Collected stories of William Faulkner

by William Faulkner

Hardcover, 1950

Status

Available

Publication

New York : Random House, c1950.

Description

A selection of short stories by William Faulkner.

Media reviews

Faulkner is no longer known for his short stories, except perhaps for “The Bear,” which appeared both as a stand-alone and as part of Go Down, Moses, but the collection for which he won the National Book Award is really a stunning achievement, and as unsettling as they come.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BeaverMeyer
I was blown away by this collection. I've never come across a better collection of stories than this one. His WWI stories, I don't particularly care for, but I was mesmerized by almost everything in this book. Faulkner is my ultimate hero.
LibraryThing member sholt2001
This collection of Faulkner's short fiction is divided into geographical settings, starting in the familiar land of Yoknapatawpha County and extending outward to encompass the rest of the country and beyond, with the final section involving elements outside of this world. I personally found the
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stories in the first few sections the most compelling. They involve many of the characters and settings familiar from his novels and provide us with a variety of viewpoints of life in the county. Of the latter stories, many involve military service and utilize unexplained lingo and events I was unfamiliar with, so that may have colored my perception. A few favorites for their unique narration and/or unexpected plot: "A Rose for Emily", "Dry September", "Elly", "That Will Be Fine", "Turnabout" and "Beyond".
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LibraryThing member thm61
"A Rose For Emily" is, well, perfect
LibraryThing member starbox
I tried - and failed - to read a Faulkner novel, so thought his short stories would be a more accessible introduction to his work. Be advised, this is a pretty mammoth tome: 42 stories over 900 pages, and by no means all the stories are easily comprehensible. I found myself numerous times on
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Google, trying to check out the interpretation of a particular tale.
Faulkner writes in a 'blokey' style: his stories feature war, American Indians, the racial divide, drink, revenge. I don't ever see myself reading anything else by him, but I absolutely appreciate the quality of his writing. The final story, for example, 'Carcassonne', describing rats:

"It was dark, a darkness filled with a fairy pattering of small feet, stealthy and intent. Sometimes the cold patter of them on his face waked him in the night, and at his movement they scurried invisibly like an abrupt disintegration of dead leaves in a wind, in whispering arpeggios of minute sound, leaving a thin but definite effluvium of furtiveness and voracity."

My favourite stories were : 'Two Soldiers', narrated by a child whose beloved elder brother is off to War; 'Red Leaves' (once I figured what's going on) where two American Indians are in pursuit of a slave, who is destined to die with his dead master; 'Turnabout' (where two arrogant American soldiers come to realise the courage of the young English marine who they initially despise). I also liked 'Elly' and 'Carcassonne' (I may not have correctly understood the latter, but it's intensely moving.)

Would give this 3.5. I'm glad I've finished it, but glad too that I read it
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LibraryThing member lamour
Some of his stories are real gems with fascinating characters and quirky plots. Others made no sense to me. The group of stories set in Italy were especially difficult to comprehend.

Subjects

Awards

National Book Award (Finalist — Fiction — 1951)

Language

Barcode

3204
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