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The Sound and the Fury

The Sound and the Fury

List Price: $10.95
Your Price: $8.21
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Ambivalent about S&F
Review: I suppose I should be falling all over myself right now to ascribe genius, vision, originality, insightfulness, and other demi-god-like qualities to Faulkner because of his book. But I can't. I keep having this nagging suspicion that Faulkner made Benjy's section (and to a lesser extent Quentin's) deliberately distorted, confusing, bizarre and contradictory just to have a laugh at our expense, or, even worse, to make us think that somehow it was avant-garde, daring or original. One reviewer has complained that he felt the pages were randomly shuffled; occasionally I get that "Electric Lunch" feeling too.

And I couldn't relate to Caddy. "Heart's darling"? If this is Faulkner's idea of a heart's darling, then he has some deep seated psychological issues to work out. So Caddy was tramp; big deal. She dared to lose her virginity at 15. Wow. She got pregnant and gave the child to her mother to raise. How original. Exactly what were her redeeming qualities supposed to be? That she missed the child she abandoned?

Ironically I actually could relate more to Jason, the only member of the Compson family who at least he's got some common sense, even if, as one reviewer correctly noted, he is pure nastiness.

When this book appeared in 1929, it probably was considered very progressive in its treatment of then-taboo subjects. But in today's world the themes are at the best quaint, and the worst trite. All in all, the family is really nothing more than a southern, 1920s version of the Jerry Springer show: retarded, suicidal, thieving brothers, alcoholic father, slutty sister and granddaughter, neurotic mother. What's so original about dysfunctional families? Hell, we've got one in the White House.

Please folks -- when you praise this book, make "dam" sure you're not praising the outdated, merely cleverly banal.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: full of SOUND and FURY signifying NOTHING...
Review: to those who wish to engage in an emotionally heart and soul wrenching novel, read the sound and the fury. BUT, be prepared to go under the most rigorous and mentally draining gymnastics you will ever come across. today was the completion of my faulkner seminar class and it was rather difficult to realize that it was in fact the last day... yet... it wasn't. in faulkner, you can read the story over and over and over and over... and everytime notice something different, engage in second level reflection, constantly stab the intellect with pressing questions and even more nerve wracking conclusions... but faulkner will always remain. the sound and the fury is so didactic, ambigous, yet straightforward and clear. one the greatest novels i have ever read and while i continue to read the classics with grapes of wrath, lolita, etc... i always go back to faulkner. there is always something more to grab, something more that faulkner hands to you, but on such and such a level that you can't conceive of it's possible existence... at least not now... it becomes clear... he becomes clear... the tragic suicide of quentin and the flemistic cruely of jason becomes clear... to a certain extent... read faulkner and it will be some of the best literature you will ever experience...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: American literature at its absolute best
Review: There is certain delectableness when delving into one of Faulkner's works, and this book provides the most intellectual roller coaster ride of them all. The Sound and the Fury is by far the greatest American novel of this century, and ranks right up there as the greatest ever. The story about the Compson family, their trials and tribulations, and the genius of the 4 narrated chapters is incredible. It would be a shame to go through life not knowing how a character like Benjy acts and fells, to know the torture of a Quentin, the sardonic nature of Jason, and the love and beauty that encompasses all of Caddy. A must read for anyone who loves literature, that is, great literature. Faulkner provided us with a great challenge and tug at the heart, and The Sound and the Fury is simply perfect.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Complex and powerful
Review: After you get to the last page you will want to go back to the first and start reading it again. The way in which Faulkner let me into the intimate details of the Compson family's convoluted lives made me feel like I was sharing their secrets and heartaches. If you like books that spell everything out for you in black and white - you won't like this book!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The masterpiece of American Fiction
Review: This is Faulkner at his best. He wrote his heart out in this book. He always considered it his best work.

Difficult reading? This is Faulkner, not Hemmingway. The prose is totally unique, and very typical of his work. The first part of the book is the most difficult-but go with it. The viewpoint is that of a severly retarded adult. It is all impression, like a Monet. Don't get caught up in the sentance construction. Let if flow and you'll get it.

Part three is the reward for wading through part one and two. Jason Compson. One of the nastiest characters you'll find in American fiction. And part three is hillarious.

See if you too don't fall in love with Caddy Compson.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Forget that Irish guy
Review: SAF baffles on the first read, clicks into place on the second; and resonates on the third. Sure, not much happens, and then Faulkner retells his durn story again, again, and again. Time collapses and becomes static, the idea being that any moment can hold the whole of time: a past that "isn't even past," a present that is edgy and small, a future that may prove no more than repeated cycles. Read this, and you'll wonder why As I Lay Dying is allowed to stand as many people's impression of Faulkner. Follow it with Absalom, Absalom!, and you'll wonder why all the fuss about Joyce.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Difficult but rewarding, fun to read if you love reading
Review: I began The Sound and the Fury with some trepidation, because I had heard that it was a difficult book. Really, only the first third is "difficult", being a tale told by an idiot, literally. I recommend that you just go with the flow, and don't try to figure things out on a first reading. You will find enough memorable images and characters to make it worthwhile. Later, you will probably want to reread the book, because the deeper you dig, the more you find.

www.io.com/~norwoodr

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: parts greater than the whole
Review: Falukner shows us his subject, the heroine Caddy, thru three pairs of eyes, her brothers'. Frankly, the brothers are more arresting the our heroine. We are permitted plenty of stream-of-consciousness with Quentin, Benjy, and Jason, but never are we allowed into the Caddy's soul. I know he had his reasons for concealing, but it flaws the novel. Mr. Compson, penultimate cynic, and Mrs. Compson, obnoxious hypochondriac, are both sharply and convincingly drawn. Jason is a classic. Benjy and Quentin are not believable though intensely painted.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Difficult Going for the Mind of the '90s
Review: Great literature requires the reader to think, to contemplate what has been read. The Sound and the Fury, therefore, is a difficult book for the modern mind. After having said this, I would recommend that you sit down (hopefully, with a few uninterrupted hours) and endeavor to struggle through it. It is not candy for the mind, and at many points, you may be tempted to throw it across the room. But stick with it, and let Faulkner work his magic. You'll be glad that you did.

Read it alongside Ecclesiastes, and it may help you to better understand the message.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Classic
Review: I just read a previous review to this novel and was baffled to see that someone actually wanted it to be "reorganized." I will be the first to admit that this is one very difficult novel to handle. Faulkner wrote it in stream-of-consciousness so not everything is in the most coherent order. Yet, by giving us four points of views of certain members of a dysfunctional family, we are truly able to see how each interprets the hardships that the family undergoes. Also, we are better able to understand the reasons for the incest and the constant troubles that the Compson family endures. For instance, by able to walk in Jason's mind, we are able to grasp why he would committ suicide. Faulkner wrote in a way in which each human being thinks, where we always jump from one thing to another, things that are not always connected to each other. This is what makes the novel complex. Surely one may ask after finishing the novel what all of this meant. Honestly there is no ap! parent nor one correct meaning. And that is what makes the work of art so great. Faulkner provides us with the experiences. But, as readers who have different expereinces, we have to interpret those experiences which Faulkner gives. And because of the vast array of experiences and interpretations each individual has, this book has an infinite number of meanings. It all depends on the individual. I, for one, despite have to grudge through its difficulty, learned much more about myself, my life, and humanity. It is a novel I have learned to love, and I recommend it to anybody willing to take their time to think and reflect.


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