The Sound & the Fury (Bn) (Oop) [Library Binding]

With all of this adulation, my review thus far sounds like nothing short of a 5 star review. While Faulkner's genius is irrefutably compelling, the story is anything but. I just feel that the underlying story of the dissolution of a Southern family (i.e. the Southern way of life), none of which are likable, was as an exercise in banality, if not futility -- regardless of the literary talent bestowed upon it.

I like Southern literature, but this would not be included in my top 100, let alone top 10. It's about as fun as watching paint dry. Just another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. If you don't say it's great, then you must be derided as an idiot -- not unlike Benjy. Boring - with a capital B.

Mr. Compson is a good man who drinks himself to an early grave. Mrs Compson is a proud southern lady who instead of dealing with her family's problems declares herself an invalid and escapes to her room. She leaves the child rearing to the servents. She is so vain that when she becomes aware of her youngest son's disbility, she changes his given name from Maury to Benjamin so as to not embarrass her brother Maury, who he was named after.

Quinton is an introspective loner who has trouble distinguishing between reality and fiction. Benji is a retarded man child given to fits and totally disregarded by his mother, his brother, and his neice. Jason is a cold and brutal racist, who blames his unhappiness on his family.

The sister Caddy is the only sibling who shows any love toward Benji. Her loose morals however eventually estrange her from the rest of the family. Caddy's daughter, also named Quinton, (ostensibly Faulkner's way of further confusing the reader) is left to be raised by her totally removed grandmother and her cold and brutal Uncle Jason. The girl Quinton, like the rest of the family, detests being in the same room with her Uncle Benji.

The servants, especially Dilsey, run the household. Dilsey is truly the only character with any strength. Luster, Dilsey's lazy grandson who takes care of Benji, provides some comic relief as he tries to avoid work like a plague.

Part 1 is narrated by Benji whose thoughts skip back and forth in time. Benji's incoherent thoughts are difficult to understand especially since Faulkner throws the reader right into the action without any explanation. One thing that the reader easily understands is that Benji truly misses his sister Caddy who he is constantly looking for both in thought and action.

Part 2 is narrated by Quinton and takes place in Boston on June 2 1910. Quinton, a student at Harvard, is not retarded like Benji but he is clearly disturbed. Quinton is fixated on the disgrace that has been brought to the family by Caddy. Quinton's devotion for his sister is filled with incestuos innuendos and he has a difficult time distinguishing between fantasy and reality. In my opinion this is truly the strongest part of the novel. Faulkner uses a watch with broken hands symbolizes Quintons quest to stop time.

Part 3 is narrated by Jason who is a racist bully who has clearly been damaged by his dysfunctional family. By default, Jason has become the Compson patriarch. Jason is resentful of the fact that the family spent their last savings to send Quinton to college and there was nothing left for him. He hates Caddy because she did not marry the man who promised him a job in a bank. He despises having to look after Benji and he hates the servants.

Part 4 concludes the story and deals with the stuggles of Caddy's daughter, Quinton, who learns that Jason has stolen money that Caddy has been sending regularly for Quinton's upbringing.

Although Faulkner can be difficult this an emotion charged novel that ranks close the top of the best of fiction written in the 20th century. Faulkner is difficult but unlike some of his contemporaries, Joyce for instance, he is not impossible.

I must say, the opening section, narrated by the retarded Benjy, is absolutely mind-blowing. Some of the greatest writing I have ever encountered. Small wonder it's established itself as archetypal Faulkner; the sort of thing that people unfamiliar with the man's work are likely to have as their conception of his writing.

After the greatness of this first section, just about anything would seem a bit anti-climactic, and it must be said, Quentin's section, though undoubtedly brilliant in places, is the weakest part of the novel. The time-related symbolism often feels forced, and the chronological jump between this section and the rest of the book is jarring. Jason's section is better; it's hard to imagine a more hateful narrator, and Faulkner renders his self-delusion and paranoid obsessions with great skill. The final section, told in the third-person but which people like to associate with the old servant Dilsey, is also excellent, and contains the most poignant writing in the book. Readers who like carping on about Faulkner's racist tendencies would be well-advised to note that the black servants are by far the most sympathetic characters in the novel.

Be sure to get an addition that includes Faulkner's appendix. Some might complain that it gives away too much information, but I think that, if anything, it only adds to the effect, and it's beautifully-written to boot.

All I have to say is, read the book. It's certainly one of the twentieth century's best.