Absalom, Absalom! (1936)

I never read Faulkner before. I hear this is his masterpiece and it's really something. Wow. Recommend. (And this is why I don't write book reviews. "I liked it! It was really good!"). It's an allegory about the south and the Civil War and it's cemented my feeling that the best way for me to learn history is through novels. You're going to have to settle for a biased POV, and I'd rather it be a novelist's than a politician's. ( )

Incredibly dense, convoluted, and penetrating. I see now why for the generation in which he wrote, as a southern writer Faulkner had myriad ghosts to choose from to write about. Great descriptions and a strong sense of place there is no way any one could be so direct. His insights were numerous but blacks and ex-slaves were mostly secondary or only part of his stories. ( )

Finally, I finish a Faulkner with comprehension ( )

https://sravikabodapati.blogspot.com/2021/12/absalom-absalom-by-william-faulkner... ( )

I didn't exactly enjoy this book, though there were parts that were enjoyable. I read it because it is supposedly Faulkner's best and the (https://thegreatestbooks.org/lists/33) best Southern novel of all time. I got to the point where reading it made me question what a novel is, what makes a novel good or even great. I don't think this novel was great. It was interesting, and a few of the more fragmentary flights of fancy (look for the parentheses to find these) were awe-inspiring in both a good and bad way. I laughed out loud more than once, due to just how inscrutable that language was. There are a limited number of places where I would describe the writing as beautiful.

Quotes for consideration:
"the old mindless sentient undreaming meat that doesn’t even know any difference between despair and victory"..."nothing matters except that there is the old mindless meat that dont even care if it was defeat or victory, that wont even die, that will be out in the woods and fields, grubbing up roots and weeds"

I'm glad I read it. I recommend it to anyone seriously pursuing Southern literature.

Note: the "n word" appears in this book.

Characters:
Thomas Sutpen
Ellen Coldfield Sutpen
Henry Sutpen
Judith Sutpen
Clytemnestra Sutpen
Charles Bon, his mother (Eulalia), his son (Jim Bond)
Quentin Compson, his father (Jason), his grandfather (General Compson)
Shreve McCannon
Wash Jones, his granddaughter (Milly)
Miss Rosa Coldfield
Goodhue Coldfield (now that is a Southern name) ( )