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Selected Short Stories
From the Modern Library’s new set of beautifully repackaged hardcover classics by William Faulkner—also available are Snopes, As I Lay Dying, The Sound and the Fury, Light in August, and Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner was a master of the short story. Most of the pieces in this collection are drawn from the greatest period in his writing life, the fifteen or so years beginning in 1929, when he published The Sound and the Fury . They explore many of the themes found in the novels and feature characters of small-town Mississippi life that are uniquely Faulkner’s. In “A Rose for Emily,” the first of his stories to appear in a national magazine, a straightforward, neighborly narrator relates a tale of love, betrayal, and murder. The vicious family of the Snopes trilogy turns up in “Barn Burning,” about a son’s response to the activities of his arsonist father. And Jason and Caddy Compson, two other inhabitants of Faulkner’s mythical Yoknapatawpha County, are witnesses to the terrorizing of a pregnant black laundress in “That Evening Sun.” These and the other stories gathered here attest to the fact that Faulkner is, as Ralph Ellison so aptly noted, “the greatest artist the South has produced.”
Including these
“Barn Burning”
“Two Soldiers”
“A Rose for Emily”
“Dry September”
“That Evening Sun”
“Red Leaves”
“Lo!”
“Turnabout”
“Honor”
“There Was a Queen”
“Mountain Victory”
“Beyond”
“Race at Morning”
William Faulkner was a master of the short story. Most of the pieces in this collection are drawn from the greatest period in his writing life, the fifteen or so years beginning in 1929, when he published The Sound and the Fury . They explore many of the themes found in the novels and feature characters of small-town Mississippi life that are uniquely Faulkner’s. In “A Rose for Emily,” the first of his stories to appear in a national magazine, a straightforward, neighborly narrator relates a tale of love, betrayal, and murder. The vicious family of the Snopes trilogy turns up in “Barn Burning,” about a son’s response to the activities of his arsonist father. And Jason and Caddy Compson, two other inhabitants of Faulkner’s mythical Yoknapatawpha County, are witnesses to the terrorizing of a pregnant black laundress in “That Evening Sun.” These and the other stories gathered here attest to the fact that Faulkner is, as Ralph Ellison so aptly noted, “the greatest artist the South has produced.”
Including these
“Barn Burning”
“Two Soldiers”
“A Rose for Emily”
“Dry September”
“That Evening Sun”
“Red Leaves”
“Lo!”
“Turnabout”
“Honor”
“There Was a Queen”
“Mountain Victory”
“Beyond”
“Race at Morning”
320 pages, Hardcover
First published August 12, 1956
About the author
William Faulkner
932 books9,426 followersWilliam Cuthbert Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. One of the most influential writers of the twentieth century, his reputation is based mostly on his novels, novellas, and short stories. He was also a published poet and an occasional screenwriter.
The majority of his works are set in his native state of Mississippi. Though his work was published as early as 1919, and largely during the 1920s and 1930s, Faulkner was relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." Faulkner has often been cited as one of the most important writers in the history of American literature. Faulkner was influenced by European modernism, and employed stream of consciousness in several of his novels.
The majority of his works are set in his native state of Mississippi. Though his work was published as early as 1919, and largely during the 1920s and 1930s, Faulkner was relatively unknown until receiving the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his powerful and artistically unique contribution to the modern American novel." Faulkner has often been cited as one of the most important writers in the history of American literature. Faulkner was influenced by European modernism, and employed stream of consciousness in several of his novels.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
January 13, 2021
During the early 20th Century, William Faulkner wrote some wonderful short stories about the South. A Rose for Emily, a gothic story about a recluse in a changing Southern town, is one of Faulkner's best. Barn Burning shows a boy who has to decide whether to follow his conscience or remain loyal to his family while knowing that his father is an arsonist. Dry September is an especially well-written story about racial prejudice. Be aware that Faulkner does use the language of that era regarding African-Americans, but he is showing the injustice toward them.
Faulkner also writes stories about wars and their aftermath--the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Two Soldiers is narrated by a young boy who wanted to follow his brother into the army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mountain Victory is set just after the Civil War ended.
Faulkner's short stories are a good introduction to this Southern author. Some feature characters that also have roles in his Yoknapatawpha County novels. Most of the stories in this collection were previously published in the Saturday Evening Post, Scribners, or American Mercury so this is a high quality collection.
Faulkner also writes stories about wars and their aftermath--the American Civil War, World War I, and World War II. Two Soldiers is narrated by a young boy who wanted to follow his brother into the army after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Mountain Victory is set just after the Civil War ended.
Faulkner's short stories are a good introduction to this Southern author. Some feature characters that also have roles in his Yoknapatawpha County novels. Most of the stories in this collection were previously published in the Saturday Evening Post, Scribners, or American Mercury so this is a high quality collection.
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February 22, 2021Í þessari bók er orðið „popcorn” þýtt sem „hrökkgrjón” og það er gott.
February 10, 2009
Everything by Faulkner in his prime is amazing, but "That Evening Sun" (sometimes titled, "That Evening Sun, Gone Down") is one of my favorites. It's shot through with visceral imagery that comes from some place other than the conscious mind and works on the reader's mind in the same way. It's also one of the best evocations of a child's consciousness that I've ever read -- meaning, it's not just sentimentally innocent, but disorienting, unnerving and rich in ways that are almost surreal. With that said, it's still an adult's story, filled with violence, lust and loss. I can't recommend it enough.
November 26, 2014
I was very disappointed with this collection of short stories. I have not read any of Faulkner's novels and thought this might be a great way to sample the works of a literary legend.
Well, if this is representative of his novel length works than I'm just as happy to go to my grave a Faulkner virgin.
I am surprised this collection averaged over four stars. Then I went back and read some of the reviews. Many people who wrote reviews seemed to have decided they liked the book before they read it and even those who didn't seem to like the book still often gave three stars, maybe because who in their "write" literary mind would not love Faulkner, "write"? And then there were those who hadn't even finished the book...hmmm, wonder why? I almost gave up on this one about ten times myself.
In many cases Faulkner's style made it difficult to follow the story. I happened to be reading this simultaneously with a complete works of Hemingway's short stories and this is not an issue of not liking short stories. Half the time, I was only vaguely aware of who was talking or what they were talking about. I often finished the story feeling cheated or spent a lot of energy going back and trying to piece it all together. Many stories had no underlying message, or if there was a deeper message, it was buried so deep and camouflaged so well, I completely missed it. Instead it seemed as if his goal was to leave the reader with a disturbing or thought provoking image, which can be effective.
Was his writing descriptive? Yes. Does his writing capture the character and essence of the old South? Probably. Were many of his characters interesting? Sure. Were the stories well written? Depends on how you define a well-written story. I don't mind working through a read but I appreciate when the writer orients me to his world, even if just a little. I never really felt as though I was in the story, but instead on the outside looking in, desperately wanting to get in, yet unable.
There were a couple of stories that I enjoyed, but did not love. In fact, there is not one story that I absolutely loved. Interestingly, I tend to rate books higher than the average because I love to read and I love stories, all kinds of stories. I like all different styles of writing and enjoy reading across genres. This book, however, I did not love or even like.
A few reviewers did mention that while they generally love Faulkner, this was not a great collection, so perhaps I need to give him another shot. If you are like me and wanting to explore some of the literary greats, don't waste your time here, at least not at first.
However, if you are a diehard Faulkner fan, go for it. I'm sure you will love it even if, like some readers, you don't quite get it. It may be that it takes time to get comfortable with Faulkner's style of writing in order to digest it easily and thoroughly. Obviously, I'm not there yet.
Well, if this is representative of his novel length works than I'm just as happy to go to my grave a Faulkner virgin.
I am surprised this collection averaged over four stars. Then I went back and read some of the reviews. Many people who wrote reviews seemed to have decided they liked the book before they read it and even those who didn't seem to like the book still often gave three stars, maybe because who in their "write" literary mind would not love Faulkner, "write"? And then there were those who hadn't even finished the book...hmmm, wonder why? I almost gave up on this one about ten times myself.
In many cases Faulkner's style made it difficult to follow the story. I happened to be reading this simultaneously with a complete works of Hemingway's short stories and this is not an issue of not liking short stories. Half the time, I was only vaguely aware of who was talking or what they were talking about. I often finished the story feeling cheated or spent a lot of energy going back and trying to piece it all together. Many stories had no underlying message, or if there was a deeper message, it was buried so deep and camouflaged so well, I completely missed it. Instead it seemed as if his goal was to leave the reader with a disturbing or thought provoking image, which can be effective.
Was his writing descriptive? Yes. Does his writing capture the character and essence of the old South? Probably. Were many of his characters interesting? Sure. Were the stories well written? Depends on how you define a well-written story. I don't mind working through a read but I appreciate when the writer orients me to his world, even if just a little. I never really felt as though I was in the story, but instead on the outside looking in, desperately wanting to get in, yet unable.
There were a couple of stories that I enjoyed, but did not love. In fact, there is not one story that I absolutely loved. Interestingly, I tend to rate books higher than the average because I love to read and I love stories, all kinds of stories. I like all different styles of writing and enjoy reading across genres. This book, however, I did not love or even like.
A few reviewers did mention that while they generally love Faulkner, this was not a great collection, so perhaps I need to give him another shot. If you are like me and wanting to explore some of the literary greats, don't waste your time here, at least not at first.
However, if you are a diehard Faulkner fan, go for it. I'm sure you will love it even if, like some readers, you don't quite get it. It may be that it takes time to get comfortable with Faulkner's style of writing in order to digest it easily and thoroughly. Obviously, I'm not there yet.
August 23, 2018
A great introduction to Faulkner’s genius. He deserves his reputation. It is sad that recognition came to him so late after working so long on many books, poems and screenplays. One has to admire his persistence, but then perhaps writing for its own sake must have been all that mattered, or nearly all. Faulkner’s short stories are powerful, raising the senses. Original in style and prose. Wonderfully descriptive of varied people, situations and places. He puts us in the mind of a boy effortlessly in two stories and gives us the unmistakable flavor of southern culture in times gone by. Like Joyce’s Dubliners, I’ll be reading these short stories again. They are instructive.
August 14, 2022
Some of these stories are among William Faulkner's very best. "A Rose for Emily," about a desiccated old maid and her haughty rejection of her town, "Dry September" about how a false accusation of rape led to the lynching of a black man, "Mountain Victory," about a half-Choctaw Confederate returning after the war and confronting Unionist mountaineers in Tennessee, and "That Evening Sun," about children playing with their older, black servant at night when she is fearful of a returning, vengeful husband, are all among Faulkner's best. They are thoughtful, mysterious, beautiful, and otherworldly, all the things one expects. from Faulkner.
Some of these stories feature classic characters, like "A Barn Burning" with the devilish Snopes family, or "That Evening Sun," about the Compsons, of the Sound and Fury, or the Sartoris family in "There Was a Queen." Others, however, feature almost impossible imaginings, like the antebellum US President confronting marauding Indian tribes in Washington in "Lo!" or the mythical Indian planation chieftains ruling out of a grounded steamship of "Red Leaves." These are tougher to swallow and seem less moored in reality. Despite his Gothic tendencies, Faulkner remains at his best when he stays close to the Earth and his kenning.
This book will give the reader a full overview of Faulkner's talents, both the good and the less good. But it is hard to finish the book and not agree that Faulkner was one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Some of these stories feature classic characters, like "A Barn Burning" with the devilish Snopes family, or "That Evening Sun," about the Compsons, of the Sound and Fury, or the Sartoris family in "There Was a Queen." Others, however, feature almost impossible imaginings, like the antebellum US President confronting marauding Indian tribes in Washington in "Lo!" or the mythical Indian planation chieftains ruling out of a grounded steamship of "Red Leaves." These are tougher to swallow and seem less moored in reality. Despite his Gothic tendencies, Faulkner remains at his best when he stays close to the Earth and his kenning.
This book will give the reader a full overview of Faulkner's talents, both the good and the less good. But it is hard to finish the book and not agree that Faulkner was one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
November 3, 2013
As a writer and a native of Oxford, Mississippi, I'm expected and required to respect and laud the work of William Faulkner.
I found the short stories in this collection to be unique, remarkable for their time, and utterly tedious. I read Faulkner for the same reason I brush my teeth at 3:00 in the morning after returning from a boozy bender on The Square: I know I should do it, for the sake of conforming to community standards, but I'd rather just go to bed.
Bless his heart, that Faulkner. For years we treated him like the town drunk that he was. Then the French declared him to be a literary genius and—with smiles on our faces and pride in our hearts—we built him a statue right next to the town courthouse. It's a regal and generous effigy.
I don't know why the French liked him so much. I'm young and have unrefined taste and no valuable perspective on the man's contributions to Words on Pages about Imagined Things. But, I know why Oxford, Mississippi likes him. When William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize and the Pullitzer prize, it didn't just mean that he was a great and successful man. It meant that one of us could be a great and successful man. What was he, other than a product of our mutually shared environment? Yes, those prizes were validation of a man's life work, but they were also validation of us—Mississippians, the least respected state in our proud nation.
Today, in Oxford, it's not required for students attending the University of Mississippi (which the town is built around) to read Faulkner's work, but it is required that at least once before graduation you sneak out to the Confederate cemetery with friends and take a shot of whiskey on Faulkner's grave. Then you leave the bottle and eventually either the local prison's trustees or the ghosts of southern gothic literature clean it up.
I don't know what that says about this book. I gave it four stars because it's a well put-together hardback collection, but I wish it featured some commentary from an "expert."
I found the short stories in this collection to be unique, remarkable for their time, and utterly tedious. I read Faulkner for the same reason I brush my teeth at 3:00 in the morning after returning from a boozy bender on The Square: I know I should do it, for the sake of conforming to community standards, but I'd rather just go to bed.
Bless his heart, that Faulkner. For years we treated him like the town drunk that he was. Then the French declared him to be a literary genius and—with smiles on our faces and pride in our hearts—we built him a statue right next to the town courthouse. It's a regal and generous effigy.
I don't know why the French liked him so much. I'm young and have unrefined taste and no valuable perspective on the man's contributions to Words on Pages about Imagined Things. But, I know why Oxford, Mississippi likes him. When William Faulkner won the Nobel Prize and the Pullitzer prize, it didn't just mean that he was a great and successful man. It meant that one of us could be a great and successful man. What was he, other than a product of our mutually shared environment? Yes, those prizes were validation of a man's life work, but they were also validation of us—Mississippians, the least respected state in our proud nation.
Today, in Oxford, it's not required for students attending the University of Mississippi (which the town is built around) to read Faulkner's work, but it is required that at least once before graduation you sneak out to the Confederate cemetery with friends and take a shot of whiskey on Faulkner's grave. Then you leave the bottle and eventually either the local prison's trustees or the ghosts of southern gothic literature clean it up.
I don't know what that says about this book. I gave it four stars because it's a well put-together hardback collection, but I wish it featured some commentary from an "expert."
November 15, 2009
One of my favorite writers. "Barn Burning" the symbolism and actions of humanity; excellent discussion story. "Rose for Emily" has such passion and desperate romantic notions, it's a look into the depths that people will got to for affection and companionship.
September 21, 2018
I like his stories about death the best.
November 10, 2022
După opinia lui Malcolm Cowley, cunoscut critic american şi unul dintre cei mai autorizaţi cercetători ai operei scriitorului, William Faulkner „nu este esenţialmente un romancier… O parte a romanelor sale îmbină două sau mai multe teme care au prea puţină legătură între ele… iar
celelalte tind să se dividă într-o serie de episoade care seamănă cu nişte mărgele dintr-un şirag… Faulkner, continuă criticul, este neîntrecut şi în cea mai mare măsură el însuşi, fie în povestirile mai lungi… fie în saga ţinutului Yoknapatawpha în întregul ei.”
Deşi părerile lui Cowley mi se par a fi mult prea categorice ele atrag totuşi atenţia asupra unui aspect caracteristic al operei faulkneriene – frecvenţa şi excelenţa povestirii care s-ar situa între nuvelă şi roman, atât ca dimensiuni cât şi ca viziune. Faulkner a scris şi a publicat nuvele şi povestiri atât la începutul carierei sale literare cât şi în perioada apariţiei marilor sale romane. Mai mult chiar, o seamă de lucrări intitulate romane, cum ar fi The Unvanquished (Neînfrântul), Go Down, Moses (Coboară, Moise), sau The Wild Palms (Palmierii sălbatici), sunt în fapt
suite de povestiri mai ample sau mai scurte, relaţionate sau nu între ele. Şi totuşi a susţine că Faulkner nu este esenţialmente un romancier mi se pare a considera în mod unilateral relaţiile nu întotdeauna vizibile, e drept, dintre povestire şi roman în cadrul operei scriitorului.
celelalte tind să se dividă într-o serie de episoade care seamănă cu nişte mărgele dintr-un şirag… Faulkner, continuă criticul, este neîntrecut şi în cea mai mare măsură el însuşi, fie în povestirile mai lungi… fie în saga ţinutului Yoknapatawpha în întregul ei.”
Deşi părerile lui Cowley mi se par a fi mult prea categorice ele atrag totuşi atenţia asupra unui aspect caracteristic al operei faulkneriene – frecvenţa şi excelenţa povestirii care s-ar situa între nuvelă şi roman, atât ca dimensiuni cât şi ca viziune. Faulkner a scris şi a publicat nuvele şi povestiri atât la începutul carierei sale literare cât şi în perioada apariţiei marilor sale romane. Mai mult chiar, o seamă de lucrări intitulate romane, cum ar fi The Unvanquished (Neînfrântul), Go Down, Moses (Coboară, Moise), sau The Wild Palms (Palmierii sălbatici), sunt în fapt
suite de povestiri mai ample sau mai scurte, relaţionate sau nu între ele. Şi totuşi a susţine că Faulkner nu este esenţialmente un romancier mi se pare a considera în mod unilateral relaţiile nu întotdeauna vizibile, e drept, dintre povestire şi roman în cadrul operei scriitorului.
November 30, 2019
This is front-loaded with the best stories, with the harshest and most radical (“Barn Burning”) followed by the sweetest and most conventional (“Two Soldiers”). These two and the other three of the first five (“A Rose for Emily,” “Dry September,” and “That Evening Sun”) are my favorites. Of the rest, they cover (in no real order) what Faulkner does, good and bad. I like the adventure, the people at cross-purposes, the pungent descriptions—especially in “Turnabout,” “Mountain Victory” and “Race at Morning.” I do not like the way he has characters speak their consciousness in convoluted ways. Or the occasional cutesy/corny streak. Or how he thinks Native Americans are obsessed about clothes/shoes. Or whatever that is. Least favorites: “Honour,” which reads like a parody of Hemingway or Chandler, and “Beyond,” which seems like a treatment for a Frank Capra film.
September 17, 2020
Finished reading Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner this evening, a book I started last fall—I’ve been reading one or two between other books since then. I was determined to mark it as read this year! As with any compilation of short stories, I liked some better than others. Two I had read years ago in school, “Barn Burning” and one of my favorite short stories, “A Rose for Emily,” which I still like. One of the best in this collection is “Turnabout,” set during WWI. There were a couple funny scenes in that one. I also liked “Beyond” and “Race at Morning” — the latter of which has a hilarious scene involving a grapevine that had me laughing out loud.
July 14, 2018
Reading, parsing, and internalizing many of these complex stories involved (for me) a lot of work. The powerful representation of southern social and racial hierarchies in several stories ("Dry September," "Red Leaves," "There Was a Queen," "That Evening Sun," "Mountain Victory") was difficult to confront. Among my favorites were "Two Soldiers" and "Race at Morning," which explored human experiences with remarkable sensitivity.
February 15, 2023
3 stars.
I read this collection for a Modern American Fiction course and enjoyed re-reading an old favourite, A Rose for Emily. Dry September became one of my new favourites.
I read this collection for a Modern American Fiction course and enjoyed re-reading an old favourite, A Rose for Emily. Dry September became one of my new favourites.
May 15, 2020
im to dum unnerstant Flokner werds dont mek sens
im jus a women
im jus a women
July 31, 2017
Good if seemingly random selection of Faulkner short stories. If you like Faulkner, you'll appreciate them. If not, things like unreliable narrators, shifts in perspective and just Faulkner's general "hey reader, you're smart, figure this story out from what I'm giving you" attitude will probably put you off.
There's the obligatory Sartoris story (has anyone put all these together in chronological order somewhere? Could that even be done?) The Sartoris family story is so insanely complex I can't imagine even Faulkner could keep it all straight--so many details spread over several generations of one very convoluted family.
There's also a good World War I story, with some great dialogue and action, told in the "you figure out what's going on" Faulkner style, as well.
All of the stories are ultimately interesting, and don't rely on the cheesy "twist" at the end that so many short story writers rely on to keep you turning pages (Hey there, Ambrose Bierce!). A solid collection, but personally, I'd rather read several related stories in one book, as was the case with the excellent collection The Unvanquished.
And if you are new to Faulkner, keep in mind these were written in the early 20th Century and are set in and around the American Civil War and its aftermath, in the deep south, so the racial language reflects terminology in use in that place at the time. If it's shocking, that's because Faulkner did not want to whitewash the era's reprehensible racial attitudes.
There's the obligatory Sartoris story (has anyone put all these together in chronological order somewhere? Could that even be done?) The Sartoris family story is so insanely complex I can't imagine even Faulkner could keep it all straight--so many details spread over several generations of one very convoluted family.
There's also a good World War I story, with some great dialogue and action, told in the "you figure out what's going on" Faulkner style, as well.
All of the stories are ultimately interesting, and don't rely on the cheesy "twist" at the end that so many short story writers rely on to keep you turning pages (Hey there, Ambrose Bierce!). A solid collection, but personally, I'd rather read several related stories in one book, as was the case with the excellent collection The Unvanquished.
And if you are new to Faulkner, keep in mind these were written in the early 20th Century and are set in and around the American Civil War and its aftermath, in the deep south, so the racial language reflects terminology in use in that place at the time. If it's shocking, that's because Faulkner did not want to whitewash the era's reprehensible racial attitudes.
August 12, 2020
In my undergraduate days Faulkner and I did not get along. His writing is often dense, often demanding of nothing less than full attention. Some of these stories I’ve read previously 20 something years ago. They didn’t have the impact then that they do now. Are they still dense, still demanding? Yes they are. Truth be told I often found myself rereading paragraphs to understand them. What Faulkner does so well is to paint a complete picture of the characters that populate these stories. He often uses different points of view within the same story (or at least delves into the past to mine important information) and he does it all rather effortlessly. You feel like you’ve had a hearty meal, not just a tiny taste. These stories are a gateway to the past that is mostly forgotten by many at this point. They are worth reading from a sociological standpoint alone but noting the craft used to put together such complete stories in a handful of pages is worth paying attention to as well. Do they read like modern short stories? No. But then again most modern short stories lack the depth on display here. If you read only one, That Evening Sun, seems like required reading for 2020 given the current racial situation in the country.
January 4, 2012
I don't remember having read any Faulkner before - I've certainly never read one of his books, but I might have read one or two of his short stories along the way. This was interesting; interesting enough to make me want to try one of his novels. But I didn't really like his depictions of middle-aged, unmarried women. He has what seems to me a very 19th Century view of how being unmarried (and presumably, a virgin), makes a woman twisted and pathetic. Did Faulkner ever create a sympathetic, strong, intelligent woman in any of his fiction? If he has, maybe someone could point me in that direction.
July 29, 2012
The short stories in this book were much easier of a read than a lot of his novels, but some of the stories toward the end got a lot more typical in the Faulkner sense of the word where you had to go back and read a paragraph a 2nd or 3rd time to make sense of it. All the best short stories are in the first 1/2-3/4 of the book anyway. He is one of the best writers of gritty Americana, a lot of his stories deal with the worst side of people and if your like me and you love writers like Cormac McCarthy and Charles Bukowski get into him.
October 14, 2019
A life cannot be complete without Faulkner--
Since reading "A Rose for Emily" as a boy, I have been hooked on Faulkner. I kept a worn out copy on hand to show to my teachers who accused me of using run-on sentences (some of his sentences took an entire page.) He is a true master and when I feel homesick, after being too long in some foreign country, I read a Faulkner story and remember the South where I grew up.
"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." --W. Faulkner
"Faulkner is the greatest artist the South has produced."
--Ralph Ellison
Since reading "A Rose for Emily" as a boy, I have been hooked on Faulkner. I kept a worn out copy on hand to show to my teachers who accused me of using run-on sentences (some of his sentences took an entire page.) He is a true master and when I feel homesick, after being too long in some foreign country, I read a Faulkner story and remember the South where I grew up.
"The past is not dead. In fact, it's not even past." --W. Faulkner
"Faulkner is the greatest artist the South has produced."
--Ralph Ellison
October 2, 2010
I'm not sure if I loved these short stories or I was just overwhelmed with joy that they made more sense than The Sound and the Fury. The stories were well written and very descriptive but I still often couldn't figure out what the point was to the stories. I think that is why I like real books better. Short stories are over so quickly and if you don't get the point they seem like a waste of time.
September 2, 2018
Maybe it's me... the first several stories were so racist as to be very difficult to get through - a time capsule of a different and disturbing time. After that the stories just seemed unfocused and while I don't doubt there was worth in them, I didn't have the urge to follow the threads and find it. Made it about half way before giving up. I thoroughly enjoyed Faulkner novels when I was in grad school - I wonder if the difference is in the material or me?
August 6, 2012
Some of these stories were amazing and mind blowing, but others weren't that interesting. I know they must have been good to get into this compilation, but I wasn't interested in all of them... maybe that's just me.
However, the first few stories were so, so good. Around the middle/end I may have lost focus or the stories just got less current/interesting, I'm not sure.
However, the first few stories were so, so good. Around the middle/end I may have lost focus or the stories just got less current/interesting, I'm not sure.
February 6, 2017
Greoi şi apăsător. O cavalcadă de emoţii şi reflecţii. Ruperi de ritm, compuneri şi recompuneri derutante. Perspective diverse, toate îndreptăţite de fiecare personaj în parte. Albul, negrul, indianul, metisul; yankeul. Generalii şi soldaţii. Sudul american văzut prin ochii unui sudist bizar.
March 21, 2019
Some stories were interesting. Nothing special. The whole collection was painfully adequate
July 8, 2020
Barn Burning, the jewel of this collection, was the first story I read by Faulkner and what prompted me to read more of him. I was expecting long, loose, intricate sentences following the stream of consciousness of the protagonists, e.g.:
'...the cheese which he knew he smelled and the hermetic meat which his intestines believed he smelled coming in intermittent gusts momentary and brief between the other constant one, the smell and sense just a little of fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of blood.'
I was partly disappointed and partly pleased to discover that Faulkner used a wide variety of styles in his short stories. In Two Soldiers and in Race at Morning the Southern voices of young first-person narrators take center stage, e.g.:
'I never knowed I was fixing to, and I couldn't stop it. I set there by that soldier, crying. We was going fast.'
As far as its structure and macabre theme, A Rose for Emily could be a 19th century piece by Edgar Allan Poe. Then again, the point of view feels slightly innovative: in practice it's in third omniscient, but technically the city as a whole functions as a first person witness. What really makes this story stand out, though, is its humorous style. Take this passage as an example, incidentally in keeping with the gender stereotypes of the times:
'Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.'
Another thing we might chalk up to the time period is the racism against Blacks and—especially—Native Americans. Even if Faulkner gets a pass on that count, I wouldn't read his stories about the Chickasaw again: I found Lo! only slightly funny and Red Leaves off-puttingly confusing. Turnabout was another low point in the collection for me, although maybe I'm to blame for not understanding much about war.
Back to the good stuff, Dry September alternates between the perspective of a barber trying to prevent the lynching of a Black man and the point of view of a woman who is the supposed victim being avenged. We are not privy to the thoughts of either of them, and only have access to the external world. The barber, whose reliability is taken for granted, serves the function of recording everything around him, e.g.:
"McLendon whirled on the third speaker. 'Happen? What the hell difference does it make? Are you going to let the black sons get away with it until one really does it?'"
The woman, whose mental stability we are led to question, is being captured by a lens, e.g.:
'Her hands trembled among the hooks and eyes, and her eyes had a feverish look, and her hair swirled crisp and crackling under the comb.'
To wrap up, There Was a Queen experiments with shifts of POV, has an elegant, evocative style and paints the sort of multigenerational picture that could have inspired García Marquez to write One Hundred Years of Solitude:
'Elnora entered the back yard, coming up from her cabin. In the long afternoon the huge, square house, the premises, lay somnolent, peaceful, as they had lain for almost a hundred years, since John Sartoris had come from Carolina and built it. And he had died in it and his son Bayard had died in it, and Bayard's son John and John's son Bayard in turn had been buried from it even though the last Bayard didn't die there.'
'...the cheese which he knew he smelled and the hermetic meat which his intestines believed he smelled coming in intermittent gusts momentary and brief between the other constant one, the smell and sense just a little of fear because mostly of despair and grief, the old fierce pull of blood.'
I was partly disappointed and partly pleased to discover that Faulkner used a wide variety of styles in his short stories. In Two Soldiers and in Race at Morning the Southern voices of young first-person narrators take center stage, e.g.:
'I never knowed I was fixing to, and I couldn't stop it. I set there by that soldier, crying. We was going fast.'
As far as its structure and macabre theme, A Rose for Emily could be a 19th century piece by Edgar Allan Poe. Then again, the point of view feels slightly innovative: in practice it's in third omniscient, but technically the city as a whole functions as a first person witness. What really makes this story stand out, though, is its humorous style. Take this passage as an example, incidentally in keeping with the gender stereotypes of the times:
'Only a man of Colonel Sartoris' generation and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it.'
Another thing we might chalk up to the time period is the racism against Blacks and—especially—Native Americans. Even if Faulkner gets a pass on that count, I wouldn't read his stories about the Chickasaw again: I found Lo! only slightly funny and Red Leaves off-puttingly confusing. Turnabout was another low point in the collection for me, although maybe I'm to blame for not understanding much about war.
Back to the good stuff, Dry September alternates between the perspective of a barber trying to prevent the lynching of a Black man and the point of view of a woman who is the supposed victim being avenged. We are not privy to the thoughts of either of them, and only have access to the external world. The barber, whose reliability is taken for granted, serves the function of recording everything around him, e.g.:
"McLendon whirled on the third speaker. 'Happen? What the hell difference does it make? Are you going to let the black sons get away with it until one really does it?'"
The woman, whose mental stability we are led to question, is being captured by a lens, e.g.:
'Her hands trembled among the hooks and eyes, and her eyes had a feverish look, and her hair swirled crisp and crackling under the comb.'
To wrap up, There Was a Queen experiments with shifts of POV, has an elegant, evocative style and paints the sort of multigenerational picture that could have inspired García Marquez to write One Hundred Years of Solitude:
'Elnora entered the back yard, coming up from her cabin. In the long afternoon the huge, square house, the premises, lay somnolent, peaceful, as they had lain for almost a hundred years, since John Sartoris had come from Carolina and built it. And he had died in it and his son Bayard had died in it, and Bayard's son John and John's son Bayard in turn had been buried from it even though the last Bayard didn't die there.'
December 9, 2023
Faulkner supposedly wrote hundreds of short stories, of which forty-two d are in this collection. They were assembled by Faulkner himself so it can be assumed that he considered them among his best efforts. They covers a wide swath of experiences and are arranged in six general categories: I. The Country, II. The Village, III. The Wilderness, IV. The Waste Land, V, The Middle Ground, and VI, Beyond.
These titles are evocative of Faulkner’s mood in selecting them, and only loosely tie the individual stories together. “The Country” are regional stories set in the rural south, “The Village” more focused on small town life, “The Wilderness” concentrates on historical interactions between Whites, Blacks, and Indians, “The Wasteland stories are about the devastations of WW I, “The Middle Ground” stories range from city to country, and with “Beyond” it’s hard to say what Faulkner had in mind. He might have felt these six stories he were beyond classification. That’s true of “Carcassonne”, the last story in the collection, a dream-like fantasy.
Among the stories are such well-known and often anthologized ones as “Barn Burning,” “ A Rose for Miss Emily,” and “Two Soldiers.” but they only begin to reveal the scope and depth of Faulkner’s far-reaching interests and passions. There are stories about Faulkner’s Mississippi which lead into his well known novels about Yoknapatawpha County. They begin to explore the tragic history of the post-Civil war south. Others go farther afield – there are stories about New York, World War I and its aftermath, and many that could take place anywhere. Some are about family conflicts, often wihth rebellious, sometimes misguided youth. If there’s one constant in the stories, it is that life is complex, full of ambiguity and uncertainty, especially as to outcomes. All are challenging to read and interpret.
Faulkner is always concerned about how history, any event for that matter, is narrated by an observer whose reliability is always in question. A narrator’s point-of-view has to be considered and puts the reader in the position of having to decide if who is telling the story is telling the entire truth. In “Divorce in Naples, there are at least three different witnesses of a character’s actions, not counting reader’s. Where does the truth lie?
One interviewer is said to have told Faulkner, that people said they couldn’t understand his writing, even after they read it two or three times. So what approach would he suggest for them? Faulkner replied, to read it four times. He may have been referring to his novels, but certainly many of his stories are dense with allusions and irony and repay repeated readings. A character in “Carcassonne” says, “I want to perform something bold and tragical and austere, shaping the soundless words in the pattering silence. . .” Faulkner in these stories is a master shaper of words.
These titles are evocative of Faulkner’s mood in selecting them, and only loosely tie the individual stories together. “The Country” are regional stories set in the rural south, “The Village” more focused on small town life, “The Wilderness” concentrates on historical interactions between Whites, Blacks, and Indians, “The Wasteland stories are about the devastations of WW I, “The Middle Ground” stories range from city to country, and with “Beyond” it’s hard to say what Faulkner had in mind. He might have felt these six stories he were beyond classification. That’s true of “Carcassonne”, the last story in the collection, a dream-like fantasy.
Among the stories are such well-known and often anthologized ones as “Barn Burning,” “ A Rose for Miss Emily,” and “Two Soldiers.” but they only begin to reveal the scope and depth of Faulkner’s far-reaching interests and passions. There are stories about Faulkner’s Mississippi which lead into his well known novels about Yoknapatawpha County. They begin to explore the tragic history of the post-Civil war south. Others go farther afield – there are stories about New York, World War I and its aftermath, and many that could take place anywhere. Some are about family conflicts, often wihth rebellious, sometimes misguided youth. If there’s one constant in the stories, it is that life is complex, full of ambiguity and uncertainty, especially as to outcomes. All are challenging to read and interpret.
Faulkner is always concerned about how history, any event for that matter, is narrated by an observer whose reliability is always in question. A narrator’s point-of-view has to be considered and puts the reader in the position of having to decide if who is telling the story is telling the entire truth. In “Divorce in Naples, there are at least three different witnesses of a character’s actions, not counting reader’s. Where does the truth lie?
One interviewer is said to have told Faulkner, that people said they couldn’t understand his writing, even after they read it two or three times. So what approach would he suggest for them? Faulkner replied, to read it four times. He may have been referring to his novels, but certainly many of his stories are dense with allusions and irony and repay repeated readings. A character in “Carcassonne” says, “I want to perform something bold and tragical and austere, shaping the soundless words in the pattering silence. . .” Faulkner in these stories is a master shaper of words.
September 1, 2014
Ad Astra by William Faulkner
Free access to More than Half of The Best Books Ever
This is a beautiful, fascinating story.
After all, Faulkner holds the record for works included on the lists of best works. He has The Sound and The Fury, Light in August and As I Lay Dying on The Modern Library Top 100 list.
And Absalom, Absalom on The List of Best Ever Books which you can find at the Guardian site.
It is not cast in stone and kind of relative.
Even for the same reader it can be a Montagne russe.
When I get it, I love Faulkner’s work, but it is not an Easy Ride. At least for me. And these notes are subjective. If you are looking for worthy, critical material, you should not hang around here.
The net is full of professional, valuable opinions.
In other words, these are just the notes that help the writer make sense of Faulkner, sometimes the world, or at least the work which I have just finished reading.
In the case of Faulkner it is not easy for me to decipher.
I am taken away by the words, the sentences and at some level, by the message they seem to carry.
But I am never sure if I get it.
And if I do, is this the “ultimate meaning”?
Sure, we’re dealing with a war here, but what is beyond that? Is there something I don’t dig?
Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Austen and a good many others have entered, with the passing of time, in the “Public Domain”.
That means that we can download or read online, LEGALLY, a good number of works.
In fact, if you consider only The Best 100 Books Ever, you have Free access to more than half of the best books ever.
Think about it!
We are talking about Homer, Gilgamesh, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Austen, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Flaubert, Ibsen and others have written their work more than one hundred years ago and therefore these works are not covered by copyright law anymore.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002...
1984 by George Orwell, England, (1903-1950)
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Norway (1828-1906)
A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert, France, (1821-1880)
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910)
The Aeneid by Virgil, Italy, (70-19 BC)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Beloved by Toni Morrison, United States, (b. 1931)
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin, Germany, (1878-1957)
Blindness by Jose Saramago, Portugal, (1922-2010)
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, Portugal, (1888-1935)
The Book of Job, Israel. (600-400 BC)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, Germany, (1875-1955)
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, England, (1340-1400)
The Castle by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt, (b. 1911)
Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina, (1899-1986)
Complete Poems by Giacomo Leopardi, Italy, (1798-1837)
The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
The Complete Tales by Edgar Allan Poe, United States, (1809-1849)
Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo, Italy, (1861-1928)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, Russia, (1809-1852)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Italy, (1313-1375)
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Joao Guimaraes Rosa, Brazil, (1880-1967)
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Lu Xun, China, (1881-1936)
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Italy, (1265-1321)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spain, (1547-1616)
Essays by Michel de Montaigne, France, (1533-1592)
Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, (1805-1875)
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany, (1749-1832)
Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais, France, (1495-1553)
Gilgamesh Mesopotamia, (c 1800 BC)
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, England, (b.1919)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, England, (1812-1870)
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Ireland, (1667-1745)
Gypsy Ballads by Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain, (1898-1936)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
History by Elsa Morante, Italy, (1918-1985)
Hunger by Knut Hamsun, Norway, (1859-1952)
The Idiot by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
The Iliad by Homer, Greece, (c 700 BC)
Independent People by Halldor K Laxness, Iceland, (1902-1998)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, United States, (1914-1994)
Jacques the Fatalist and His Master by Denis Diderot, France, (1713-1784)
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine, France, (1894-1961)
King Lear by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, United States, (1819-1892)
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne, Ireland, (1713-1768)
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia/United States, (1899-1977)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia, (b. 1928)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, France, (1821-1880)
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Germany, (1875-1955)
Mahabharata, India, (c 500 BC)
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil, Austria, (1880-1942)
The Mathnawi by Jalal ad-din Rumi, Afghanistan, (1207-1273)
Medea by Euripides, Greece, (c 480-406 BC)
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, France, (1903-1987)
Metamorphoses by Ovid, Italy, (c 43 BC)
Middlemarch by George Eliot, England, (1819-1880)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, India/Britain, (b. 1947)
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, United States, (1819-1891)
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, England, (1882-1941)
Njaals Saga, Iceland, (c 1300)
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad, England,(1857-1924)
The Odyssey by Homer, Greece, (c 700 BC)
Oedipus the King Sophocles, Greece, (496-406 BC)
Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac, France, (1799-1850)
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, United States, (1899-1961)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia, (b. 1928)
The Orchard by Sheikh Musharrif ud-din Sadi, Iran, (c 1200-1292)
Othello by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo Juan Rulfo, Mexico, (1918-1986)
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Sweden, (1907-2002)
Poems by Paul Celan, Romania/France, (1920-1970)
The Possessed by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, England, (1775-1817)
The Ramayana by Valmiki, India, (c 300 BC)
The Recognition of Sakuntala by Kalidasa, India, (c. 400)
The Red and the Black by Stendhal, France, (1783-1842)
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, France, (1871-1922)
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih, Sudan, (b. 1929)
Selected Stories by Anton P Chekhov, Russia, (1860-1904)
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, England, (1885-1930)
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962)
The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata, Japan, (1899-1972)
The Stranger by Albert Camus, France, (1913-1960)
The Tale of Genji by Shikibu Murasaki, Japan, (c 1000)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nigeria, (b. 1930)
Thousand and One Nights, India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt, (700-1500)
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, Germany, (b.1927)
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, England, (1882-1941)
The Trial by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett, Ireland, (1906-1989)
Ulysses by James Joyce, Ireland, (1882-1941)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, England, (1818-1848)
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis, Greece, (1883-1957
http://news.genius.com/William-faulkn...
http://www.gutenberg.org/
Free access to More than Half of The Best Books Ever
This is a beautiful, fascinating story.
After all, Faulkner holds the record for works included on the lists of best works. He has The Sound and The Fury, Light in August and As I Lay Dying on The Modern Library Top 100 list.
And Absalom, Absalom on The List of Best Ever Books which you can find at the Guardian site.
It is not cast in stone and kind of relative.
Even for the same reader it can be a Montagne russe.
When I get it, I love Faulkner’s work, but it is not an Easy Ride. At least for me. And these notes are subjective. If you are looking for worthy, critical material, you should not hang around here.
The net is full of professional, valuable opinions.
In other words, these are just the notes that help the writer make sense of Faulkner, sometimes the world, or at least the work which I have just finished reading.
In the case of Faulkner it is not easy for me to decipher.
I am taken away by the words, the sentences and at some level, by the message they seem to carry.
But I am never sure if I get it.
And if I do, is this the “ultimate meaning”?
Sure, we’re dealing with a war here, but what is beyond that? Is there something I don’t dig?
Faulkner, Fitzgerald, Austen and a good many others have entered, with the passing of time, in the “Public Domain”.
That means that we can download or read online, LEGALLY, a good number of works.
In fact, if you consider only The Best 100 Books Ever, you have Free access to more than half of the best books ever.
Think about it!
We are talking about Homer, Gilgamesh, Montaigne, Shakespeare, Austen, Tolstoy, Turgenev, Flaubert, Ibsen and others have written their work more than one hundred years ago and therefore these works are not covered by copyright law anymore.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002...
1984 by George Orwell, England, (1903-1950)
A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen, Norway (1828-1906)
A Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert, France, (1821-1880)
Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, United States, (1835-1910)
The Aeneid by Virgil, Italy, (70-19 BC)
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Beloved by Toni Morrison, United States, (b. 1931)
Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin, Germany, (1878-1957)
Blindness by Jose Saramago, Portugal, (1922-2010)
The Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, Portugal, (1888-1935)
The Book of Job, Israel. (600-400 BC)
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann, Germany, (1875-1955)
Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, England, (1340-1400)
The Castle by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
Children of Gebelawi by Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt, (b. 1911)
Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, Argentina, (1899-1986)
Complete Poems by Giacomo Leopardi, Italy, (1798-1837)
The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
The Complete Tales by Edgar Allan Poe, United States, (1809-1849)
Confessions of Zeno by Italo Svevo, Italy, (1861-1928)
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol, Russia, (1809-1852)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, Italy, (1313-1375)
The Devil to Pay in the Backlands by Joao Guimaraes Rosa, Brazil, (1880-1967)
Diary of a Madman and Other Stories by Lu Xun, China, (1881-1936)
The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri, Italy, (1265-1321)
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spain, (1547-1616)
Essays by Michel de Montaigne, France, (1533-1592)
Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark, (1805-1875)
Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany, (1749-1832)
Gargantua and Pantagruel by Francois Rabelais, France, (1495-1553)
Gilgamesh Mesopotamia, (c 1800 BC)
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing, England, (b.1919)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, England, (1812-1870)
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, Ireland, (1667-1745)
Gypsy Ballads by Federico Garcia Lorca, Spain, (1898-1936)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
History by Elsa Morante, Italy, (1918-1985)
Hunger by Knut Hamsun, Norway, (1859-1952)
The Idiot by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
The Iliad by Homer, Greece, (c 700 BC)
Independent People by Halldor K Laxness, Iceland, (1902-1998)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, United States, (1914-1994)
Jacques the Fatalist and His Master by Denis Diderot, France, (1713-1784)
Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Celine, France, (1894-1961)
King Lear by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman, United States, (1819-1892)
The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy by Laurence Sterne, Ireland, (1713-1768)
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, Russia/United States, (1899-1977)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia, (b. 1928)
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert, France, (1821-1880)
The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann, Germany, (1875-1955)
Mahabharata, India, (c 500 BC)
The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil, Austria, (1880-1942)
The Mathnawi by Jalal ad-din Rumi, Afghanistan, (1207-1273)
Medea by Euripides, Greece, (c 480-406 BC)
Memoirs of Hadrian by Marguerite Yourcenar, France, (1903-1987)
Metamorphoses by Ovid, Italy, (c 43 BC)
Middlemarch by George Eliot, England, (1819-1880)
Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, India/Britain, (b. 1947)
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville, United States, (1819-1891)
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf, England, (1882-1941)
Njaals Saga, Iceland, (c 1300)
Nostromo by Joseph Conrad, England,(1857-1924)
The Odyssey by Homer, Greece, (c 700 BC)
Oedipus the King Sophocles, Greece, (496-406 BC)
Old Goriot by Honore de Balzac, France, (1799-1850)
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway, United States, (1899-1961)
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia, (b. 1928)
The Orchard by Sheikh Musharrif ud-din Sadi, Iran, (c 1200-1292)
Othello by William Shakespeare, England, (1564-1616)
Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo Juan Rulfo, Mexico, (1918-1986)
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, Sweden, (1907-2002)
Poems by Paul Celan, Romania/France, (1920-1970)
The Possessed by Fyodor M Dostoyevsky, Russia, (1821-1881)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, England, (1775-1817)
The Ramayana by Valmiki, India, (c 300 BC)
The Recognition of Sakuntala by Kalidasa, India, (c. 400)
The Red and the Black by Stendhal, France, (1783-1842)
Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust, France, (1871-1922)
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih, Sudan, (b. 1929)
Selected Stories by Anton P Chekhov, Russia, (1860-1904)
Sons and Lovers by DH Lawrence, England, (1885-1930)
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, United States, (1897-1962)
The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata, Japan, (1899-1972)
The Stranger by Albert Camus, France, (1913-1960)
The Tale of Genji by Shikibu Murasaki, Japan, (c 1000)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nigeria, (b. 1930)
Thousand and One Nights, India/Iran/Iraq/Egypt, (700-1500)
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass, Germany, (b.1927)
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf, England, (1882-1941)
The Trial by Franz Kafka, Bohemia, (1883-1924)
Trilogy: Molloy, Malone Dies, The Unnamable by Samuel Beckett, Ireland, (1906-1989)
Ulysses by James Joyce, Ireland, (1882-1941)
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, Russia, (1828-1910)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, England, (1818-1848)
Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis, Greece, (1883-1957
http://news.genius.com/William-faulkn...
http://www.gutenberg.org/
September 14, 2020
My first tentative exploration of Faulkner.
While A Rose for Emily was a bit of an underwhelming short, I did find a few gems in this collection. My favorite by far was Mountain Victory. Fantastic character portrayals here and riveting from start to finish. I loved this story. I actually reread it and it remained just as powerful if not more so the second time around.
The other stories I enjoyed thoroughly were That Evening Sun and Dry September - the latter a shocking and sadly all-too relevant story about rumors and racism. Excellent stuff here.
I'd recommend this collection for anyone wanting a taste of Faulkner. I will go on to read some of his novels, something that I've been sort of intimidated to do before, but now that I've read some of his work, I believe I'm ready to dive in.
While A Rose for Emily was a bit of an underwhelming short, I did find a few gems in this collection. My favorite by far was Mountain Victory. Fantastic character portrayals here and riveting from start to finish. I loved this story. I actually reread it and it remained just as powerful if not more so the second time around.
The other stories I enjoyed thoroughly were That Evening Sun and Dry September - the latter a shocking and sadly all-too relevant story about rumors and racism. Excellent stuff here.
I'd recommend this collection for anyone wanting a taste of Faulkner. I will go on to read some of his novels, something that I've been sort of intimidated to do before, but now that I've read some of his work, I believe I'm ready to dive in.
November 4, 2023
What to say, then it's Faulkner. I have read some of these short stories before, but it's good to reread them. He wrote about life and all the moral problems repressed in the 19th century. His novels are bit hard to understand -full of broken English and too many symbols and "read between lines" sentences. If one is focused, it's possible to understand the message of every story. As J.Steinbeck wrote about Faulkner -"more than most men, Faulkner was aware of human strength as well of human weaknesses. He knew that the understanding and the resolution of fear are a large part of the writer's reason for being". Also, Eudora Welty wrote about Faulkner:If you want to know all you can about that heart and soul, the fiction where he put it is still right here."
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