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ajcohen21's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
baldwinme40's review against another edition
2.0
This is the kind of book you're either going to love or hate. Personally, I hated it. The prose can either be like dreamily wandering through a wisteria garden or dragging yourself through a thorny thicket of poison ivy. For me, it was the latter. I can appreciate it, but it seems excessive especially when trying to pass it off as characters speaking that way. There were many different narrators and they all had the same voice, which was Faulkner's. I felt that he was showing off and it was frustrating. This is what we scoff at and call "purple prose" nowadays. But some people really like it and I can see why, it just didn't fly with me.
I didn't find the characters realistic or sympathetic. The women all seemed to be sort of ghostly and strange and non-human, not as well written as the men. The story was interesting and through letters and rumors and confusion and firsthand accounts, it all gets untangled and told and retold and the suspense ends up being enough to keep you reading.
Probably the best thing about this book and the reason it's been so honored is the way it portrays the race and class themes of the Civil War-era South really well and explores their psychological effects on people, and the conflict of being a Southerner where you have to admit so much about it is messed up but you still are proud of where you're from.
Overall I'd say read the first chapter and if the prose isn't too awful to you then keep going, because it might be worth it. It's indisputably an important book. But I spent most of it wanting to travel back in time to punch Faulkner in the dick, so, there's no accounting for taste I guess.
I didn't find the characters realistic or sympathetic. The women all seemed to be sort of ghostly and strange and non-human, not as well written as the men. The story was interesting and through letters and rumors and confusion and firsthand accounts, it all gets untangled and told and retold and the suspense ends up being enough to keep you reading.
Probably the best thing about this book and the reason it's been so honored is the way it portrays the race and class themes of the Civil War-era South really well and explores their psychological effects on people, and the conflict of being a Southerner where you have to admit so much about it is messed up but you still are proud of where you're from.
Overall I'd say read the first chapter and if the prose isn't too awful to you then keep going, because it might be worth it. It's indisputably an important book. But I spent most of it wanting to travel back in time to punch Faulkner in the dick, so, there's no accounting for taste I guess.
tayboud's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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
5.0
jrmyhrtmn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Incest
blankdjw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
micaelacccc's review against another edition
slow-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Slavery, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: War
abbeyhar103's review against another edition
4.0
i only got halfway through this. i'll finish it sometime.
jdyer77's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
pwc1919's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lewreviews's review against another edition
5.0
Took me ages to get through the first 100 pages and then everything just clicked; I cracked the code and finally learnt how to read this book. The rest was an absolute treat, just incredible writing and innovation. Felt like a huge jigsaw puzzle... like there was this mystery hidden throughout. Turns out there was, and it also turns out that reading the timeline of events and character list at the back of the book spoils all of said mystery. But alas...
I just have these burning images in my brain of the different scenes and the characters... absolute ferocity... the force of writing and intensity just barrels you along through the minds of the narrators. And suddenly we're in one room and suddenly we're in another. And then we're in a metaphor, and then we're back with Sutpen, or back in Harvard. I just love having all of these loose threads as you're reading, but having no idea when you're going to get the chance to tie them. Like, I knew the novel was going to reach a climax, but I didn't know it was THAT that was going to be the climax. So there are multiple climaxes, and then the last 100 pages is like a rollercoaster through a volcano.
I wish I could do a bigger review, because I am giving this book five stars, but I genuinely don't know how to describe it. It's either because the book is so strange and evil that I can't, or it's because I feel very uninspired in class learning about it... I'm gonna say it's a mix of both. And I also just really enjoy Faulkner's style of writing. He's the closest to Virginia Woolf I've read, and we all know how much I LOVE Virginia Woolf. Maybe just read my Woolf reviews, turn down the volume by like 2, and then those are my thoughts. With some extra Southern twang.
Really wish I could learn about this book in a classroom... four semesters of Zoom classes... Zoom, Zoom! by The University of Sydney... one day... one day...
I just have these burning images in my brain of the different scenes and the characters... absolute ferocity... the force of writing and intensity just barrels you along through the minds of the narrators. And suddenly we're in one room and suddenly we're in another. And then we're in a metaphor, and then we're back with Sutpen, or back in Harvard. I just love having all of these loose threads as you're reading, but having no idea when you're going to get the chance to tie them. Like, I knew the novel was going to reach a climax, but I didn't know it was THAT that was going to be the climax. So there are multiple climaxes, and then the last 100 pages is like a rollercoaster through a volcano.
I wish I could do a bigger review, because I am giving this book five stars, but I genuinely don't know how to describe it. It's either because the book is so strange and evil that I can't, or it's because I feel very uninspired in class learning about it... I'm gonna say it's a mix of both. And I also just really enjoy Faulkner's style of writing. He's the closest to Virginia Woolf I've read, and we all know how much I LOVE Virginia Woolf. Maybe just read my Woolf reviews, turn down the volume by like 2, and then those are my thoughts. With some extra Southern twang.
Really wish I could learn about this book in a classroom... four semesters of Zoom classes... Zoom, Zoom! by The University of Sydney... one day... one day...