Rating: 
Summary: A difficult but rewarding read.
Review: This was the first Faulkner novle I read. The first time I read it, I wanted to chuck the book through my bedroom window. But after taking my time, reading about Faulkner, and mapping out the Benjy section with the help of Cliff's Notes, I began to enjoy this book very much. It's basically centered around one event: the daughter's lost of her virginity and the subsequent effects on her family afterwards. The book is broken into four section, each named after one of her three brothers (Benjy, Quentin, and Jason) and the family housekeeper (Disley). Each narrator gives their views of the situation, (Disley's section is narrated by Faulkner himself.)Each chapter is written in quite a different style; the most difficult, most would agree, being the first chapter, the Benjy section. Benjy is mentally retarded and has no sense of time; he works purely on physical sensation. The timeframe during his narrative is all over the place. To clear things up, Cliff's Notes map out most of the time changes in his section. (No one but Faulkner himself knows all of them, and he's dead.) Once you come to know where the scene changes, the story starts to unfold. The second section, Quentin's, is written in stream-of-consciousness. Quentin's section is written with sohpisticated vocabulary and sentence structure because he is a student at Harvard. Jason's section is probably the quickest read; he's incredibly ignorant and cruel. The Disley section is probably the most satisfying overall, but each section needs the help of the others to reach the story's full effect. This is well worth the read if you have the time.
Rating:
Summary: True greatness lies underneath the showboating
Review: I wouldn't characterize The Sound and the Fury as a difficult novel to read. But the prose is rendered with such complex virtuousity that the reader can easily fall into the trap of patting himself on the back for understanding what's going on and loving this book merely on a self-congratulatory level. The true meat of this book is the heart-breaking decay of the once honorable Compson family, achieved through the piecing together of the four stream of conscious narrative passages. In Faulkner's Nobel Prize acceptance speech, he appealed to future writers to nurture a legacy of preoccupation with matters of the heart. In S&F, where Faulkner walks the walk, I often stripped away the human frivolity of the characters and imagined (as I was allowed to by the great author's hyper-vivid characterizations) them as simple, bare-boned apes duped by some mythical "human condition." But the vigour with which the Compson brothers' narratives cling to their varying degrees of affection, lust and hostility towards their sister Caddy serve to distinguish their savage desires from that of animals by way of producing results that run counter to a survival instinct. It is as if the social climate of Faulkner's south would lead Quentin's indulgence in the heated, primal "joy" of incest to his buckling of the more sacred and basic notion of survival. The book is also extremely funny, from Luster's "Aw Mammy"s to Quentin's Harvard pals to Benjy's eruptions everytime the golfers on his former pasture called for a "caddie". I'd recommend this book to any and everyone. As mentioned above, the story has it all: sex, violence, depth, atmosphere (humidity), and humor- in spades. And the descriptive passages articulate beauty and horror to such an extent that it seems bottled for the reader to use forever, helping us solidify our own experience with many of life's more ethereal moments through words.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: As a story, the first two sections of "The Sound and the Fury" are almost unintelligible. But somehow Faulkner succeeds in giving you clues to what is going on despite the rambling senseless phrasing. After you've finished reading you feel relieved that it's over, but sometime later you feel the need to go back and read it with new understanding.Don't cheat yourself and get the Cliff's Notes. Just read it twice. The first time it doesn't make that much sense. The second time it becomes much clearer. Then get the Cliff's Notes and be impressed with the depth of Faulkner's mind. "TSATF" is really a powerful story -- underneath it all -- but more than anything, Faulkner is experimenting with storytelling technique, specifically, "stream of conciousness." That's what critics love about it, that it's challenging and it was experimental when it was originally published. The average reader, of course, is more interested in a good story. And, as a result, most people will be disappointed, because it is just too difficult to figure out what is going on from paragraph to paragraph. But struggle on. Like good medicine, it's definitely worth your time and effort.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing!
Review: Faulkner is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine, along with Toni Morrison, for they both right with a certain air of mystery. You know when you read the words that there are many hidden secrets behind them that will be revealed to you only at the appropriate time. They both force the reader to broaden their mind beyond the obvious and to delve into the souls of the characters. Faulkner's methods are spell-binding, literally forcing you to turn page after page. I couldn't put this book down. All the characters in this book were flawed, but each had certain qualities that were also admirable. Caddy was, in the most basic sense, a very loving person, as evidenced by her enduring love for the mentally-challenged Benjy. Quentin (the male version), above all others, was noble and honorable. Jason, though harsh and racist, was loyal, even if he made those to whom he was loyal pay a price for his allegiance. Finally, Benjy, in his heart, was gentle and misunderstood--untouched by the vanity and prejudices that affected the other members of the family. Of course, they should all be thankful for Dilsey, whose deep devotion and conscience was all that kept this family going.
Rating:
Summary: The best
Review: Of all the Faulkner books available, this one is by far the best. And I've read them all. Yes, that's correct, all of them. Second place probably goes to AS I LAY DYING and third to LIGHT IN AUGUST. No Faulkner is easy, but TSATF is one of his more accessible efforts and should be read by everyone, whether as recommended reading in school or not. And while I'm normally one nowadays for bestsellers like DA VINCI CODE or McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, I do also enjoy "real" literature. Not that those aren't "real" and the McCrae is actually LIKE Faulkner in some respects, but those two are more "popular" in their efforts than most Faulkner. To anyone interested in great writing, TSATF is the ONE Faulkner book you must read. Hopefully, after that, you'll want to tackle them all!
Rating:
Summary: Still Amazing. Still Challenging.
Review: From a narrative standpoint, this novel moves from the disconnected observations of the retarded Benji, to the guilty thoughts of the pathetic and suicidal Quentin, to the deceitful manipulations of the bitter Jason, to a third-person narrative, where we get an objective rendering of the life of Dilsey, the black woman who holds the Compson family together. This is a book with enormous range and a tour de force of a great writer who continues to amaze 75 years after publication. Nonetheless, the elements of Faulkner's writing that I enjoy the most are his humor and his descriptive powers. Here's one example, with Quentin Compson observing as he meanders before his suicide: "I could smell the curves of the river beyond the dusk and I saw the late light supine and tranquil upon tide flats like pieces of broken mirror, then beyond them lights began in the pale air, trembling a little like butterflies hovering a long way off." In my opinion, this amazing but challenging novel shows why Faulkner won the noble prize but could not support himself with his fiction.
Rating:
Summary: Faulkner Can't Fail
Review: I read somewhere that Faulkner believed that he failed in writing this novel because he used a few narrators to craft his story. I believe it just proved his genius mind even more. The Sound and the Fury was a difficult book. However, with a little research and opinions of others, it can become a book of deeper thinking for you. This book intrigued me and encouraged me to have a higher level of thinking. When you read this novel, you can't just look on the surface. You have to say to yourself, "Okay...what would the mentally challenged Benjy gather from this situation? Why did he flash back to Christmas?" Each character in The Sound and the Fury contributes to the craziness in the novel. They are very colorful individuals- from mentally challenged to promiscuous.
Everyone plays an important role in getting across the theme of failed Southern values. Mr. Jason Compson III disregards Southern morals and this leads to Quentin's suicide (just an example of the significance of this theme in the novel). It is important to pay attention to each little detail in this novel- especially the symbols. There is foreshadowing with Caddy's underclothes being dirtied, signifying the family's soiled name. This novel definitely deserves five stars because I do not feel worthy of even attempting to criticize Faulkner's writings. Even if it may be over almost everyone's heads, his stories can be pieced together carefully and made sense of.
Rating:
Summary: Not for everyone
Review: As a story, the first two sections of "The Sound and the Fury" are almost unintelligible. But somehow Faulkner succeeds in giving you clues to what is going on despite the rambling senseless phrasing. After you've finished reading you feel relieved that it's over, but sometime later you feel the need to go back and read it with new understanding. Don't cheat yourself and get the Cliff's Notes. Just read it twice. The first time it doesn't make that much sense. The second time it becomes much clearer. Then get the Cliff's Notes and be impressed with the depth of Faulkner's mind. "TSATF" is really a powerful story -- underneath it all -- but more than anything, Faulkner is experimenting with storytelling technique, specifically, "stream of conciousness." That's what critics love about it, that it's challenging and it was experimental when it was originally published. The average reader, of course, is more interested in a good story. And, as a result, most people will be disappointed, because it is just too difficult to figure out what is going on from paragraph to paragraph. But struggle on. Like good medicine, it's definitely worth your time and effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Remember what Twain said about a classic?
Review: Without the hype, I wouldn't have even finished it. As the reputation precedes it though, I had to give it a chance. The style was so challenging, I found it hard to enjoy the reading process. There is much more to the novel than can be obtained in one reading, but I have very little desire to read it again. A quandry. This book was suggested by a book club, and did yield some interesting discussion, so I guess it succeeded on that level. I know that whatever I gained from the book was largely derived from study notes. That makes me suspicious of its actual ability to communicate its message, leading me to remark that the book was a 'lengthy companion to literary aids'.
Rating:
Summary: Dont Give Up, this one is worth it.
Review: From Lady McBeth's solioqy," Out Out Brief candle...it is a tale told by and idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" comes the name for this novel. Be forewrned, this is a tough book to get through, but with a little advice you can get through it. First, make a geniological family tree. When there are two different Jason characters, 2 different Quentin characters, and 2 different Maurice characters you might run into trouble figuring out which is which. Keep this in mind, Faulkner's style of writing includes stream of conciousness. Simply put, one idea leads to another and soon you will find yourself in another timeline in another time. Be careful and read slowly and you will truly appreciate this. Read quickly and you will be lost in a hurry.
This is easily the best novel I have ever read, but dont do it the injustice of a quick weekend read. Spend a few weeks on this one.
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