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/lit/ - Literature

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9994873 No.9994873 [Reply] [Original]

Where should one start with Faulkner? Also, what are the essentials?

>> No.9994883

Start with his shorti stories and/or As I Lay Dying

>> No.9994889

As I Lay Dying then The Sound and the Fury followed by A Light in August. Follow that up by reading Go Down Moses, Absolm, Absolm!, and maybe his short stories in that order.

>> No.9994891

Start with The Bible

>> No.9994892

>>9994883
>>9994889
Yeah, on second thought read the short stories first. They're okay and introduce you to his themes but he grows as a writer in his novels.

>> No.9995175

My greatest lit shame is bailing on sound and the fury..... twice

As I lay dying was good and absalom, absalom is incredible tho

>> No.9995365

>>9995175
Why'd you bail?

>> No.9995389

Light in August was nuts. All those n bombs.

>> No.9995726

I started with Pylon, I've not read anything else by Faulkner since.

>> No.9996402

The Sound and The Fury is close to Mrs Dalloway, right? I've read that the themes and the style (stream if consciousness) are the same.

>> No.9996409

>>9996402
No, The Sound and the Fury is good

>> No.9996427

>>9995389
the best faulkner book.

>> No.9996428

If you're looking for an author to read continuously, don't start with TSATF or AILD. I agree with the others. Read some of his stories (there's a great collected edition somewhere),then move onto Light In August or Absolom, Absolom. Go Down Moses after that and then AILD then TSATF. From there do as you please. It gives you a nice taste of his variety as a writer.

>> No.9996775

>>9995175
Yeah, the most difficult sections are at the beginning. There's some absolutely virtuosic prose in there, but it's hard to fathom what's happening (on the first reading anyhow.)

It's well worth persevering though. The going gets easier as the novel progresses, and the picture grows steadily clearer. It's one of the best American novels ever IMO.

>> No.9996902

>>9996775
It's worth looking up online what the sections are in the first chapter. Shame Faulkner couldnt color code it initially like he wanted to

>> No.9997001

>>9996775
Both times I read the Benjy part just fine (and I enjoyed it) but I dropped it during Quentin's because it was so dry. Perhaps I'm a brainlet after all

>>9996902
Can you explain what you mean by this? Is it the time jumps just in the Benjy part? Is it just his section that has these jumps?

>> No.9997016

>>9994873
Start with the greeks

>> No.9997102

>>9997016
It ain't funny anymore, anon.