Rating: 
Summary: Dark Comedy and Psychological Realism
Review: I just got thru reading As I Lay Dying for a college class. As I have read no other Faulkner, I cannot compare this with his other works. Although it takes time to get adjusted to it, the novel itself is grand, a tour de force as Faulkner called it. The family experiences Addie's loss.Each character is fully realized, and every last one of them (in the family, anyway) is insane. Jewel is constantly cursing and using violence to express his love and anger. This is in direct relationship with his mother, because she did so with him. The very thing that defines him is when he calls his horse "You sweet son of a b----". That he how he relates to the world. He is a very angry young man, and cannot express himself properly without resorting to foul language. Darl is a very interesting character. Although you may not catch it less you are paying attention, he has a telepathic ability, to read into people's mind. He is very perceptive. So perceptive, in fact, that in one chapter in the first part he describes what is happening at the house as Addie Bundren dies, and he and Jewel are away from the house selling materials. His relationship with Addie is strained at best. She loves Jewel best. In manner of speech, Addie and Darl are closest, being very poetic in speech. Cash is 28/29 and Vardaman's age isn't given. He is a little boy. Cash makes the casket for his mother. Vardaman becomes very confused during the duration of the novel, because he catches a fish in the beginning. The fish dies and they eat it (this is a correlation of the family being like buzzards during the journey). One chapter consists of a single sentence. "My mother is a fish". It is also foreshadowing of one of the more comic events in the novel. Darl says of Jewel, whose relationship with his horse is based after his relationship with his mother, that his mother is a horse, speaking metaphorically. Vardaman takes that literally also. If Jewel's mother can be a horse, he insists his mother can be a fish. Tull is the only sane one in the story, and he is not a member of the family. He is a neighbour who is helping with the family. Cora, his wife, serves God in a cliche way, and is generally niave. Brother Whitaker, without revealing too much of the plot, is important. Anse, the father, is hilarious. He says he cannot sweat because of some illness he got when he was 20. He won't do a damn thing. He won't be "beholden" to any man, which he says all the time. But he really doesn't want to do anything, and wants others to do it for him. Dewey Dell is a very simple creature. She gets pregnant, and wants to have an abortion. She doesn't understand morality. Her intellect pales in comparison to Darl's; however, they have a psychic link together. Someone like this God would not judge harshly, because she does not have understanding. Addie Bundren in the single most important character in the novel. Her chapter is a little past the center of the novel. The reason, one interpretation goes, is that Addie is like the spoke of a wheel, where the spoke is in the center, and everything is connected to it and comes out of it. She is a very hateful person. Although very poetic, she hates words, thinking them meaningless. Sex to the Bundren family is not governed by morality (or at least they don't think it is). My teacher likened it to barnyard sex: animals are not governed by morality, and they just have sex. This is much the approach of this family, although of course they are wrong. Man is above animals, and morality governs this matter. Dewey Dell, of which much of the imagery associated with her is sexual, is very simple and knows nothing of sexual morality. Her name suggests her simpleton sexuality. Dewey Dell means "Moist Valley". Not to much of a stretch of an imagination to know what that means. She gets pregnant by Lafe. Dewey Dell is such of limited intelligence that she goes to the pharmacy at the end of the novel to get an abortion. The soda jerk tells her to come back, and then he has sex with her. She curses afterward, saying that won't cure anything. Darl and Cash masturbated while growing up. Addie is still lonely even though she has sexual relations with her husband, so goes elsewhere to find it. (Her children were there to cure her loneliness. An important lesson is lurking here: sex and children are two of the most precious gifts from God: they are exactly that - gifts. One must know Christ to have a truly fulfilled life). Dark humour is very prevalent thruout the entire novel. Everything from Addie making her water trip to Anse getting those teeth to them dragging the body, stinking up everything, the novel is hilarious. Anse says he owes it to Addie to take her there, saying he won't disgrace her. Yet the whole journey is disgraceful. It is one of the funniest books in a dark sense that I have read in a long time. To speak to much of this would ruin some of the moments; but rest assured, if you properly imagine the events, it should strike you quite funny. In conclusion, Faulkner has created a portrait dysfunctional family. He said he wrote this, and knew if he never picked up a pen again he would live or die (reputation wise) by this book. (Quote paraphrased) He also does his stream of conscious and multiple narrators, making this foray notable because of it. Each is fully drawn, with excellent psychological realism. The characterization is excellent. Read it.
Rating:
Summary: If you don't like Faulkner, then Faulk you.
Review: I rarely can sit and read a book all the way through. There are few exceptions to this, but for the most part, reading a book is a process that takes many sittings for me. And in a way, I like it that way, because it gives the book a chance to soak in my brain, as opposed to a quick dunk in the pool. Perhaps the reason I like John Irving so much is that his books are so long they take many sittings to get through; and all the while you think about the characters, and you wonder what will happen to them, and in the same way your own life fascinates you as it unfolds, so do long books, where each time you pick it up something new happens. But, because it was due the next day, last week I read William Faulkner's "As I Lay Dying" all in one night. And it wasn't that difficult to do. In middle school I had to read "The Sea Wolf" by Jack London all in one day, and that was a tedious experience I shall never forget. But "As I lay Dying" was really easy to read. The chapters were so short and the words so simple that I flew through that book and even had somewhat of a good night's sleep afterwards. The book itself is fascinating. Each chapter is a psychological portrait, poetic in language, and rich in imagery. Through very few words, Faulkner sears these characters into your brain, and the events that happen to them are secondary to who they are. And towards the end, as the plot twists and turns, the narration skips past it until you have to piece things together for yourself. Which makes it that much better. I really enjoyed "As I Lay Dying" and I'm looking forward to reading 'Light in August" in a few weeks.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent, but Different, Book By Faulkner
Review: Since I liked The Sound and the Fury so much, I decided to give this book, regarded as "Faulkner's other masterpiece," a try. While I didn't like it as much as I liked The Sound and the Fury, I really enjoyed this book, also. Faulkner further experiments with style by splitting the narrative duties between fifteen separate narrators throughout the course of the story. Throughout fifty-nine chapters, these narrators each tell their own stream-of-consciousness rendition of the story. This book contains Vardaman's famous "My mother is a fish" chapter. The story itself, that of the Bundren family's journey to bury their mother, Addie, in Jefferson, Missisippi, is darkly humorous. I still have a mental picture in my head of the Bundren family wagon entering Jefferson, encircled by buzzards, and of the townspeople covering their noses so they don't have to bear the stench of Addie's dead body. This book also explores several other themes, such as religious hypocrisy. I especially enjoy how the reader sees the story unfolding from so many different viewpoints. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Work Of Art
Review: A testament to human endurance. Faulkner wrote this one in his spare time (while working 12-hour days)in a matter of weeks. The narrative structure (simpler than Sound And The Fury)allows glimpes of a tormented, fascinating inward eternity only Faulkner could achieve. Never read a Faulkner book? Begin here!
Rating: 
Summary: I'd Rather Lay Dying...
Review: Yes. Faulkner considers this book one of his best. Yes. The English Language is used artistically. However - this book is a waste of time. The reading is tedious and grueling - often, a reader must stop at every line, considering what has happened, and rarely - if ever - do you know exactly what is going on. Of course, that was Faulkner's point in writing this - to demonstrate a story woven around the use of inner monologues and not the typical third person approach. But I'd rather lay dying than read this book. If you do want a good example of Faulkner - read his short story, A Rose for Emily. Faulkner is in top form in his short fiction, not his books, and certainly not this one.
Rating:
Summary: Come one! Come all! Try a literary Genius for the 1st time!
Review: This book is the perfect starter text for anyone reading Faulkner for the first time. Although, the themes as well as the narrative structure are reminscent of his other texts such as Sound and the Fury, the break down of characters (each of which receive multiple seperate narrative chapters) allow the reader to see just how brilliantly Faulker works with the genesis and arc of his characters. The movement never stops in the novel and it is hard to put down. You won't be able to walk away unsatisfied and, more importantly, unfufilled.
Rating:
Summary: if you don't read this you are making a mistake
Review: So much has been said about this wonderful book, but I'll repeat one thing: It is very good. According to legend, it took Faulkner a mere 6 weeks to write this book. Imagine what he'd have come up with if he spent more time on it? "Absolom, Abolom!" no doubt. I am one of those folks that believes Faulkner to be the second coming of Christ. Actually, I tend to like Faulkner a lot more than Christ, as his words are more powerful any day of the week. At the very least they seem to contain more truth. So read this book, and let me know what you think. It is possible that I am just some idiot who likes to make bold statements, but it is also possible that I am an astute reader that can, on occasion, spot a masterpiece. Listening to me is a gamble, but in this case it is one worth taking.
Rating:
Summary: An Ingenius Use of the English Language
Review: William Faulkner is unmatched in his craft. The characters in As I Lay Dying are as complex as they are diverse...and are equally represented. We are taken into this emotional epic by the voices of those who are experiencing it first hand...from the five-year-old watching his mother die to the brash, troubled young man wondering whether he loved his mother enough. The character that most touched me was most certainly Vardamann, the five-year-old boy. The successful way in which Faulkner captures the innocence and pain of childhood is nothing short of remarkable. I would recommend this book to anyone; its lilting prose resonates in your mind long after you put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: A psychological masterwork
Review: This book is one of the most psychologically compelling pieces of literature I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Faulkner, a master of the macabre and the psychological, intricately weaves together the psyches of his characters, making each one different and interesting. The personas range from childishly humerous to deeply religious to downright frightening, and it is an interesting task to attempt deciding which characters are truly insane and which are not. The book is stunning, especially if you are willing to look into the different aspects of the characters and their lives. Definitely one of the best books in existance, in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: woohoo for formal innovation
Review: This book has neither the emotional oomph of "The Sound and the Fury" nor the huge scope of "Light in August," but it is absolutely breathtaking as a stylistic tour de force and as an exploration of consciousness. Which is not to say that the book is at all dry; no indeed. The plot is beautifully archetypal, the characters never cease to shock, amaze, and entertain, and of course Faulkner writes like a force of nature. The weirdness of the form may throw off those who aren't prepared for it, but to some extent formal innovation was what modernism was all about. Like Faulkner's other great books, this one requires a high level of reader participation: passive entertainment is not the name of the game. But if you're willing to think about the book while you read it, you will discover the richness of Faulkner's thought about heroism, "artistic" detachment, and the way language and experience are related. Here's something to get you started: how can Darl narrate his mother's death if he's not even there?
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