Absalom, Absalom!: A Norton Critical Edition
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- Author：William Faulkner
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Summary
This Norton Critical Edition includes:
The authoritative text of Absalom， Absalom！， established by Noel Polk in 1986 and accompanied by Susan Scott Parrish's introduction and explanatory footnotes。 Two maps and five other images。 A rich selection of background and contextual materials carefully arranged to draw readers into the American South of William Faulkner's imagination。 Topics include "Contemporary Reception，" "The Writer and His Work，" and "Historical Contexts。" Seventeen critical essays on the novel's major themes， from classic literary critiques to recent scholarship on， among other topics， race， gender， and the environment。 A chronology and a selected bibliography。
The authoritative text of Absalom， Absalom！， established by Noel Polk in 1986 and accompanied by Susan Scott Parrish's introduction and explanatory footnotes。 Two maps and five other images。 A rich selection of background and contextual materials carefully arranged to draw readers into the American South of William Faulkner's imagination。 Topics include "Contemporary Reception，" "The Writer and His Work，" and "Historical Contexts。" Seventeen critical essays on the novel's major themes， from classic literary critiques to recent scholarship on， among other topics， race， gender， and the environment。 A chronology and a selected bibliography。
Reviews
Joseph Carrabis
，
Absalom， Absalom！ is an American classic and is considered one of the great Southern novels of its time。Now I will relate to you， through the over use and abuse of words and bizarre sentence constructions， the difficulty today's reader， nay， the reader of any age， may encounter while reading this amply written work which includes not periods where one would hope they would be as one lay gasping， in deed， dying， for lack of clarity， but instead encounters yet another heroic and heraldic flurry of Absalom， Absalom！ is an American classic and is considered one of the great Southern novels of its time。Now I will relate to you， through the over use and abuse of words and bizarre sentence constructions， the difficulty today's reader， nay， the reader of any age， may encounter while reading this amply written work which includes not periods where one would hope they would be as one lay gasping， in deed， dying， for lack of clarity， but instead encounters yet another heroic and heraldic flurry of commas as if summoned up and driven by Hell's hot ashes， likening the reading of Absalom， Absalom！ to a Sam Beckett novel because god forbid you should attempt one of his plays untutored， and realize Beckett and Faulker must have challenged each other， probably evoked each other， into writing sentences which bled into whole paragraphs， whole pages， pages upon pages until it seems heaven would burst with their verbiage。Any questions？ 。。。more
Arun Sarma
，
"Absalom， Absalom！" is a potent and deeply moving reflection on the intricate past of the American South。 Faulkner's exploration of the themes of history， memory， race， and family provides both a deeply personal and moving look at how individual lives are shaped by larger historical forces and a piercing critique of the oppressive power structures that have characterized Southern society。 "Absalom， Absalom！" is a potent and deeply moving reflection on the intricate past of the American South。 Faulkner's exploration of the themes of history， memory， race， and family provides both a deeply personal and moving look at how individual lives are shaped by larger historical forces and a piercing critique of the oppressive power structures that have characterized Southern society。 。。。more
Penny
，
I have been reading books I have always heard about but never read， and this was one of them。 I didn't go in completely blind as I have read some of Faulkner。 However， once again， I felt that it is an absolute chore to read Faulkner。 The writing is beautiful， but the stories always digress and fold in on themselves in numerous ways， so the reader cannot ever just enjoy a story。 I would not encourage someone to read this book。 I have been reading books I have always heard about but never read， and this was one of them。 I didn't go in completely blind as I have read some of Faulkner。 However， once again， I felt that it is an absolute chore to read Faulkner。 The writing is beautiful， but the stories always digress and fold in on themselves in numerous ways， so the reader cannot ever just enjoy a story。 I would not encourage someone to read this book。 。。。more
Gregory Ashe
，
Incredibly woven story。 Unbelievable that it has taken me this long to read my first Faulkner novel。
Lena Kinder
，
William Faulkner plays with time， and the idea that a person can never really understand the past when stories are told secondhand。 If you’re analyzing Absalom， Absalom！， just know that you’re the final chapter。
Oskari Portaankorva
，
Antaisin 2，5/5 jos pystyisi。 Juoni ja tarina sinänsä ihan jepa mutta Faulknerin vaikealukuinen ja ainutlaatuinen kirjoitustyyli sekä se， että kirjan tarina kerrotaan moneen otteeseen eri näkökulmista tekevät kirjan lukemisesta vähemmän innostavan。
Shobi
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The Greek myths sunflower and Aggy Feel like themes were stuff I already know
Lukas Neverdauskas
，
stopped at 50p/400， not bad but too complex at this stage。
Tre Kay
，
My second Faulkner book （the other being As I Lay Dying）。 I totally get why Faulkner tends to be polarizing among readers that I know。 But， in short， I dig him at times。 And other times I find myself frustrated with his prose style。 But not enough to keep me away from reading more of his stuff。 I enjoyed it
Richard Romero
，
Requires thoughtfulness Beautifully written， but requires close reading and concentration。 The last chapter presents a vivid mental picture of the violence and drama which ends the book。
Andrew
，
If you think you know who you are， you probably haven't interrogated yourself enough。 Why do you choose to do what you do？ Where does not only a thought spring from， but where does the animal twitch which provides a thought's igniting spark originate？ Is it in your blood？ Is it resultant of some Calvinistic path that has lead you to the moment of your cognition？ What is dead lives in you。 We have tried， with brute， racialized phrenology， to find excuse in our very blood for our failure。 To expla If you think you know who you are， you probably haven't interrogated yourself enough。 Why do you choose to do what you do？ Where does not only a thought spring from， but where does the animal twitch which provides a thought's igniting spark originate？ Is it in your blood？ Is it resultant of some Calvinistic path that has lead you to the moment of your cognition？ What is dead lives in you。 We have tried， with brute， racialized phrenology， to find excuse in our very blood for our failure。 To explain through in-groups and out-groups why one set is damned and the other set can lay in the hammock and sip from the jug。 To provide an excuse for our behavior。 Faulkner's Reconstructed South is a place listless in the sea， searching for a moral center， to make sense of its destruction。 Yet it cannot escape its sin。 The racism， which did not die but transformed。 The loss of sons who never came home， of women trapped in the mourning of their brothers and lovers and husbands and fathers; all who take it out on the myriad of black people who still reside in their midst， condemned to bear the brunt of their anger and serve as constant reminder of what they have lost。 The Sutpen clan is the South itself， incestuous， self-hating， it's own worst enemy and lover。 Insisting they are not any of those things， or perhaps just willfully ignoring that they are。 The South is America。 We are still unable to face ourselves。 May this book be less timely at some point， though I doubt it ever will be。 。。。more
Imre Bertelsen
，
"die dunne en broze draad， zei grootvader， waarmee de uitwendige hoeken en randen van verborgen en eenzame mensenlevens af een toe een moment met elkaar verbonden kunnen raken om daarna weer weg te zingen in de duisternis waarin de geest de eerste maal geroepen had en niet gehoord werd en de laatste maal zal roepen en dan evenmin zal worden gehoord""en goddank kun je vluchten， kun je ontsnappen aan die massieve eenmetervijftig dikke madenkaasachtige laag saamhorigheid die over de aarde heen ligt "die dunne en broze draad， zei grootvader， waarmee de uitwendige hoeken en randen van verborgen en eenzame mensenlevens af een toe een moment met elkaar verbonden kunnen raken om daarna weer weg te zingen in de duisternis waarin de geest de eerste maal geroepen had en niet gehoord werd en de laatste maal zal roepen en dan evenmin zal worden gehoord""en goddank kun je vluchten， kun je ontsnappen aan die massieve eenmetervijftig dikke madenkaasachtige laag saamhorigheid die over de aarde heen ligt， waarin mannen en vrouwen in paren rondhotsen en -botsen als kegels" 。。。more
Kate
，
A great many things about my body are weak and tender， and for that reason， what may seem like not much of a big deal to others may carry utmost importance for me。 For instance， there was the most terrible incident in my late teens when I was putting too much effort into my high school exams and caught a dreadful cold。 Being in my last year of high school and overburdened with the stress of entering college， I felt guilty resting。 So I went to the hospital， received a ringer（sodium lactate solut A great many things about my body are weak and tender， and for that reason， what may seem like not much of a big deal to others may carry utmost importance for me。 For instance， there was the most terrible incident in my late teens when I was putting too much effort into my high school exams and caught a dreadful cold。 Being in my last year of high school and overburdened with the stress of entering college， I felt guilty resting。 So I went to the hospital， received a ringer（sodium lactate solution）， and took the IV fluid pack home。 It sounded like a great idea。 Sodium lactate solutions are a great way to quickly heal your body， and what's more， I would be able to receive the shot in my home whilst studying。 The most productive healing experience I could ever ask for！ The ringer episode ended 6 hours later when， with half of the IV pack still remaining， crying out and suffering from much pain in my veins， I had to ask my mother to pull the needle out。 For I had not anticipated that my veins had become weak over my last two years of high school and could not bear a quicker shot。 The word 'ringer' has never failed to bring upon me a cascade of anxiety attacks ever since。 A more casual example （of my weak， fragile and overall a nuisance-like body） would be drinking coke。 Coke is a great drink to have， especially on a hot， sweltering， blistering summer day when you can practically taste the dryness on your bare skin。 Yet the inner palate and skin of my mouth and throat are quite frail that I find it hard to swallow， let alone gulp， coke from a straw。 But because I crave sweetness and the taste of coke， what ends up happening is a compromise， that is， leaving the coke out in the open long enough to let carbonic axid fizzle out。 Reading Faulkner felt like a mixture of receiving ringer and drinking coke。 Individually， ringers and coke are great-what many people are in need of and take delight in drinking， respectively。 Much the same way， from a literary perspective， Faulkner is a masterful writer。 The constant time jumping， his control of adjectives that provide a singular 'atmosphere' of Sahara desert-like Southerness to his novels you could almost feel the dryness in your mouth， your skin， your bare lungs， as if your burning from the inside-out， coupled with the way his characters from separate novels are interconnected， allowing the reader to explore the imaginary county he built。。。 Yet something about his writing didn't quite jive with me。 Swann's way， which I read along with this book， felt like my element。 Water is what I imagine constitutes my spirit; Proust felt like a river coursing through my veins。 Faulkner felt like a fire attempting to exterminate my water and my spirit。Concluding， there was great writing advice and creative techniques I earned from Faulkner。 Objectively， considering its literary importance and creative style， this would be a five star。 Yet I am doubtful whether I will try reading another of Faulkner novels in the near future。 Choosing to leave this unrated。 。。。more
Reed
，
Jesus…I feel like reading this book is the equivalent of being plucked by Virgil into the throes of Hell， seeing the mystery of the universe laid bare， and living to tell the tale。 Brutal， unrelenting， but so worth the effort。
Stan Stott
，
Just as good as it is challenging。 Never read anything quite like it … and I like it a lot。
Sylvie
，
I don't even know what to say about this book。 It's a masterpiece。 It's the most difficult thing I've ever read。 It's absolutely vile。 It's horribly racist， and it's also an incredible takedown of the absurdity of American racism。It's like a novel about the American dream， but it unflinchingly shows how the American dream collides with race。 But it's also from an unflinchingly white （racist） perspective。 I mean， this book has challenged the way I think of literature itself。 I do think it's a cru I don't even know what to say about this book。 It's a masterpiece。 It's the most difficult thing I've ever read。 It's absolutely vile。 It's horribly racist， and it's also an incredible takedown of the absurdity of American racism。It's like a novel about the American dream， but it unflinchingly shows how the American dream collides with race。 But it's also from an unflinchingly white （racist） perspective。 I mean， this book has challenged the way I think of literature itself。 I do think it's a crucial read if you're interested in Southern literature， but I don't know if I would recommend it， per se。 I'm glad to have read it。 。。。more
Matt Holman
，
Monumental。 Faulkner basically telling the Southern states to move on with their lives after reconstruction。 One of the most engaging and upsetting reading experiences I've ever had， and arguably the greatest condemnation of slavery and racism I've read written by a white southerner。 Very， very heavy and challenging， but immensely rewarding。 Give me all of the Faulkner， and give it to me now， please。 Monumental。 Faulkner basically telling the Southern states to move on with their lives after reconstruction。 One of the most engaging and upsetting reading experiences I've ever had， and arguably the greatest condemnation of slavery and racism I've read written by a white southerner。 Very， very heavy and challenging， but immensely rewarding。 Give me all of the Faulkner， and give it to me now， please。 。。。more
Kai
，
Adding this to reread pile despite not really being into it the first time around。 Maybe I’m just mad I couldn’t finish Go Ahead In the Rain
Joe Sweeney
，
Jesus。
Alexandru Popescu
，
One of those books you need to read twice to realize the true value of it。 Powerful！
Ester Núñez
，
Una obra maestra。 El estilo esperimental del texto lo hace verdaderamente unico。 El hilo conductor de la novela es la vida y obras de una persona del norte que hizo fortuna en el sur esclavista， antes de la guerra civil。 Y luego la decadencia de sus descendientes。 Pero el narrador principal es un joven que indaga sobre el personaje principal 50 años despues de haber fallecido。 El narrador no tiene toda la informacion de primera mano， sino que se va informando hablando con varias personas que con Una obra maestra。 El estilo esperimental del texto lo hace verdaderamente unico。 El hilo conductor de la novela es la vida y obras de una persona del norte que hizo fortuna en el sur esclavista， antes de la guerra civil。 Y luego la decadencia de sus descendientes。 Pero el narrador principal es un joven que indaga sobre el personaje principal 50 años despues de haber fallecido。 El narrador no tiene toda la informacion de primera mano， sino que se va informando hablando con varias personas que conocieron al personaje principal。 Pero claro， no todos ellos tienen informacion completa de él， por lo que ves la historia desde diferentes perspectivas y puedes incluso completar la historia e incluso cambiar de opinion respecto al protagonista y otros personajes a medida que la novela avanza。 Absolutamente recomendable。 。。。more
Lexi
，
The way Faulkner writes is intimidating。 But once I just let it flow over me without trying to understand everything it was actually pretty enjoyable。 I can see how the prose helped build the characters and by the end of the book it all still sort of made sense。
Joseph Greevy
，
"No wonder you folks all outlive yourselves" "No wonder you folks all outlive yourselves" 。。。more
Catherine
，
（;_;）really hard to keep reading it but it reallyyyyyyy paid off you know。Edit: Too good， got emo。 Charlessss Bon
Camila
，
”… escuchando la temperatura del desastre que es anterior a la fiebre， lo que produce adivinos y algunas veces los crea a la perfección， y de la catástrofe futura en la que el rostro del ogro de su niñez seguramente desaparecería de tal modo que ella llegaría a aceptar casarse con su dueño”。
Adrian
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book was total garbage ！ Lots of unnecessary pages， characters and stories ， just for the sake of writing！Hemingway was right when he said he doesnt need 100 words per sentence （like Faulkner） to write a good story。Its a huge 600 page book which felt like a total drag。It feels like you are mining for gold and you find here and there small trinkets of gold which is the main story; these small grains of gold keep you on your toes， keep you going and hunkering down and resist abandoning the fi This book was total garbage ！ Lots of unnecessary pages， characters and stories ， just for the sake of writing！Hemingway was right when he said he doesnt need 100 words per sentence （like Faulkner） to write a good story。Its a huge 600 page book which felt like a total drag。It feels like you are mining for gold and you find here and there small trinkets of gold which is the main story; these small grains of gold keep you on your toes， keep you going and hunkering down and resist abandoning the file of shit altogether。The author repeats himself thinking he is emphasizing some key points， but its just useless descriptions which serve no purpose for the reader。So from 600 pages the first 450 pages are like 10% main plot and 90% useless shit （gibberish that secondary characters say about the main ones or their miserable life ， dark descriptions and senzations）。 Then， right when you are fkin tired of it all， he starts speeding up and unveiling the main plot in the last 100-150 pages。Its not that i cant accept cliffhangers in a story， but i should feel。that the story shouldnprogress as i read it ， not that im stuck in a limbo of repetitions until the very end， until the author decides to just unveil it at max speed 。I felt that the whole story was like a building and you just looked at it from the outside for the first 450 pages and then you entered the building very fast ， and it couldve been filled with anything ， literally anything ， it was totally decoupled from what you have read while being outside the it。Summary:What the book is all about in a pharagraph:White guy Thomas arrives in a village in 1833 Misissippi ， builds a farm and marries a high society wife。He has two kids Henry and Judith。 Henry goes to college where he meets Charles。 They befriend。 Charles and Henry visit Thomas for christmas。 Charles thus meets Judith and starts planning to marry her。We later find out Charles is Henry's and Judith half brother from Thomas first marriage， when he worked and lived to make money in Haiti。Thomas repudiated first wife while fidning out she has black ancestry。Thomas tells Henry that Charles is his brother （hiding the black blood that runs through Charles veins）。Civil war breaks out and Charles and Henry enlist and go fighting for the Confederation。 During the next 4 years Henry contemplates the idea of approving the incestous marriage between his sister and half brother。He decides he is ok with it ， up until Thomas merts him and tells him that Charles is of black ancestry。The absurdity and WTF moment is when you realise Henry was finally ok with the incestous marriage but will never tolerate a man of black ancestry to marry his sister。 He goes back to Judith with Charles and shoots him right in front of Thomas house。Trash book， trash author attitude towards the reader ， for the first time i felt disrespected as a reader。You are way better off reading the damn resume ， its so much wasted time i can't believe ！PS: maybe my experience would've been a bit different if i would've read it in English and not in Romanian ， maybe the translation was a bit bad and i couldn't enjoy all the southern side stories and culture ， so factor this in ， also。 。。。more
Alexandru-Cătălin Siclitaru
，
Quite simply the best book I have ever read
Caius Terentius
，
This man has more subordinate clauses than Cicero and I'm here for it。==========Absalom， Absalom！ is a book both aesthetically gorgeous and intellectually substantial。 While stream-of-consciousness narration can be tricky to execute well and is often bungled， when a master such as Faulkner writes it， the result is magnificent。 The beauty of Faulkner's prose is not only its crafted density， but also the fact that given enough time one can decode all its richness with nothing but one's brain。 It i This man has more subordinate clauses than Cicero and I'm here for it。==========Absalom， Absalom！ is a book both aesthetically gorgeous and intellectually substantial。 While stream-of-consciousness narration can be tricky to execute well and is often bungled， when a master such as Faulkner writes it， the result is magnificent。 The beauty of Faulkner's prose is not only its crafted density， but also the fact that given enough time one can decode all its richness with nothing but one's brain。 It is a book that rewards diligence and does not require any prior knowledge of the Western literary canon to appreciate。While Faulkner's style is perhaps the most arresting feature of the book， his story is also of a very high standard。 The story of Thomas Sutpen centers around what I call the 'Southern Dream'， an earlier incarnation of the American Dream specific to the American South。 Absalom， Absalom！ is a book depicting towering ambition and both its devastating consequences and， if that ambition is unsupported， its ultimate frailty。 The more context-specific issues of the American Civil War and slavery and racism are also addressed in great depth。Ultimately， perhaps the greatest praise I can give this book is that I was surprised to learn Faulkner lived from 1897-1962， having assumed that he had lived through the American Civil War。 The vividness with which Faulkner captures that era is a quality I have mostly observed in authors who have lived through their subject matter （Wiesel and Remarque come to mind）。 More than anything else， surely that is proof enough of an author's brilliance。 。。。more
Sami Brown
，
I remember reading this in school and someone pointed out an open parentheses and they couldn’t find the closing end。 After about 5 minutes of careful analysis， the end parentheses was found…。 9 pages later…。 Enough said。
Frank Murtaugh
，
Faulkner is always a challenge， but this may be his greatest work， the most worthwhile。 I first read this book in my early 20s， a single man。 Reading it now， my father gone for more than a decade， now a father myself of two adult women （born in the American South）， it's a story — a collection of stories， really — that seeps deeply into one's conscience。 Fatherhood， brotherhood， race， and the nature of outliving a past that chases us daily。 Heavy stuff。 And brilliant。 "To the man grown the long c Faulkner is always a challenge， but this may be his greatest work， the most worthwhile。 I first read this book in my early 20s， a single man。 Reading it now， my father gone for more than a decade， now a father myself of two adult women （born in the American South）， it's a story — a collection of stories， really — that seeps deeply into one's conscience。 Fatherhood， brotherhood， race， and the nature of outliving a past that chases us daily。 Heavy stuff。 And brilliant。 "To the man grown the long crowded mile of his boyhood becomes less than the throw of a stone。" 。。。more
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