chrissych 's review for:

Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner

5.0

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The start of this book feels like being punched in the face with adjectives and being expected to weave together a narrative from the bruises. And then, slowly, the narrative begins to weave itself for you, and you begin to cherish the aches and pains it accords you in its wake. Being embarrassingly late to the Faulkner party-- and doubly ashamed for nevertheless being such an avid McCarthy fan-- I hardly need to expound upon how wonderfully complex a writer Faulkner is. This is Southern gothic at its absolute best: an ephemerally beautiful darkness that unravels itself in a slow, dense, meandering poetry that evokes the heaviness of the Mississippi heat and the captivating allure of hidden drama and private tragedies. I was transfixed by every page; I sense a Faulkner binge coming on.