what is your favorite book by William Faulkner?
So, on my way home on vacation we are going to stop in Oxford, Mississippi. William Faulkner’s home is there. I haven’t read anything by William Faulkner….?, so what is your favorite book by him?!
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Sound and the Fury or As I Lay Dying.
Actually, if they have an anthology of his short stories, I’d get that. A rather well known author read one to a seminar I was in, and all the dour, tense grad students were laughing until tears ran down their cheeks.
The sound and the fury
Light in August
Spotted Horses, Old Man, The Bear (short stories)
Loved Sound and the Fury. As I Lay Dying is an all time favorite. I read it in high school. Stunningly powerful and unforgettable. But not a fun, upbeat vacation read! (Funny story – I loved As I Lay Dying so much that I used a passage as a monologue to audition for a school play that year – a comedy, no less – needless to say my overwrought audition did not land me a role in that one!! What was I thinking?!! ?)
He’s a luxurious but tough read. I agree with Joan’s choices. Sound and the Fury is the best, As I Lay Dying is the shortest.?
I agree. Both are amazing reads but they’re not easy. But well worth the effort.
Light in August. Sound and the Fury.
On your way you could also stop in Columbus, Mississippi, my hometown and birthplace of Tennessee Williams. There are some beautiful antebellum homes there too.
I have never been anywhere in Mississippi!
You may want to read A Fable. It is outlined on his bedroom walls and won a Pulitzer.
As I Lay Dying
Intruder in the Dust!!
If you are going to the home I’m sure there will be a gift shop of at least a selection of books — walk the grounds and tour the house, then look through the books and choose the one that feels right. They are complicated and sometimes it takes me a few false starts to get into his stories, but always worth it when I do. A recent adaptation of As I Lay Dying written by and staring James Franco is a great film (of a sad story).
Love this suggestion. Letting the environment and your own impressions intuitively guide your reading is an excellent way to choose. And Jim, love your recommendation of the “As I Lay Dying” movie. The book lives so much in the narrators’ and reader’s mind that seeing it onscreen adds a whole new physical perspective to the story. You recommended the movie to me when we were discussing this book awhile ago and I loved it. Watched it with my sicko friend who said “Thank god John Waters didn’t direct. This is one movie I certainly don’t want to experience in Smell-o-Vision.” Yeah, second that, lol
I haven’t as yet cracked open Faulkner. I’m intimidated.
Longest sentences in the English language.
True! And worth it.
My daughter’s summer assignment is “The Sound and the Fury” so we are doing reading it as a summer “book club”. Her brother is reading it for our “club” as well.
My fave is a short story, A Rose for Emily. (I think that this is the title. ) It has the added bonus of a unique point of view, the plural first person. 🙂
well, maybe not “unique” but unusual