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chris_dech's review against another edition
4.0
I gave this a 3-star rating earlier, but I feel that I must amend it not even a day after I put it up.
As I Lay Dying is, despite its length, a challenging read with depth and insight. The plot and even the characters themselves one must put more effort into constructing than with a typical novel. This, I feel, is much due to the way it was written. Faulkner's use of multiple perspectives to tell the story, in my opinion, mimics real life, where there is an overarching event going on, but everyone involved in it has a slightly different but deeply personal view and experience. It is absolutely genius how Faulkner carries the subjectivity of real life over to the novel, and is perhaps the strongest part of the book.
The story itself is short but Faulkner manages to fit a compelling, fascinating, sometimes perverse and unnatural story into this book that doesn't even pass 60,000 words. It is rather slow in the beginning, but once the characters begin to properly head towards their goal, the book does not stop.
4/5, I must reread.
As I Lay Dying is, despite its length, a challenging read with depth and insight. The plot and even the characters themselves one must put more effort into constructing than with a typical novel. This, I feel, is much due to the way it was written. Faulkner's use of multiple perspectives to tell the story, in my opinion, mimics real life, where there is an overarching event going on, but everyone involved in it has a slightly different but deeply personal view and experience. It is absolutely genius how Faulkner carries the subjectivity of real life over to the novel, and is perhaps the strongest part of the book.
The story itself is short but Faulkner manages to fit a compelling, fascinating, sometimes perverse and unnatural story into this book that doesn't even pass 60,000 words. It is rather slow in the beginning, but once the characters begin to properly head towards their goal, the book does not stop.
4/5, I must reread.
book_loser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
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? It's complicated
3.0
mana_elena's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Stream of consciousness is a writing style that I tend to struggle with. I appreciate that Faulkner's style of stream of consciousness acknowledges how we might not feel the need to complete thoughts where we know all the contexts, and it's interesting how we can be literally in a character's thoughts and still feel such a distinct distance from what they are experiencing when we have to piece together from context what they are referring to. (Or maybe I'm stupid and that distance does not exist for people with basic reading comprehension.) As a result this will be a bit of a ramble, probably not worth the read but I need to put my thoughts in order.
An interesting juxtaposition in this book (for me) is the comparison between obvious evil and mundane evil. Every device in the book (it seems to me) is meant to highlight Anse's failings, even chapters narrated by himself. If the book had only been about how he, a leech of a person,had completely desecrated his wife's dead body while convincing himself he was honoring her last wish and nearly killed two of his sons in the process , it would have struck me as pointless, showy, and self-serving.
However, Anse is surrounded by people who are recognizably unpleasant. Anse's wife felt she could make up for cheating on him by replacing the "stolen" child with a new one. She only married him because constantly harbored disdain for apparently everyone around her. The person she cheated with was the priest (if I understand correctly?) And he uses her death as an excuse not to confess, despite the fact that Anse, the person he must confess to, is very much alive. Cora, who puts on a meek, Christian demeanor, may have her moments but still recognizably leans on her religion to offer substance to her natural inclinations. Many people shake their heads for Anse's children and yet no one looks after them. By putting Anse in the context of people who's failings are all understandable (and sometimes because of Anse), I felt that the book asked whether the plain uglinesses of more digestible characters were really so much better than Anse's - fully allowing the answer to be yes. We are allowed to find other characters much more sympathetic than Anse while seeing the consequences of their actions compared with the consequences of Anse's actions.
Dewey Dell's place in the story feels simultaneously self-evident and completely opaque. The contrast between the A-plot of burying a dead person and the B-plot of dealing with an unintended pregnancy is obviously appealing in contrasting life and death and where it is and isn't wanted. It seems clear to me, also, via discussions with druggists, that we are meant to take note of the responsibility Dewey Dell is taking versus the responsibilit Lafe is taking for the pregnancy. Namely, Lafe is willing to supply a good amount of money but not a marriahe, and Dewey is expected to make the trip into town and find a pharmacist willing to help her even while her mother is being buried (a fact Cora adjacently remarks upon with disgust.) On the other hand, Dewey is often treated with a lack of agency in the matter, both by others and herself, a fact that is striking to the extant that shame will follow her anyway and she will still presumably have to take care of a child. I feel confused about her being taken advantage of by a clerk while trying to get rid of the kid. On the one hand it just seems accurate to the setting and is necessary for that reason. On the other hand it feels like piling on the shit. On the first hand again, the overarching theme of the book seems to be the scale of evil, so it does have a place here.
This book touches on so many ideas in such a short span of time, and I think Faulkner conveys the breadth of the issues and complexity of his characters lives in a very skillfull way with what little window we get into their lives. It makes sense that nothing feels concluded when the book ends and it seems only natural that the suggestion of a cycle starting up again is how the book should end. I might assert that the audience has a right, at the end of a book that insists on cycles, to feel like a lot of work was done to end up nowhere. I am 90% sure that is the intended reaction.
Cash deserved better. What a coherent dude. He suffered so much from being an eldest child.
An interesting juxtaposition in this book (for me) is the comparison between obvious evil and mundane evil. Every device in the book (it seems to me) is meant to highlight Anse's failings, even chapters narrated by himself. If the book had only been about how he, a leech of a person,
However, Anse is surrounded by people who are recognizably unpleasant.
This book touches on so many ideas in such a short span of time, and I think Faulkner conveys the breadth of the issues and complexity of his characters lives in a very skillfull way with what little window we get into their lives. It makes sense that nothing feels concluded when the book ends and it seems only natural that the suggestion of a cycle starting up again is how the book should end. I might assert that the audience has a right, at the end of a book that insists on cycles, to feel like a lot of work was done to end up nowhere. I am 90% sure that is the intended reaction.
Cash deserved better. What a coherent dude. He suffered so much from being an eldest child.
heidilreads's review against another edition
3.0
I wish I'd read this in school and had help understanding it... I'm pretty sure I missed some of the value.
alreadyemily's review against another edition
2.0
What an awkward, uncomfortable book about awkward, uncomfortable things presented in an awkward, uncomfortable style. I can see why so many people ascribe so much importance to this work. It has many elements that make it seem monumental; it's written in a way that feels important, the repetition of words is reminiscent of chanting prayer, the language shifts in unpredictable ways, there are hints of magical realism, and the powerful subjects of life, death, the body, family, religion, etc.
William Faulkner claimed to have written this work from midnight to 4:00am over the course of six weeks and to not have changed a word afterward, and I believe it. Glad I read it, but I won't be revisiting this one.
William Faulkner claimed to have written this work from midnight to 4:00am over the course of six weeks and to not have changed a word afterward, and I believe it. Glad I read it, but I won't be revisiting this one.
j_drozd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
cmadsen's review against another edition
4.0
Dear Aunt Amanda,
I’d give Faulkner’s classic 4.5 stars. Similar to Woolf, it takes a bit to get used the stream-of-consciousness narrative style, but the characters are richly drawn and it’s a master class in the use of the English language. Lines like “I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth” spoken by the 17 year old daughter ashamed of her illegitimate pregnancy were constant reminders of how untalented I am as a writer.
Fair warning: This book is definitely a bummer, so you may want to wait for happier times to give it a read
I’d give Faulkner’s classic 4.5 stars. Similar to Woolf, it takes a bit to get used the stream-of-consciousness narrative style, but the characters are richly drawn and it’s a master class in the use of the English language. Lines like “I feel like a wet seed wild in the hot blind earth” spoken by the 17 year old daughter ashamed of her illegitimate pregnancy were constant reminders of how untalented I am as a writer.
Fair warning: This book is definitely a bummer, so you may want to wait for happier times to give it a read
jammithon's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
yepiread2's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75