Absalom, Absalom!

De: William Faulkner

Narrado por: Grover Gardner

Absalom, Absalom! tells the story of Thomas Sutpen, the enigmatic stranger who came to Jefferson township in the early 1830s. With a French architect and a band of wild Haitians, he wrung a fabulous plantation out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness.

Sutpen was a man, Faulker said, "who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him". His tragedy left its impress not only on his contemporaries but also on men who came after, men like Quentin Compson, haunted even into the 20th century by Sutpen's legacy of ruthlessness and singleminded disregard for the human community.

©1986 Jill Faulkner Summers; 1993 Books on Tape, Inc.

Awesome Book

This book was a difficult but great read. Faulkner makes use of an interesting technique by jumping back and forth between the past and the present with many of the characters. By doing this he creates a patchwork of small bits of information that eventually come together as a whole piece. Although this creates a very unique read it also becomes hard to keep all the facts straight, but if you stick through to the end you will not be let down.

PS: The second time through is better

Outstanding All Around

I love Faulkner, and had tried to get through reading this book three times, all without success. The writing, while beautiful, is just so dense, and takes so much concentration to understand, that I plain ran out of steam each time. But I decided to give the audio book a try. My thinking was that maybe a narrator would interpret the writing, and give me a boost in understanding it all.
Unlike most of my plans and schemes, this one worked to perfection! Grover Gardner did a flat-out incredible job narrating. His tones, his inflections, his interpretations, were uniformly superb. With his help, the novel became comprehensible. I wasn't even aware when he hit the infamous 1300-plus-word sentence, it was all so smooth.
And what a novel! I hadn't known beforehand that this book is held in such esteem by Faulknerians, but it is, and justly so. It is breathtaking in scope and execution, nearly on a par with The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying. And praise doesn't come higher than that.
Thank you, Grover Gardner, thank you Audible!

Really difficult to follow in audible version

This novel is heavy, nearly indigestible.

I find it rather challenging to absorb, while driving (where I listen most), all the import of sentences filled with words that stretch the lexicon of even a Hahvahd literature professor. So, I purchased both the text and audible versions to listen to some and go back through. This proved too time-consuming.

If I were learned enough, perhaps I'd have enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars. On the other hand, were I a true redneck I wouldn't have picked it up and certainly would have chunked it after Chapter 1.

If you purchase this, be sure to carry a pocket-sized dictionary for quick, easy and frequent reference.

Not for the faint of heart

I love classics. I've said that before. This is my third Faulkner. I listened to "The Sound and the Fury" and "Light in August" and now, "Absalom, Absalom!".

Faulkner is difficult, but I was able to follow each of the first two stories without a lot of difficulty.

But Absalom, Absalom! was a disappointment.

I didn't like the narrator at all. He didn't create a different voice for each character and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking. I read on the web that he has a beautiful reading voice -- but I was just irritated. I was frustrated through the entire first half of the story. When I got to the second half of the story, which was being told by the younger generation, I started to figure out what was going on.

There was enough of a story to make me want to listen to the entire recording -- I didn't give up on it. But I actually listened at 1.5 just to get it over with. Maybe some day I'll see if there is another narrator available and listen again -- or maybe I'll try actually reading it!

Classic book, okay Narrator

The book is a classic for a reason.
This audiobook though is unlikely to become one. The narrator is only subpar. He is an okay reader, but he doesn't differentiate between the characters particularly well, which makes it difficult to tell who is currently telling the story.
I also wouldn't recommend listening if you aren't already familiar with the book.

This Faulkner novel is best heard as audio storytelling

The plot is a complex interweaving of narratives and of several people telling or retelling a dark family history. Stream of consciousness and side notes or explanatory references within a single sentence reminded me of the way southern relatives would spin a story of some event. And easier for this “ reader” to hear rather than parse the written word. Brilliant storytelling. And complex.

It's confusing, yes! But worth it!

_Absolam, Absolam!_ by William Faulkner receives five stars from me. The book is full of themes, interesting characters, and an interesting plot.

Since this is a recorded version, I’ll comment on the reader first.
Grover Gardner reads this version and I wish I could find one negative thing to say so that readers of my review would find it balanced. But, I can’t. He reads this complicated text as it is written, with the right inflections, the correct rhythms, etc. All the times Faulkner interrupted the text with a clarification of who he, Faulkner, is talking about, Gardner reads them beautifully. For me, Gardner’s strengths are his southern voice, and his understanding of rhythms. I will buy another bood read by Gardner again. Of course, another Faulkner is on the list, but I think he, Gardner, is so talented I will buy is reading of other authors.

Now the text.
The first time I read this book, I was reading in a café when a guy asked me what I thought of it. I was less than a hundred pages in, and I said: “I’m confused, obviously.” He smiled and looked away and said, “It’s better on the second reading.” Unfortunately, it has been so long since I read it the first time, listening to it now was like the first time. I have that feeling of being lost but once home realizing the journey was worth it, yet without any comprehension of what just happened. That’s Faulkner, isn’t it.

This time I read a little about the book as I went along, and one thing that I really liked and could see early on and how it develops was the theme of memory. Faulkner is interested in how memories change and grow through the retelling. So, he tells the story several times and each time we get more information. However, I still don’t think I know the truth. I think I know some true things, but others, I’m not so sure about.

Recommended: Let’s be honest here. If you love Faulkner, you’ve already read it. If you are unsure about Faulkner and are willing to give it a try, I say this: know that going into that book you will not understand much in the first five chapters or more. Keep going, because the final chapters clarify it all (well somewhat, I’m still thinking some is legend and not an accurate retelling). If you just heard that Faulkner is a great writer and think why not this one, I say you’ve already tried to read it and didn’t read anything about it or ask anyone about it, and you are lost and think this is crap, which without guidance is accurate. If that is you, I recommend giving it a try again once you’ve calmed down, and then read some things about it. Ask your college professors etc. You are not alone.

WHO'S TRUTH

Truth is fungible and ephemeral. It rests in the minds of the beholder and disappears in the light of history.

So many interpretations; so little time; “Absalom, Absalom!” is a masterpiece of literature for its phrasing, for its human exploration, and for its maddening reinvention of itself. If one of the criteria of literary success is a book’s nagging temptation to be re-read, “Absalom, Absalom!” deserves a Nobel Prize for literature (which Faulkner wins in 1949).

In the beginning, a reader is cast into confusion by a woman’s rant about Thomas Sutpen, a man she cohabitates with, nearly marries, and despises. Faulkner’s prose is all that keeps one trudging through this diatribe of discontent. Confusion reigns for several pages until a dim light of understanding reveals Thomas Sutpen as a driven, ill-educated, and poor Virginian that migrates to Mississippi with a plan, i.e. a plan to become wealthy, respected, and immortal; like a King of Jerusalem.

This is no easy read but it consumes one’s attention and helps one understand amoral behavior, slavery, discrimination and how they lead to inhumanity and destruction.

Faulkner is overly wordy

Strange plot twists and novel premice. But the wordiness and transitions between the time of the storyteller and the subject of the story being told make it hard to follow and confusing.

The Pinnacle

It has been more than a quarter century since I read this book - and any other Faulkner for that matter. Taking a two-semester course in grad school devoted to Faulkner, I pretty much read everything. Absalom, Absalom! was my favorite. It was a great pleasure returning to these pages through Grover Gardner's remarkable performance..