώρας, όπως στη σελίδα 260: [...]the South would realize that it was now paying the prize for having erected its economic edifice not on the rock of stern morality but on the shifting sands of opportunism and moral brigandage.
Τα διακειμενικά παιχνίδια είναι αρκετά, καθώς ο Faulkner κάνει χρήση κλασικών αλλά και χριστιανικών προτύπων. Από τον τίτλο ακόμη προβάλλεται το βιβλικό πρόσωπο του Αβεσσαλώμ, ο τρίτος γιος του Δαβίδ, η ιστορία του οποίου προοικονομεί την πορεία ενός εκ των χαρακτήρων του έργου και μαρτυρά την τραγική διάσταση που κυριαρχεί. Παράλληλα, το κείμενο διαβάζεται σαν μια σύγχρονη εκδοχή αρχαίας τραγωδίας. Το μυθολογικό υπόβαθρο είναι διαρκώς παρόν, με αναφορές στην Κασσάνδρα, την Κλυταιμνήστρα και τον Αγαμέμνονα, τη Θίσβη και τον Πύραμο, αλλά και στην σπορά από δόντια δράκου, που αποτελεί μέρος του μύθου του Κάδμου και της ίδρυσης της Θήβας. Αξιοσημείωτα δάνεια της αρχαιοελληνικής τραγωδίας αφενός το θέμα του αναπόδραστου της μοίρας, της εἱμαρμένης, Fate, destiny, retribution, irony – the stage manager, call him what you will, που καθιστά τον άνθρωπο έρμαιο των συγκυριών, ανίκανο να πάει αντίθετα στα όσα έχουν οριστεί γι’ αυτόν (there was something about a man’s destiny (or about the man) that caused the destiny to shape itself to him like his clothes did), αφετέρου το θέμα της αμαρτίας που ταλανίζει γενιές, το αμπλάκημα που επιβιώνει στο αίμα των επιγόνων και καθορίζει την κατάληξή τους ([...]as though there were a fatality and curse on our family and God Himself were seeing to it that it was performed and discharged to the last drop and dreg. […]even I used to wonder what our father or his father could have done before he married our mother that Ellen and I would have to expiate and neither of us alone be sufficient;).
Στο δεύτερο μέρος, περίπου, του έργου είναι που διαφαίνεται η πραγματική επιδίωξη του συγγραφέα. Ο Faulkner θέτει το ερώτημα του αν μπορεί κανείς να ξέρει τα πάντα γύρω από μια υπόθεση, κατά πόσο μπορεί κανείς να φτάσει στην απόλυτη αλήθεια. Ο πρωταγωνιστής Quentin κι ο συνάδελφος στο Πανεπιστήμιο και φίλος του Shreve επιχειρούν συνεχώς να γεμίσουν τα κενά της διήγησης της miss Rosa, να επανεφεύρουν τι συνέβη στα θολά σημεία. Καθώς λοιπόν στο πρώτο μισό του έργου η ανάπτυξη ήταν ελλειπτική, από το κείμενο έμοιαζαν να λείπουν κομμάτια που θα του επέτρεπαν τη συνοχή, κάτι που εφαρμόζεται στα περισσότερα μοντερνιστικά κείμενα, στο δεύτερο μισό ο Faulkner αγγίζει τα όρια του μεταμοντέρνου. Ο Roland Barthes γράφει στο [b:The Death of the Author|11289919|The Death of the Author|Roland Barthes|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352662289s/11289919.jpg|16217337]:
Στις εθνογραφικές κοινωνίες την αφήγηση δεν την αναλαμβάνει ποτέ ένα πρόσωπο αλλά ένας διαμεσολαβητής, ένας σαμάνος ή απαγγέλων, του οποίου μπορούμε το πολύ-πολύ να θαυμάσουμε την «εκτέλεση» (δηλαδή τον έλεγχο του αφηγηματικού κώδικα) όμως ποτέ τη «μεγαλοφυΐα».
Με το παιχνίδι της οπτικής γωνίας ο Faulkner καταφέρνει να καταδείξει το μυθιστόρημα ως κατασκευή, περιγελώντας τον αναγνώστη, καλώντας τον να κρίνει ο ίδιος την πραγματικότητα των όσων διαβάζει, προτείνοντας την υιοθέτηση μιας μπρεχτικής ανάγνωσης. Οι αφηγητές είναι αναξιόπιστοι και συχνά υπαινίσσονται συμβάντα που πιθανότατα ποτέ να μην έχουν λάβει μέρος.
*Δε θα μπορούσα να μην εκθειάσω τις υποσημειώσεις της Έλλης Μαρμαρά στην ελληνική έκδοση του Αβεσσαλώμ, Αβεσσαλώμ!, άκρως βοηθητικές ως προς τα ιστορικά γεγονότα και τις προσωπικότητες της εποχής, αλλά και τις αναρτήσεις της Λέσχης - παρότι άργησα να συμμετάσχω στη συνανάγνωση έκανα χρήση των κατατοπιστικότατων σημειώσεων κατά την κατ’ ιδίαν ανάγνωση.
https://thesuspendedstep.wordpress.com/2016/10/10/...
I'm still scratching my head about this one. It was compelling in the way the discursive narrative(s) rambled and went on, the differing viewpoints...to be sure, in a few places I had to consult the shmoop.com exegesis of this book so I could merely understand what it was I just read.
I know this much: the book is replete with base and low characters, each enjoying the fruits of their base and low exploits and deeds.
Despite my usual aversion to knotty, literary fiction, there was enough in this book to encourage me to seek out more of Faulkner's work.
I know this much: the book is replete with base and low characters, each enjoying the fruits of their base and low exploits and deeds.
Despite my usual aversion to knotty, literary fiction, there was enough in this book to encourage me to seek out more of Faulkner's work.
Definitely the most complex book I have ever read. I ended up having to read along with an audiobook but that doesn't take away from its brilliance. Absalom, Absalom! is a masterpiece and if anyone is looking for a very challenging read then look no further.