As I Lay Dying

Rating:
Summary: Not for leisure reading
Review: Faulkner uses vivid descriptions and varying narrations to tell this odd tale. Despite the seemingly clear-cut style in which this book is written (the chapter title denotes the narrator), it can often seem confusing, and the story is not told in chronological order. Although the ironies and humor found in the novel do not compensate for faults, they do make the story stand out and memorable. This book requires much patience to interpret the personalities of the characters to fully appreciate this novel, if that is possible.

Rating:
Summary: my mother is a fish
Review: i feel sorry for the high school english students who have to read this book (i skimmed through the reviews - seems to be a lof of 'em). you are not ready for this book in high school. i hope ya'll who don't like "as i lay dying" give it another chance later in life. also - if you are not southern you will never truly appreciate faulkner. we know these characters. we understand them. they are still inside us. by the way - its a beautiful book bye.

Rating:
Summary: What in the world is Darl laughing at??!?
Review: That was one of many unanswered questions in this cataclysmic book, which is partly why it was so good. The characters just amazed me. Some of them generated my love, some my hate, and all of them my pity. There are just so many psychological layers to everyone, and the disjointed narrative only adds to the power of its existential "absurdity". Also, the language just blows my mind. this was the first Faulkner i read all the way through (i tried to tackle The Sound and the Fury first, which was a mistake; it was much harder to get into for some reason, but i want to try it eventually) by the way, whoever said Jewel is the hero, i beg to differ. the only one who really triumphs is Addie- she frees herself from what seems to her to be the terrible burden of life. i've heard that Anse, who somehow always seems to come out on top, is sort of a parody of a hero...i guess anything's possible. and i seriously think that Darl is more sane than all the rest of 'em. oh well. great book, at any rate.

Rating:
Summary: A complicated, but vivid book.
Review: I read this book for school (I had to chose a few american writers). I found this book to be a little hard to follow. It's very detailed and I like the humor that pops up every now and then, but as for the plot I'm not really sure if there was one. I read that Faulkner wrote this in 6 weeks. if you have to do a report on this book I'd reccomend taking notes along the way...

Rating:
Summary: A Bizarre but Strangely Fascinating Work
Review: This is undoubtedly the strangest of the Faulkner novels I have read so far, and also one of the most difficult. The disjointed narrative only gives brief, cryptic glimpses into the minds of the characters, requiring the reader to fit together the puzzle pieces of the rather gruesome plot. Fans of experimental writing and dark comedy may be intrigued by this book.

Rating:
Summary: This book is terrible!!
Review: Yes, the language is easier to understand as you go along, but, truthfully, why would you want to? The story is silly, the characters are even sillier, and the ending is completely confusing. I am a high school student, in an advanced class, and I really don't see the value of the book. You have to grasp for straws to find meaning, and it's not really worth all the energy.

Rating:
Summary: Confusing but pretty good
Review: I think that the book was pretty good. It definately was confusing in the very beginning but as you kept reading you got used to the different style to the writing. I would definately recommend this bood to someone. If you have the time defianatley read "As I Lay Dying."

Rating:
Summary: never completely understood it
Review: I had to read this book for my senior Ap English class and so I did. I finished the book but I don't think I ever completely understood that Darl was crazy and Jewel was the hero. I have to figure out the theme of this book and I am still struggling to understand it. I would definitely recommend reading it slowly or read it twice.

Rating:
Summary: beautiful imagery but not much more
Review: I appreciate Faulkner's vivid imagery in his writing, but I am not a fan of this novel. I cannot seem to get interested in any of the characters, or the plot. I can't relate to any of the characters because I can't even get to the point where I know them. Perhaps, it is the devices, such as stream of consciousness and dialect, that he uses. I've heard he's been compared to Toni Morrison, and I really liked The Bluest Eye, but I really cannot seem to enjoy this book at all, just appreciate it for it's style.

Rating:
Summary: great story
Review: This is one of the most accessible of Faulkner's least accessible works . . . and a great story, of course.