Reviews
In William Faulkner's novels, the narration (method of story telling) is more the point than the narrative (the story). In Light in August, the story of Lena's search for her baby's father and Joe Christmas's tragic life is told through a series of oral histories. Alysson Olivera in her review of Light in August focuses on the importance of memory in narration of the novel. As so much of the book is told as the sort of gossip you'd hear from friends and neighbors, most of the story is told in flashback. Each chapter builds as a separate but connected short story with the punchline in the last couple pages of the chapter being the thing that ties all the chapters together into a coherent narrative. The book has strong Christian themes, much as the way that Steinbeck's East of Eden is based on the book of Genesis. Joe Christmas is an obvious Christ figure. Of the William Faulkner books I've read, it was probably one of the most enjoyable ones. He's not a favorite author of mine. I find his experimentation with narration over focusing on building a strong narrative tiresome and often times counterproductive.
well that was a reread
I’m not actually done with this I’m like 80 pages from the end but I am mentally done with it. Many peaks and valleys to this one. Worth reading but trying to finish it WHILE teaching it has been exhausting.
Ever since reading As I Lay Dying last year, I've been excited to read another of Faulkner's books. I love his style of writing so much. The characters were written so well, I loved the characters of Lena and Joe Christmas. The stream of consciousness style of writing helps you really get into the mindset of the characters and really connect with them and their problems. This book was so far ahead of its time, addressing themes such as race, class and gender; topics which were taboo in the 1930s. Faulkner has such a great talent for setting an atmosphere and mood for his stories, something I noticed reading both this and As I Lay Dying. My only problem was the slow pacing (I think that might be my fault for reading this immediately after reading a few fast paced horror novels) which made it sometimes boring to read. Other than that, I think it's worth a read for anyone who is a fan of Southern Gothic or character- driven stories and I will definitely be checking out more from William Faulkner in the future.
