Category Archives: LITERATURE

A delightful, fast-paced ending to this story and once again I find myself loving Faulkner's style. Though I struggled through (thought it terribly plodding) the first quarter of the book that set up the environment and the characters, the base … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Forgive the language that's considered politically incorrect as a racial slur now –it had a different, less evil meaning in the era of the story, simply meaning what 'black' or African American means today (except coming from the mouth of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Faulkner wrote this novel, his last, in 1961–it was published in 1962, the year that he died at age 65. The story takes place in the present, that is, around the 60s when one considers that the narrator is in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Faulkner has kept this story strictly linear, straight first person narrator, starting with a dramatic opening scene, then continuing with setting up of environment while introducing his characters and their relationships. Pretty straightforward writing style here, and except for the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As the plan goes into action to race the horse, the narrator sleeps up in the attic with Otis, another young boy at the house who is very different than Lucius. When Otis reveals that he has made money by … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Okay, I made that up, but it seems that this is what Faulkner is doing as he builds the character base and the importance of the automobile to plot. It brings to mind making tapioca, or more particularly, jelly or … Continue reading → Continue reading →

But Miss Reba was still fighting. Because women are wonderful. They can bear anything because they are wise enough to know that all you have to do with grief and trouble is just go on through them and come out … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Interesting, as Faulkner gives voice via his narrator into a manner of labeling generically the political positions of his own time by describing the whorehouse's master (or pimp): Minnie was still bringing things, all cold–fried chicken and biscuits and vegetables … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Picking up some speed here with the reading; hate to say it, but the first 80 pages were duller than matte paint. There was something dreamlike about it. Not nightmarish: just dreamlike–the peaceful, quiet, remote, sylvan, almost primeval setting of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One of the first things I noticed about Cormac McCarthy's writing style was a propensity to double up on words and phrases that emphasized the meaning. For example, something like "the sun was hot, was hot, and was hot," which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Slow. Ploddingly so. I am missing something here, I'm sure, but I'm about to miss more as I plan to scan-read through some of this to find something that holds me to Faulkner's story. Yes, I am ashamed of myself; … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Faulkner has taken a heck of a lot of time to give us an environment with a couple of characters and an adventure about to begin. At this point, those who like action and fast paced reading might have continued … Continue reading → Continue reading →