Retells the tragic times of the Compson family, including beautiful, rebellious Caddy; manchild Benjy; haunted, neurotic Quentin; Jason, the brutal cynic; and Dilsey, their black servant.
Why do the classics have to be so danged hard to read? I appreciate the story Faulkner is telling us, of how a daughter’s unplanned pregnancy affects her entire family in ways she couldn’t have expected or anticipated. The language at times is simply beautiful. But the stream of consciousness writing is painful to read. I spent a solid month trying to get through this for my book club, and still didn’t exactly finish it. And I apparently didn’t fully understand what I *did* read, because when I consulted the Spark Notes for the book, there was a timeline of events that I didn’t pick up on at all. So I got the gist of the story, but a lot of the detail sailed over my head. Since I consider myself an intelligent person, it’s just disappointing.
I do enjoy some "classics" authors: Twain, Steinbeck, Fitzgerald, to name a few. But Faulkner is never going to be on that list.
(not rated out of respect for my elders)
Reading updates
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Started reading
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9 March, 2011:
Finished reading
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9 March, 2011:
Reviewed