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kaznar342's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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 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.
Graphic: Racial slurs and Ableism
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Racism
Minor: Bullying, Death, and Incest
gamer_phil_elverum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Incest and Ableism
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
theoriginalallison's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Slavery, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Incest, Abandonment, Antisemitism, and Cursing
rchlfrkr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
Moderate: Incest, Alcohol, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Racism, Death of parent, Ableism, Misogyny, Classism, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
callis_to's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Suicide, Emotional abuse, and Incest
braveprincess11's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Assigned for university, and we haven’t had the lectures on it yet, so maybe there’s something I’m missing. But I doubt it.
I understand the events of the novel as they occurred (though I still haven’t figured out Quentin the Younger’s father, or which one of the brothers admitted to incest - Quentin, I think?), so I understand that it’s supposed to be a sad tale about intergenerational trauma, shame and secrets.
What I didn’t understand is - why I’m supposed to care? I didn’t find any of the characters in the slightest bit compelling, and Faulkner’s stylistic and syntactic choices served no other purpose than to confuse.
And the entirety of the final section - April 8th, 1928 - added nothing to the story, save Quentin the Younger robbing Jason and running off. I don’t understand the purpose served by the novel following Benjy & Dilsey to mass, and the ending is abrupt and un-final. Why can’t Benjy be taken to the left of the Confederate statue? Why does it upset him so? What is over there?
- Those are questions which I’m hoping my uni lectures will answer, though I quite doubt it. I really do hope my mind is changed on this book, as I was really excited about reading Faulkner, and am disappointed to be as let down as I was.
Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual harassment, and Incest
Minor: Death of parent and Death
emdogh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, and Incest