The final book in the Snopes trilogy ends with a sigh rather than a bang, even though the end involves a gunshot. The book follows up where "The Town"The final book in the Snopes trilogy ends with a sigh rather than a bang, even though the end involves a gunshot. The book follows up where "The Town" ended, with Flem Snopes living (or, more accurately, existing) in the old de Spain Mansion, running the bank and the town of Jefferson. His cousin Mink is in prison for murder and his daughter about to run off to New York City. The story is told through multiple narrators across several decades. The first part is about Mink, how we was convicted of murder, his time in prison, and eventual release. The second is about Linda, Flem and Eula's daughter, fathered by de Spain and befriended by Gavin Stephen. She runs off to New York City, marries and is widowed when her husband dies in the Spanish Civil War. The same conflict leaves her deaf, the result of an explosion rupturing her eardrums. It is hard to say if this collection of facts is simply relayed for the sake of good story telling or is symbolic in some way. After her injury Linda returns home and lives once again in a cold détente with Flem. The last section is about Flem, but even then he does not really develope as a character. Instead, we find out why Mink was allowed to go free two years early and what he did to follow through on his plan to revenge the failure of his cousin to come to his aid 38 years earlier during his trial. It is hard to know if Mink is a hero or a villain or even if he is sane. But his plan to kill Flem begins and ends this book and brings to an end the story of Faulkner's mythical county. ...more
Part two of the Snopes trilogy, this book chronicles the rise of Flem Snopes to respectability and power. Flem has moved up from the Hamlet and taken Part two of the Snopes trilogy, this book chronicles the rise of Flem Snopes to respectability and power. Flem has moved up from the Hamlet and taken over a restaurant and then the Bank. These are the steps to power. But respectability means getting rid of the other Snopes family members if they bring embarrassment. As always Faulkner is writing on two levels at once. In this book each chapter is narrated by a single person. It works as a narrative device and the fuses the whole account together. But certain voices are easier to follow than others. Chick and VK are pretty straightforward, but Gavin's verbiage gets pretty thick and I found it tough sledding at times. All of it is vintage Faulkner and an important part of the canon for fans. ...more
This is a good introduction to Faulkner to those who want a taste of his writing. The stories run from mundane to classic. Most take place in the fictThis is a good introduction to Faulkner to those who want a taste of his writing. The stories run from mundane to classic. Most take place in the fictional county Yoknapatawpha, though a few take place outside that. One is an aviation tale which reminds us of his early works. Many of the classic Faulkner characters appear in these stories -- Jason and Caddy Compson, Ike McCausland,The Snopes family. It is all very Faulkner and very satisfying....more
Faulkner wrote this first part of the Scopes trilogy early in his career, finishing the last two books decades later. The style is more accessible thaFaulkner wrote this first part of the Scopes trilogy early in his career, finishing the last two books decades later. The style is more accessible than some of his other words like Absalom, Absalom or The Sound and Fury. It has a straightforward almost leisurely pace that fits the setting, Frenchman's Bend. It is a small town, a Hamlet, built on the ruins of an old plantation. It is an easy target for the ruthless, rapacious usurper Flem Snopes. While the story is easier to follow, it is still very "Faulknarian" with impossibly long paragraphs, crazy description of placid expressions, sparse realistic dialogue and unforgettable images. Every now and then, while laboring through a two-page paragraph, I would wonder why I am reading this. Then there would be a description of someone standing in the moonlight or a comic account of a horse loose in a house, and I remember: This is Faulkner. Like most of his novels it works on two levels. It is a simple story of a greedy man who swindles simple townspeople. On another level is it Faulkner's story of the south itself, a decrepit plantation filled with people following an outmoded way of life, ruined by a class of greedy merchants....more
Faulkner's masterful work Absalom, Absalom! is an amazing work of literature because while it is fiction and nearly mythological in scope, and while tFaulkner's masterful work Absalom, Absalom! is an amazing work of literature because while it is fiction and nearly mythological in scope, and while the dialogue does not in any way reflect how people actually talk, it is also absolutely true. At the center of the story is Thomas Sutpen who appears in Faulkner's fictional town of Jefferson seemingly out of nowhere to forge a future for himself through hard work and a ruthless practicality that include slavery and marriage. In a grand sense he is representative of the South itself filled with ambition, nobility, and evil. He is trying to make a way for himself in the world that is handed to him. The novel unfolds around an accusation of fratricide, incest and miscegenation. But all this is pretty well known and easily accessible information. What I love about the novel are Faulkner's picture of the south. His turns of phrase, his command of language, is stunning. He is at his best when he is describing the air on a September evening, the wood on an unpainted house or the cotton dress on a poor woman. The best thing about this novel is the way he unfolds the story step by step, non-chronologically, and with great reluctance. This story is true because it is about the way we recreate the past based on the fragments of truth we have. It is about the way we assume, guess and remake the events of the past. In this sense Faulkner's stream of consciousness language is true -- the back and forth is the way people think, especially about significant past events when they do not know the whole story. In other words, every time we think about the past. But no one talks like the people in Absalom, Absalom! talk. And everyone in the novel talks this way. People think this way but they do not converse this way. It is a small weakness, and a charming weakness in a masterful work of literature....more
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