world literature

This book, in my opinion, is the best introduction to Faulkner possible where the reader has a chance to become accustomed to the sentence structure (to some extent: the longest sentence in The Unvanquished doesn't seem to run for even a page, making this quite simplistic by Faulknerian standards) without having to worry about an overly confused plot. Although there are parts where the reader will have to back up and read a passage over, it is far more straightforward than others of Faulkner's works.

This story chronicles the growth of Bayard Sartoris from the child who thinks war is a game (even though it isn't all that far from him) and can't imagine the consequences when he plays his games a little too close to the Yankees (Ambuscade) into a man who, when faced with the tragedy of his father's demise, must make this decision: who lives by the sword shall die by it--is it time to change the Southern tradition of bloodshed?

It is also the story of the South as it undergoes its most severe upheaval in its history: the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the effect on its people.

In my opinion, the best way to get acquainted with Faulkner is to begin with The Unvanquished. Once you're done with that, I suggest Intruder in the Dust. Be warned, though, that the latter isn't nearly as simple as The Unvanquished and there is a sentence that (if I recall correctly) runs for five or six pages (or more, but I'm not entirely sure). The good thing, at least, is that you can get used to the confusing syntax while the plot is still reasonably clear: what is clearer than a murder mystery and story of racial injustice (which, as the reader will gather from The Unvanquished, is one of the themes with which Faulkner is concerned in almost all his works)? Once you are used to seeing things from a somewhat blurred perspective (and to dealing with that syntax and stream-of-consciousness technique), I suggest moving on to Go Down, Moses (but you REALLY need to look at a McCaslin genealogy first, and to do this you should go to William Faulkner On the Web), and the stories in this book range from fairly simple to truly confusing (The Bear: it is in this story where you will be very glad you read Intruder In the Dust first!). And finally, you're ready for The Sound and the Fury (all of this, of course, is my own opinion about Faulkner; the reader may tackle these books in any order which he or she chooses: BUT DEFINITELY START WITH THE UNVANQUISHED!)

This book is actually a chain of short-stories that Faulkner wrote during the mid-thirties and then collected them in novel form. For the beginning reader who wants to read Faulkner but is daunted by The Sound and the Fury or Absolam, Absolam!, The Unvanquished gives the skeletons of Faulkner's work-- the racial interplay, the fading glory of the South, familial conflicts and the politics of Reconstruction-- without the sometime burdens of his meatier prose. It's not a lightweight book, though. It is powerful and often neglected. I wrote my senior undergraduate thesis on this novel, and close reading just proved that even Faulkner's lesser works are better than a lot of other writers' masterpieces.

Faulkner is one of my personal favorite authors. I had to read him in Eng 101 in college, and to my astonishment, I loved his work. Comparing two or more Faulkner novels is a futile effort; his voice travels on such ingenious octaves as one such as myself may never fully comprehend. This book is a great read, as well as a statement about the effects of the Civil War on the inhabitants of the South. I shall never forget the chapter entitled "an odor of verbena." It's been almost five years since I read this book, and I can still stand with the protagonist on that balcony and feel the electricity that charges the verbena soaked air. Faulkner just does that to ya :)