alexhaydon 's review for:

Wild Palms by William Faulkner

---

A very dense but electrically articulate novel. Not where I'd recommend starting with Faulkner, this one you've got to (like the southerners) have faith trusting he will reward you with worthwhile passages if you work through the swampy moments. The two parallel stories are not inextricably linked but they follow 2 gentleman who despite misfortune are trying to do the right thing. There is NO hope, no delusions of grandeur, they live in the story moment by moment. They don't have an American dream, they're not expecting their lives to change drastically, but neither are they feeling like they're in the most dire circumstances yet. They teeter on a balance and seem resigned to whatever comes their way chancing their luck as they move through time.