The Sound and the Fury | William Faulkner

The Sound and the Fury | William Faulkner | The Great American Novel

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The Sound and the ...

	The Sound and the Fury William Faulkner Vintage, 1991 - 336 pages average customer review:based on 196 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Difficult but Rewarding

The first two sections of The Sound And The Fury have a reputation for being extremely difficult, and deservedly so. In fact, the first time I tried to read it, the Benjy Section made me feel dizzy, and I had to stop (I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere without a little orientation courtesy of Cliffs Notes, so I put it off for a while). But when I came back to it a few months later, this time prepared to do a little work to understand the chronology and characters, I felt like I was looking in on the deep south at the beginning of the twentieth century, and it was a unique and rewarding experience.

This is not to say, however, that Faulkner couldn't have made the book more accessible or easier to read. He certainly could have, and maybe that would have improved it. But to me, part of Faulkner's greatness was his willingness to experiment with form, to push the envelope of what a novel could do, so I strongly believe this book is worthy of praise just as it is. In fact, to me the Benjy Section isn't supposed to be accessible; it's supposed to make you feel just as confused and disoriented as Benjy felt. Basically, the entire section is experienced rather than processed, with no clear sense of space or time or logical connection, and that's what makes it so confusing. But to me that's also what makes it so amazing (and it's important to point out that the final two sections of the book are easy to read and very moving).

Now, I'm not saying I would recommend this book for beach reading necessarily, or as a page turner in the traditional sense. And I like to read those kinds of books too...I proudly acknowledge that I've read every Harry Potter book at least twice. But if you're looking for incredible dialogue, for symbolism, for experimentation, for a powerful sense of time and place, for imagination and a sense of humor, for an exploration of how the same events can be interpreted differently by different people, for a unique and compelling vision, for a challenge...then I'd recommend this book. It's tough, yes, but it's also a lot of fun. To me, it just depends on what you're looking for and what kind of mood you're in at the time. Faulkner certainly isn't all that accessible, he doesn't do a lot of favors to the reader, and he may be a bit pompous at times...all of that is true to a certain extent, but this time it struck me just right. Loved it.

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The Great American Novel

I reread this novel after 25 years this summer just to see if it was as great as I remember. Yes, after struggling with the first 100 pages and the look at life through the eyes of the retarded Benjamin, it is still all there--the past as it forever influences the present, the decay, and the destiny. The Sound and the Fury is one of the icons of American Literature and deserves to be so.

Unrealized potential

I wanted to really like this novel. I wanted it to get under my skin. I wanted to re-read it again and again and discover subtle nuances that I missed in earlier readings; but I have to say it never happened. I'm reluctant to write this review because I suspect that fans of the novel will label me as yet another unsophisticated reader who is unable to appreciate the complex genius of Faulkner's masterpiece.

If you haven't read the novel my best advice is to get a list of the novel's characters before you start reading. Faulkner uses a `stream of consciousness' style of narration in the novel. The character's thoughts come without introductions and little effort is made to explain who the characters are in relation to one another. Having a `who's who' guide by my side would have helped me tremendously.

The first chapter is from the perspective of Benji, the youngest child in the Compson family who is mentally retarded and (I assume) autistic. Benji has no apparent concept of time and his narration continuously shifts from past to present. This can take some getting used to, but there are clues that will help you determine the time line for events (for example, Benji has three separate care-givers over the years. You can estimate the year, based on who is looking after Benji.)

The oldest brother, Quentin, narrates the second chapter of the novel. This chapter is not nearly as cryptic as the first, but it can still be difficult to follow. Quentin is obsessed, as all his brothers are in their own way, with their sister Caddy. Caddy is novel's protagonist, despite the fact that she is only seen through the eyes of others.

The third and forth chapters of the novel are more traditional in format and subsequently are much easier to follow. Jason, the third child, narrates the third chapter, while the final chapter is written in the third person.

Faulkner is an unquestionably talented writer and there are passages in The Sound and the Fury that are powerful and moving. I admire Faulkner's willingness to take risks and to stay true to his unconventional vision but for me, The Sound and Fury was like an unfulfilled promise. It seemed to me that there was so much potential with these characters, but that this potential was never fully realized.

The ending felt arbitrary and left so much unresolved that the novel felt unfinished. There are a number of story lines introduced in Benji's chapter that aren't followed up in subsequent chapters. I realize that there is a point to this (after all, what is memorable to Benji, is not necessarily memorable to Quentin or Jason) but the bottom line is, all the dead ends and loose threads in the story leave the reader (at least this reader) feeling unfulfilled.

The Sound and the Fury is worth reading but it didn't resonate with me the way some of Faulkner's other work has.

Then again, maybe I'm just not a sophisticated enough reader to fully appreciate it.

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Sound and the Hype

Okay, how on Earth do I try and inject my opinion on this classic? And what if I didn't get much out of it?

I had put this one off for so long simply because I stumbled in those first pages, because of the difficult of Benjy's section. And this time I just plowed through, resorting to sparknotes to straighten out what I read. Quentin's sections were only somewhat more lucid, but I was looking for the motives to his future actions and the only answer I found seemed a little limited. Truthfully, I wasn't happy until I got to the omniscient third person. This is the Faulkner I like, but still it wasn't the Faulkner of If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem. I wanted the long, expansive, descriptive paragraphs. There was plenty of heartbreak here, plenty of tragedy and I was grateful for it.

While I'm happy to tick another classic off my to-read list, I wish I would have taken more away from the experience.

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