Absalom, Absalom! Change ), You are commenting using your Google account. ( Log Out /  By William Faulkner. The effect of history is one of the most important topics addressed in Absalom, Absalom! has been reviewed by many writers across various publishing platforms, who all seem to agree to describe it as one of the most chaotic narrative styles they have read yet. Suggestions. If you are able to make it through the first chapter, however, the following chapters are easier. Thomas Sutpen confounds the town of Jefferson, Mississippi—and particularly the Coldfield family—when he comes from nowhere and acquires a huge tract of land, called the Sutpen Hundred (square miles, not acres), and builds an enormous house on the edge of a swamp with the help of his band of wild black men and a French architect, who he more or less treats as a captive. So, it’s critical that this novel be read and that the reader take the necessary time and patience with Faulkner, consult secondary sources sparingly, wait until the end to go back and try figure it out — like history, the novel is clearer in hindsight, but never crystal clear. is considered by many to be William Faulkner's masterpiece. Faulkner applies the same stern, Old Testament God treatment to Sutpen and the South and gives warning to the North which did not bury the hatchet at Appomattox. by William Faulkner My rating: 5 of 5 stars Fairly difficult to read (well what do you expect, it’s Faulkner), though more consistent in that the difficulty doesn’t fluctuate as much as Sound and the Fury does; it’s easier than the most difficult parts of that book but harder than the easier ones. By design, the reader becomes part of the story, figuring out and filling in the details, grappling with why did it happen that way. Arthur Hirsch in his review in The Baltimore Sun describes Absalom! is an amazing work of literature because while it is fiction and nearly mythological in scope, and while the dialogue does not in any way reflect how people actually talk, it is also absolutely true. And married her sister Ellen and begot a son and a daughter which — (Without gentleness begot, Miss Rosa Coldfield says) — without gentleness. This is the genius of Faulkner that he’s able to create a new myth — and a true myth that looks both ways. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Make no mistake, Absalom got what he deserved. His style is dense, sometimes fragmented, wordy and difficult to read. The novel begins in another dark house with Rosa Coldfield and her old fashioned thoughts about how to stay cool in the Mississippi summer, so there is a cute play there. This book has been on my TBR list for years, though I've… Even without a proper familial linage, he gains the respect of his society. She wants Quentin to take her out to Sutpen’s old plantation house that September evening. is genuinely one of the most challenging books I have ever read. Get free homework help on William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! ” Add Comment. download 1 file . Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner~ A Capsule Book Review by Allen Kopp William Faulkner (1897-1962) is arguably the best American novelist of the twentieth century, the supreme literary stylist. ABSALOM, ABSALOM! Rather than romanticize the old South, like Mitchell, Faulkner illustrates its depravity. Absalom Absalom!- Review. The southern man’s strength and valor enabled him to hold out for so long for his lost cause, but his honor without pity doomed him from the start, a lost cause indeed. by William Faulkner My rating: 4 of 5 stars The potential problem with someone like myself reviewing a novel of such distinction – according to some to be the greatest work of Southern Literature – is that I’m a total outsider when it comes to Faulkner’s work and hardly have the English major’s tools of analysis to dissect the nuance and depth of his prose.