The score on LT is 865 reviews for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, 3 reviews for Collected Stories of William Faulkner--and the latter has not been reviewed since 2007. What a shame. And shame on me for not reading him until my 61st year; I too bought into the myths that "He is too hard to read," "I don't understand him," and "He doesn't make any sense."

I will admit that he is difficult sometimes and that I don't understand every line he writes, but reading Faulkner is an experience for me, both mentally and emotionally. His stories are to be savored, set to "simmer" on the stovetop, as opposed to Meyer's microwavable pop.

This collection includes 42 stories spread over 900 pages, many of them forerunners to future novels. Every one of them sucked me in from the first sentence, and I wasn't able to put the book up until the story was done. Some stories had neatly tied-up endings, but many did not--a Faulkner device that requires the reader to create or imagine an ending.

Faulkner is a master of the war story and the effects war has on individuals. I liked these the best. My favorite is "Two Soldiers," a poignant tale (and title) of an eight-year-old boy who wants to join the Army and ship out to Pearl Harbor with his beloved brother. On the flip side is "Victory," a WWI horror story (and title) of a Scotsman who shoots and machine guns his own troops in France--receiving in turn medals for valor because, in war, events happen with lightning speed and few details. I'm still thinking about this one . . .

5 stars, of course. ( )

3443. Collected Stories of William Faulkner (read May 11, 2001) I saw that I had read every National Book Award fiction winner from the institution of the award in 1950 till 1968 except this book. So I thought I would read this since it was at the library. There are 42 stories and I found it a chore to read one after another for 900 pages. Some of the stories are very good, but some are poor and dull. Many have the defect common in modern-day short stories--not telling what happened and kind of leaving the reader up in the air. "A Rose for Emily"--which I believe has been anthologized quite a bit is, I thought, probably the best story in the book, if I had to choose one. ( )

I was blown away by this collection. I've never come across a better collection of stories than this one. His WWI stories, I don't particularly care for, but I was mesmerized by almost everything in this book. Faulkner is my ultimate hero. ( )

"A Rose For Emily" is, well, perfect