Rating: 
Summary: experimental gibberish travelling the road to genius
Review: countless literary fiends have just flinched, i'm sure. something uneasy is crawling around under their skin, and they can't place it. little do they know it's merely me, baby-bashing a much-loved, canonized, idolized classic.i read. i read a lot. i majored in creative writing and english because i loooove books and criticism. (does this pre-qualify me for faulkner? hardly, i'm just giving myself a few wobbly stilts worth of "reading credentials"). i armed myself. i knew it'd be tough. i'm unafraid to ask for help/use cliff notes, etc., and that's what i did. it didn't help. oh sure, i understood it, but once unraveled it's just another incestous, suicidial, land obsessed, southern novel. i'm just not into books that take every ounce of my stamina to keep reading, books that make sense to no one but the author, and readers who've used the assistance of a zillion critics, who've spent lifetimes pouring over every single itty-bitty word in order to make some sense of it. hooray for those who find the genius, hooray for faulkner for opening up doors that lead into hallways filled with self-induldgent experimental drivel, and self-induldgent brilliance. i still didn't enjoy it. but i have to give it 3 stars because of where it took literature. just be warned.
Rating: 
Summary: Great literature....terrible story
Review: First off, I appreciate the extraordinary literary value of this seminal work of fiction. In essence, yes, Faulkner did brazenly pave a new road that had been yet to be traveled by previous authors. His prolific use of literary elements, many of which are necessary to the story and some of which are not, emanate early and often throughout The Sound and the Fury. His seemingly effortless shift between past and present, between Benjy, Quentin, & Jason is undeniably masterful. With all of this adulation, my review thus far sounds like nothing short of a 5 star review. While Faulkner's genius is irrefutably compelling, the story is anything but. I just feel that the underlying story of the dissolution of a Southern family (i.e. the Southern way of life), none of which are likable, was as an exercise in banality, if not futility -- regardless of the literary talent bestowed upon it. I like Southern literature, but this would not be included in my top 100, let alone top 10. It's about as fun as watching paint dry. Just another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. If you don't say it's great, then you must be derided as an idiot -- not unlike Benjy. Boring - with a capital B.
Rating:
Summary: Great literature....terrible story
Review: First off, I appreciate the extraordinary literary value of this seminal work of fiction. In essence, yes, Faulkner did brazenly pave a new road that had been yet to be traveled by previous authors. His prolific use of literary elements, many of which are necessary to the story and some of which are not, emanate early and often throughout The Sound and the Fury. His seemingly effortless shift between past and present, between Benjy, Quentin, & Jason is undeniably masterful. With all of this adulation, my review thus far sounds like nothing short of a 5 star review. While Faulkner's genius is irrefutably compelling, the story is anything but. I just feel that the underlying story of the dissolution of a Southern family (i.e. the Southern way of life), none of which are likable, was as an exercise in banality, if not futility -- regardless of the literary talent bestowed upon it. I like Southern literature, but this would not be included in my top 100, let alone top 10. It's about as fun as watching paint dry. Just another case of The Emperor's New Clothes. If you don't say it's great, then you must be derided as an idiot -- not unlike Benjy. Boring - with a capital B.
Rating:
Summary: I Never Understood All The Fuss
Review: I had to read this book for a college literature class, and the professor described it as one of the greatest pieces of American literature ever written. Years later, I remember this book clearly. Most of the time, that would be something pleasing to hear for an author or a professor recommending a book. Not this time. I found "The Sound and the Fury" to not only be extremely boring and depressing, but also to be poorly written. I'm not talking grammar, punctuation, or spelling; I'm talking about a story being written in a cohesive, internally consistent, and comprehensible manner. I remember reading and rereading whole paragraphs, and finally concluding that it was not me; the paragraphs were circular, illogical, and meaningless. I'm an avid reader with high reading comprehension (or so the tests said), but this book baffled me. I remember asking classmates about it, and they were relieved to find they were not alone. A few liked the book but, when asked why, they either could not explain it, or explained it in Faulkneresque gibberish. Sound and Fury, maybe. Meaning and coherence, no. Give me Steinbeck, Twain, or Poe any day.
Rating: 
Summary: Pure Genious
Review: I know that once I tell you this, half of you will probably not believe me, but I read this book as a junior in HS....yeah that's right 16 yr old me. We all thought my teacher was crazy, but he just knew our capabilites. After spending a term analizing great books and poetry, he decided to take us on a plunge to the bottom of his sea of books where his treasure chest was lying....low and behold we opened it and out came THE SOUND AND THE FURY. Along with our books, my teacher handed us what he called "the Faulkner bible." It was about 20 pages long and it was really useful in figuring out what time period we were in and what was going on every time Benjy (the first narrator) switched time periods (or, switched to italics). I really must say, I've never seen an author with capabilites such as Faulkner has. He is able to see through the eyes of a person with no sense of depth and take us on an unforgettable journey through the mind of a mentally disabled adult. Can you imagine a 2D world?? I promise after reading this, you'll be glad you did....it is extremely sensational. Imagine if you actually had Faulkner read it to you with his accent. hehe we kind of did (My teacher's a little cuckoo as you can tell, and he would come into class all dressed up and talking like Faulkner ohhhh it was amazing!!! Definitely brought the book to life).
Rating:
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 has 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 very best quaint, and the very worst trite. All in all, the family is really nothing more than a southern, 1920s version of the Jerry Springer show: ..., suicidal, thieving brothers, alcoholic father, ... sister and granddaughter, neurotic mother. What's so original about dysfunctional southern families? Hell, we've had 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:
Summary: A must-read...
Review: I was introduced to "Sound and Fury," and Faulkner for that matter in college. I was wholly unprepared as an average American videophile for reading on this level. Without notes I would've never made it through. But now that I've got this one under my belt, I'm infinately better for it. It truly expanded my reading capacity. I'm also better for having experienced Faulkner's story telling. The dialogue -- Benjy! -- is so very well done. I always considered Twain to be the premier Southern American novelist, but now I'd argue for Faulkner. To date, I've read this novel three times and have also read two others of Faulkner's. If you're new to Faulkner, begin here. "Sound and Fury" is a cake walk compared to "Absalom, Absalom." But once you tackle "Sound" you'll be more than able to go after anything else of Faulkner's. And you most certainly will!
Rating: 
Summary: The most amazing first chapter in all literature
Review: Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. The idiot narrating the first chapter is Benjy Compson, down syndrome adult, and the sound is his bellowing every time he is reminded of his beloved big sister Caddy, who no longer lives with him. Some of the fury comes from Quentin Compson, Caddy's oldest younger brother, who can't bear the thought of Caddy's boyfriends taking her to bed. There is more fury from youngest brother Jason Compson, an intolerable little brat who grows into a thoroughly evil adult. And there is Caddy's daughter Quentin (named after her uncle) who suffers the bullying of uncle Jason until she's had enough of it. She lives with uncle Jason and with her worthless, infuriatingly stupid grandmother. The book is divided into four parts, each part told by a different person. Part One is told by Benjy, Part Two by brother Quentin, Part Three by devilish Jason, and Part Four by the black servant Dilsey, who has more sense than all the others combined. Benjy's chapter may be the most amazing ever written. Faulkner gives it the oddest stream of consciousness structure. Benjy's mind constantly shifts from the present to the past. Faulkner wanted to minimize the confusion by color coding the paragraphs to let the reader know when Benjy was shifting from one time period to another, but the publisher didn't go along with color coding. All you have are a few italics as hints that something is changing. It's not enough. When you pick up this book you will need to pick up the Cliff Notes at the same time. Cliff Notes give an excellent and clear explanation of what in the hell is going on in the otherwise impossible to understand first section. Without the Cliff Notes, the sound and fury will refer to you smashing the book against a wall and screaming at Faulkner - Why are you putting me through this, you idiot! Why don't you just write in plain English! But with the Cliff Notes the chapter becomes really fascinating. I'll give you a clue. Benjy is standing by a fence looking into an adjoining yard where people are playing golf. Benjy is supervised by one of Dilsey's children. If one of the golfers calls to his caddie, and the young black child then says Hush Benjy! that means that Benjy has just had his heart broken for the millionth time hearing his sister's name but not seeing her, and he is screaming his fool head off. The first two parts of this book are like love letters to sister Caddy, who was expelled from the house for promiscuity. In this disfunctional family, promiscuity seems pretty understandable as an escape. The mother is a useless waste of protoplasm.
Rating:
Summary: Gibberish? Maybe not...
Review: The day I saw this on my syllabus in a post-mod english class, I was really excited. Since taking an entire course dedicated to Joyce's Ulysees last year, I have been infatuated with experimental literature (I am an english major nerd). I started reading this text, diligently unpacking all of the symbolism and time shifts, and I have to say that this book lives up to its reputation. The story of the socially, economically, and morally declining Southern family is old hat, but the methods of storytelling were novel. Shifts in time and the different devices that Faulkner uses (sensory/spacial correlations) to trigger memories (excellent in Benjy's section)are very well done.
The text is somewhat dense and complex; it is NOT meant to be an easy read. Faulkner creates a wonderful slice of Southern life and traces the dynamics of a seriously dysfunctional family. While it is no Finnegan's Wake (if you thought Ulysses was incomprehensible...), it does require some careful reading, and is well worth the effort.
Rating:
Summary: A Truly Disfunctional Family
Review: This is Faulkner's most accomplished work and his personal favorite. The trials and tribulations of the Compson family are told in 4 parts covering four separate days. The first three parts are narrated by the Compson sons-Benji, Quinton, and Jason-and the last part is written in third person. Mr. Compson is a good man who drinks himself to an early grave. Mrs Compson is a proud southern lady who instead of dealing with her family's problems declares herself an invalid and escapes to her room. She leaves the child rearing to the servents. She is so vain that when she becomes aware of her youngest son's disbility, she changes his given name from Maury to Benjamin so as to not embarrass her brother Maury, who he was named after. Quinton is an introspective loner who has trouble distinguishing between reality and fiction. Benji is a retarded man child given to fits and totally disregarded by his mother, his brother, and his neice. Jason is a cold and brutal racist, who blames his unhappiness on his family. The sister Caddy is the only sibling who shows any love toward Benji. Her loose morals however eventually estrange her from the rest of the family. Caddy's daughter, also named Quinton, (ostensibly Faulkner's way of further confusing the reader) is left to be raised by her totally removed grandmother and her cold and brutal Uncle Jason. The girl Quinton, like the rest of the family, detests being in the same room with her Uncle Benji. The servants, especially Dilsey, run the household. Dilsey is truly the only character with any strength. Luster, Dilsey's lazy grandson who takes care of Benji, provides some comic relief as he tries to avoid work like a plague. Part 1 is narrated by Benji whose thoughts skip back and forth in time. Benji's incoherent thoughts are difficult to understand especially since Faulkner throws the reader right into the action without any explanation. One thing that the reader easily understands is that Benji truly misses his sister Caddy who he is constantly looking for both in thought and action. Part 2 is narrated by Quinton and takes place in Boston on June 2 1910. Quinton, a student at Harvard, is not retarded like Benji but he is clearly disturbed. Quinton is fixated on the disgrace that has been brought to the family by Caddy. Quinton's devotion for his sister is filled with incestuos innuendos and he has a difficult time distinguishing between fantasy and reality. In my opinion this is truly the strongest part of the novel. Faulkner uses a watch with broken hands symbolizes Quintons quest to stop time. Part 3 is narrated by Jason who is a racist bully who has clearly been damaged by his dysfunctional family. By default, Jason has become the Compson patriarch. Jason is resentful of the fact that the family spent their last savings to send Quinton to college and there was nothing left for him. He hates Caddy because she did not marry the man who promised him a job in a bank. He despises having to look after Benji and he hates the servants. Part 4 concludes the story and deals with the stuggles of Caddy's daughter, Quinton, who learns that Jason has stolen money that Caddy has been sending regularly for Quinton's upbringing. Although Faulkner can be difficult this an emotion charged novel that ranks close the top of the best of fiction written in the 20th century. Faulkner is difficult but unlike some of his contemporaries, Joyce for instance, he is not impossible.
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