Reviews tagging 'Death'

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

23 reviews

turtleduck32's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

God, this book was such a waste of my time. I only finished it because I had to read it for school. It’s god awful. It was never entirely clear what was happening, to whom, or why. Most of the dialogue and narration just repeats and repeats, which serves to clarify literally nothing. The adults fail the children at every turn, which is hugely upsetting. And while no, books don't have to have happy endings, hopeful endings, virtuous characters, or good morals, so help me, I can’t tell what lesson(s) I’m supposed to take away from the torture the characters go through at every turn. My professor told us that this is one of Faulker's more “accessible” novels, and I have to wonder how his other works can possibly be less accessible than this novel. This novel is just word salad. I wish I hadn’t been assigned this book because it’s such a slog and with no pay-off.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

accidentalfolklore's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy

gabriella_'s review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.0

I hated this. I skimmed the essays at the end - Doreen Fowler’s Matricide and the Mother’s Revenge: As I Lay Dying was interesting though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I had to read this for school, and I'm usually good at giving books the benefit of the doubt when I read them for school and think about whether they might have been more enjoyable had we not aggressively picked them apart in a classroom of people who did not read/hated the book. However, this book was awful. I truly cannot understand what anyone likes about this book. It's confusing, the characters are awful, and there is nothing redeeming about any part of it. This book was terrible, and I cannot fathom how it ever became a classic or how it was chosen to be studied for school.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual assault, and Abortion

Minor: Racial slurs

buggirl_'s review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Vomit, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

lindseyas's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I read this for my new English class, which is analysis of Southern literature. Having Faulkner as our first book was definitely an intense beginning, and "As I Lay Dying" was just the cherry on top to set the scene for the variety of insane tales we'd be reading in class. A story about being set in your ways and stuck in your born environment, Faulkner tells the story of a family that barely acts like one, characters that can't get out of their own personal ruts and a death that rocks even the strongest of people to their cores. "The poison trickles through," as they tend to say, and it doesn't just stop when you're born: no matter how old or physically/emotionally separated you are from your parents and family, you can become like them whether you like it or not. Poverty, class distinctions and the ravages of war — both on the battlefield and in the brain — tend to do that.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

notlikeotheergirls_iread's review against another edition

challenging hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing and Terminal illness

bookish_bry's review against another edition

reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Unfortunetly, my library only had the audiobook for this and I think it would be a lot easier to follow if I could read it. I liked that all of the narrators were clearly very biased and it read like poetry in many places. Unfortunetly, I found myself getting a bit lost with the audiobook. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Racial slurs

brynhayes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail