A Summer of Faulkner: As I Lay Dying/The Sound and the Fury/Light in August (Oprah's Book Club)

The 2005 Summer Selection is available in an exclusive three volume boxed edition that includes a special reader’s guide with an introduction by Oprah Winfrey.

Titles include:
As I Lay Dying
This novel is the harrowing account of the Bundren family’s odyssey across the Mississippi countryside to bury Addie, their wife and mother. Told in turns by each of the family members–including Addie herself–the novel ranges in mood from dark comedy to the deepest pathos. Originally published in 1930.

The Sound and the Fury
First published in 1929, Faulkner created his “heart’s darling,” the beautiful and tragic Caddy Compson, whose story Faulkner told through separate monologues by her three brothers–the idiot Benjy, the neurotic suicidal Quentin and the monstrous Jason.

Light in August
Light in August, a novel about hopeful perseverance in the face of mortality, features some of Faulkner’s most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, mysterious drifter consumed by his mixed ancestry. Originally published in 1932.

Take a seat in Oprah’s Classroom and sign up for Faulkner 101 on www.oprah.com/bookclub.

Customer Reviews:

Black And White In Color

By Kevin Killian - June 3, 2005

Three of Faulkner's greatest novels re-packaged to take advantage of Oprah Winfrey's massive promotion. As we know, Oprah has so much street cred she could propel a shopping list to the top of the best seller list, so let's see what she can do for Faulkner, a writer who has sometimes been criticized for relying on stereotyped depictions of black characters. And at least two of these three novels face that explosive issue head on. In THE SOUND AND THE FURY, the multiple neuroses of the (white) Compson family are always being counterposed to the nurturing and loving family of (black) Dilsey and the rest of the servants. No matter what awful thing happens to one of the Compsons, Dilsey will always be hugging them to her bosom and singing plantations spirituals to cheer them up, ignoring her own systemic arthritis the better to give them the love and affection their own parents don't know how to dish up.

In LIGHT IN AUGUST, the racial identity of its protagonist, Joe... read more

Not Exactly Light Summer Reading

By SCS - June 24, 2005

As an English Lit graduate, and aspiring writer, I have to admit that I took a step back when I saw this selection as Oprah's Summer Reading. Faulkner is not exactly the writer you take to the beach to read in snippets between sunscreen applications and frisbee tosses.

In my opinion (which probably isn't worth much to anyone except myself), Faulkner is quite possibly the most brilliant writer this country has ever witnessed. I have read too many of the reviews on Amazon that claim Faulkner's novels have no "plot". But any writer knows that plot is only one element of writing (and probably the least significant element). Too many contemporary novels (and movies...and TV shows) have nothing but plot. Faulkner's work fully realizes the most important elements of a beautiful story...character and ideas. Don't expect too much action in these books. Then again, are our lives defined by our daily actions, or how we feel about them? Faulkner's novels are about the inner... read more

Brace yourself for the ride of your life.

By Samuel Chell - June 7, 2005

No American author--not even Melville--has the potential to alter human consciousness as profoundly as Faulkner. The "bait" may be sensational plots, seemingly grotesque characters, and Southern Gothic settings, but the reward is knowledge of the innermost workings of the mind, of both the self in the world and the world of self. Faulkner is as advanced, as universal, as human as any author on the near side of Shakespeare.

Oprah's three selections are inarguably indispensable though not sufficient to a complete understanding of Faulkner's vision. Some readers may wish to start out with something lighter--for example, the short stories that are anthologized in introductory literature courses ("Rose for Emily," "Barn Burning," "That Evening Sun," and "The Bear"--short edition). And for those readers who jump right into the novels and survive the challenge of Faulkner's syntax, jump cuts, and stream-of-consciousness technique, there yet remains his masterpiece: "Absalom,... read more