Feb 29, 2024ellenorndorf rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
I had always wanted to read this book (or anything by William Faulkner or any of the great Southern Gothic writers). I got a couple of the book and tried listening on Libby. The story is set in Mississippi and is about the family and they…
Feb 12, 2024luketenhage rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I remember my first time reading this novel. I was camping in Long Point Ontario with my father. The novel was like nothing else I had ever read. The writing was mysterious and I couldn't understand it but I was certain there WAS something…
Aug 22, 2023ekhdong rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A tour d' force of story telling from different narrators, including the dead woman who's loved by her children but hates her husband and dismissive of most of her offspring against the backdrop of deep poverty in Mississippi.
Mar 31, 2023fogey05 rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
This is my third Faulkner novel (after "The Sound and the Fury" and "The Reivers"). I was not a fan of Faulkner and, now, I really don't like his work. It has taken me a while to decide why. I conclude Faulkner does not like the…
Jul 28, 2022davidbspencer rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
It’s been a while since I’d read two other Faulkner books: The Sound and The Fury and The Reivers. This book reads more like an impressionist poem than those more traditional narratives. Characters’ actions are minimal. Banalities cloak…
Aug 26, 2021dgiard rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Addie Brunden fell ill and died 10 days later, leaving behind a husband, 4 sons, and a daughter. Her wish was to be buried in her childhood hometown of Jefferson, Mississippi. So, her family built a coffin, tied horses to their wagon, and…
Nov 29, 2020AlexaLe rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
We do not usually think of farmers as heroes, or leaving on a treacherous journey to complete an important task. However, the Southern Gothic novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner defies these notions as it tells the story of the…
Feb 28, 2020dissymissylessy rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"Then we see it wasn't the grip that made him look different; it was his face, and Jewel says, 'He got them teeth.'/ It was a fact. It made him look a foot taller, kind of holding his head up, hangdog and proud, too, and then we see her…
Mar 26, 2018SunsetBranch rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
These characters certainly suffered- more than their share- so they deserve our sympathy. Did Faulkner betray them all- leave them sitting on the wagon with their mouths open like the butt of a bad joke- just so he could write that…
What a strange book. I'm really struggling to get through it but it's on my to read list so I'm persevering. What language are they speaking? Certainly not English.
Nov 23, 20151aa rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A rather difficult book to read; it requires several rereadings to understand due to the way the narrative unfolds through the use of a dozen or so characters, some of them really odd, like Vardaman, a retarded/crazy/mystic man. The heart…
A difficult read but a worthy anodyne to the pablum that passes as good reading. Indeed, it could have been written in an easier-to-read expository form, but it is worth the effort. Even after reading notes on the book, one still has…
Nov 22, 2013LaPhenixa rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
A slow start, but momentum keeps building through the whole book and has you racing towards the end. There's a lot to untangle, but it's one of the most fantastic examples of classic literature that I've read.
Faulkner's book of the Bundren family en route to bury Addie Bundren, their mother and wife, in her family cemetery at quite a distance from their home. At times humourous, this book is wonderful for character study; each chapter is a…
Jan 08, 2011wherethewildthymeblows rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
I had to read this book in my AP English class. I got a lot out of it and the class discussions, but I'm sure if I had read it on my own I would've quit part way through. Definitely some interesting characters and a lot of insight into the…
May 28, 2010The_Bill rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I found this story to be full of engaging and powerful moments, but I didn't get much out of its ending. Perhaps that is my fault and not Faulkner's...
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As I Lay Dying