Absalom, Absalom! by William Faulkner 
Release date: 1936 / 303 pages
Synopsis (from back cover): “Absalom, Absalom! is the story of Thomas Sutpen and his ruthless, single-minded pursuit of his grand design — to forge a dynasty in Jefferson, Mississippi, in 1830 — which is ultimately destroyed (along with Sutpen himself) by his own sons. A century later, the figure of Sutpen continues to haunt young Quentin Compson, who is obsessed with the legacy of Sutpen, and of the Old South.”
First line:
“From a little after two oclock until almost sundown of the long still hot weary dead September afternoon they sat in what Miss Coldfield still called the office because her father had called it that – a dim hot airless room with the blinds all closed and fastened for forty-three summers because when she was a girl someone had believed that sight and moving air carried heat and that dark was always cooler, and which (as the sun shone fuller and fuller on that side of the house) became latticed with yellow slashes full of dust motes which Quentin thought of as being flecks of the dad old dried paint itself blown inward from the scaling blinds as wind might have blown them.”
Review: Whew… and thank goodness it’s over! Now, this novel is incredible — truly incredible. One critic described it as a triumverate of race, class, and creed… as one of the finest portrayals of the “burden of the South.” So true… In addition, Faulkner’s use of shifting perspective is truly genius – the same basic story is retold from the perspective of a number of characters, some who lived the events and some who have learned the story from multiple sources. Faulkner demonstrates how the present shapes our understanding of the past, just as profoundly as the past shapes our understanding of the present.
The reader is asked to not only riddle out the meaning of each sentence (the above sentence is one of the easier to unwind, by the way), but to trust Faulkner throughout since the facts of the story change and disappear, depending on whose doing the telling. By the way, the longest recorded sentence in American literature is found in this novel — clocking in at 1300 words. And it doesn’t stand out, since most of the sentences are marathon-length.
But, if you can handle the syntax and the unknown, and do not mind that your reward is a terribly dark and disturbing climax that will haunt you for days if not weeks… then challenge yourself to tackle this tome. If it sounds like something your book club may attempt, I do have a kit available to help you navigate the greatness…
Anyone else read this? I would love to hear other perspectives!
1300 words, eh? And I thought ‘Ulysses’ was bad!
I haven’t read this one, but I’ve read some other Faulkner. ‘As I Lay Dying’ is the one that stands out in my memory. As you say, ingenius but grueling!
It has been 20 years since I read this, and I loved it then. I read through nearly all of Faulkner after reading Absalom. But it’s one of those books I’m afraid to go back and re-read: what if I don’t like it now?
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