Scan barcode
kaznar342's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Suicide, Misogyny, Death, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Death of parent
anomandrewrake's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
I'm really impressed by this, but I'm only giving it four stars because I'm not sure I understand it, and I don't want to call it a masterpiece when I may just be enamored with its status as Great American Literature.
I had no idea what I was in for when I picked this up. I've never read Faulkner before. I've not really read anything stream-of-consciousness before either. This was a wholly new experience for me. I loved the gradual progression from incomprehensible to lucid as the narrator changes over the course of the novel. Benjy's P.O.V., which takes up the first seventy-five pages of the novel, is an impressive artistic achievement. We are trapped inside the head of a person who has little sense of self and no cohesive concept of time.
Speaking of Benjy's section, this book is difficult to read at times. Cruelty, depression, and casual bigotry are centerpieces of this story. Faulkner does a wonderful job of injecting the reader into another person's mind, and the minds he wants to trap us in for The Sound and the Fury are by design some of the most difficult to live in. Maybe that's the key to this whole thing: to take characters that should be entirely Other and force you to understand that you can understand them, you can be them.
I'll likely try more Faulkner later on, and I'll probably reread this one eventually. I hope on reread I can feel more confident in my interpretation.
I had no idea what I was in for when I picked this up. I've never read Faulkner before. I've not really read anything stream-of-consciousness before either. This was a wholly new experience for me. I loved the gradual progression from incomprehensible to lucid as the narrator changes over the course of the novel. Benjy's P.O.V., which takes up the first seventy-five pages of the novel, is an impressive artistic achievement. We are trapped inside the head of a person who has little sense of self and no cohesive concept of time.
Speaking of Benjy's section, this book is difficult to read at times. Cruelty, depression, and casual bigotry are centerpieces of this story. Faulkner does a wonderful job of injecting the reader into another person's mind, and the minds he wants to trap us in for The Sound and the Fury are by design some of the most difficult to live in. Maybe that's the key to this whole thing: to take characters that should be entirely Other and force you to understand that you can understand them, you can be them.
I'll likely try more Faulkner later on, and I'll probably reread this one eventually. I hope on reread I can feel more confident in my interpretation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Ableism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Death, and Incest
More...