What's the general opinion on this guy in /lit/? I use to see his shit in charts but he's never discussed.
>>7575503
>but he's never discussed.
He is the best writer of that generation. Absalom, Absalom is amazing, and his prose is incredibly difficult but rewarding. He is influential, most of /lit/'s favorite authors owe him at least some literary debt. Suttree for example is very "Faulknerian".
Beyond that, almost all of his work is worth reading.
>>7575503
People haven't read him.
>>7575503
I don't think a lot of people on this board really understand his work (or have read it, really). I know I definitely need to reread Absalom and The Sound and the Fury a few more times before I feel comfortable discussing them in depth.
>>7575503
More to him than corn Cobby tales though he was good at them too. He could do grotesque share croppers, decadent aristocrats and all too human preachers. Great prose, wicked humor and the surprising ability to generate compassion (at least temporarily) for even one of his most monstrous characters.
>>7575503
I get the impression that, aside from the couple well-known works, he's written a shitton that nobody ever reads
>>7575859
People hear about As I Lay Dying and The Sound and the Fury which are possibly his two most inaccessible novels. They try reading these, give up, then never attempt anything by him ever again.
>>7577068
I read both and while I know a master when I see one, neither did that much for me.
>>7577068
My introduction to Faulkner was As I Lay Dying in high school, and I loved it
exceptional writer
the sound and the fury was absurdly good
>>7577084
I think he does a lot more for southerners, or just people who are really invested in their family. I know as I've become more interested in my own and my country's history, his stuff has become more affecting.
>>7577068
>Implying Absalom, Absalom! isn't his most inaccessible
Only part of part of Sound and Fury that I found inaccessible, even after multiple read throughs was the Quentin section. Benjy actually made a lot more sense even on the second read-through. What's you figure out WHAT is going on, that book gets considerably easier.
Absalom, Absalom... idk it took me a long time to figure out what exactly the Sutpen family history was, and even when I did, my not-Southern heritage really hindered my ability to understand a lot of character motivations.
>>7577068
Why the fuck would anyone give up during the Sound and the Fury? It's incredibly fun to read.
>>7575503
He is without a doubt one of my favorite writers and I've read about 6 of his books. However I don't yet feel I've come to grips with him to the point that I'd be comfortable discussing and interpreting him. Pretty soon I'll be reading Clarence Brooks' two books on Faulkner and then rereading everything I've read by him. Then, I think I'll be ready to make a Faulknerian thread.
just realised he looks like John McDonnell
