"The Sound And The Fury" by William Faulkner
Our lives are but a series of thoughts, thoughts that shift from past to present quite easily, and William Faulkner captures this phenomenon in his novel “The Sound And The Fury” in a remarkable fashion. About the author: William Faulkner was an American writer/poet, who started his career right after the first world war, his first novel being the “Sound And The Fury”. He was awarded the noble prize for literature in 1949 and the Pulitzer prize just before his death in July 1962. the novel: the novel is split into four parts, And it deals with the happenings within the Compson household. The first part of the book is in the perspective of Ben Compson, a mentally retarded man. The second , by Quentin Compson a 20-year-old who narrates the last day of his life as he plans to commit suicide. The third in Jason Compson who is almost a salvation to the reader's mind, for the other two are far too confusing. And finally the last part is given to us through the eyes of the negro workers at the house. The narrative style of the novel makes reading a complex process, for we see that the characters keep shifting from the past to the present that it becomes difficult to understand it in the beginning. Why read it?: when I read the novel I found the first half of the novel confusing yet intriguing, I had to let go of my reasoning ability to understand the mind of Ben and Quenitin. Where as Jason's perspective, although 'normal' becomes as complex as the other two. I felt like I had found a treasure chest and with the turn of each page I discovered new things and by the end of the fourth part,it felt like a fog had lifted up from my mind and everything about the novel had come clear to me. I would suggest to read this novel by enjoying it for every word and not try to connect the events and make sense of it all.
Mary Monika