Schall und Wahn (1929)

William Faulkner is an author people love or hate. This is my first time reading him, but I really like his work. Take the writing style of Jame Joyce's Ulysses, mix in the dialogue of Mark Twain, and add a dash of Virginia Woolf: and that is the best way I can explain this book in a sentence. Yes, this book is confusing and the plot jumps around, but I really loved this book. Not only is this book perfect for me to dissect into various sections, this book oddly helps me understand my writing better. I apologize but this review might be all over the place, but read the book and you understand.

TITLE: First off I never got the title of this book until yesterday when I decided to read the full quote form Macbeth to which Faulkner took the title. Unlike me, I'd suggest looking up the quote before you read the book. Part of the quote says "Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury" and to me that really fits with the book itself. I refuse to call these character idiots, but you don't feel conformable with the characters if you had to spend a week with them. They do some bad things. Also, one of the character, Benjy, is mentally disabled and I'll bring that back up shortly.

STYLE: The books style is the main reason I wanted to read this book. Most of it is told in the stream-of-consciousness. This style was made famous with Joyce and Woolf. I give props to Faulkner for bring that style form Europe and using it with a Southern twist. Like Joyce's Ulysses and Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, Faulkner's Sound and the Fury is told differently from most books. There are four different narrator's in this novel all telling a similar story in different ways. Well the first three parts are first person and the last part is third person. It sounds confusing, but once I was halfway in the second part I got use to the narration.

GOTHIC: I also wanted to read this book because I'm a fan of the Southern Gothic style. I love Carson McCullers, but after reading this book I still like her, but not her style as much anymore. I think Faulkner outranks McCullers for my tastes. This book is very Southern Gothic though. Takes place in Mississippi, expect with one part at Harvard. Not only does it deal with location, but fits the mold with the loneliness and the creepiness that makes me love Southern Gothic. Yes I did have fun reading the dialogue too, even though some of it I didn't quite get since I'm from the North.

TOPICS: I can see why Faulkner won a Nobel Prize of fiction after reading this book too. Like McCullers he too is not afraid to talk about the black culture in the South. I noticed though he doesn't make it clear who is what race at first though, only by derogatory slang the narrators use. I'm not sure exactly why he writes his book like this, but it works if you ask me. It shows that the authors can separate his characters from himself. Like any good author, this book shows he treat these characters as fiction, but he gives them life as if they could be real. He also talks about a handful of other uncomfortable topics, but the race one stood out to me maybe with what is going n now in America or maybe it the anti-labelist in me too.

WRITING: I already talked about the style with this book, but forgot about the writing besides the dialogue. First off for all you people who look for spelling/grammar errors on Facebook and the rest of interment or what not, I'd avoid this book. Welcome to a world where an author spells "dont" instead of "don't". This is a world where periods and punctuation don't exist sometimes and other time they will show up. This book has spelling errors too purposely for dialogue. This doesn't mean Faulkner is stupid or can't write, just means his is experimental with his writing, so it's all on purpose. I know I have a hard time with spelling and grammar too, so maybe Faulkner has taught me a new way of writing I can try at some point.

FAULKNER: I think Faulkner has moved into my all time favorite author list. Yes I have a list like that that exist. I know I've only read one book buy him, but sometime I can tell when I really like an author after looking up various things about them. I loved Ulysses, but I think this was better most because for me it was easier to read and shorter. I'm not sure this is my favorite book of all time because Mrs. Dalloway still tops that, but this book sure as hell left an impression on me. I will admit I wasn't sure what to think of him or this book because after finishing Kerouac's On The Road and hating that book, it left me nervous. The difference was that book was recommended to me and this book I found completely on my own. That book also had no sign of life and this book was full of life. Never read Faulkner in college either and found this just looking up various things I previously liked, so maybe for me that was a good thing.

This is the type of book I wouldn't recommend though. Unless you know about the stream-of-consciousness and don't mind reading a book that you have to work at to put together. Too many books these days hand you everything were all that's left is a plot that could be a movie. This book has a small plot, but you have to solve it by finishing the whole thing. This book is also great if you wish to get instead a character's head and play with their thoughts.

Not sure how to end this review and I might be missing some things, but THIS DAMN BOOK! ( )

When I first started reading this book I had no idea what was going on. It was frustrating and kind of dizzying, but I'm really glad that I continued to read it. After I finally figured out what was going on I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt a kind of satisfaction at figuring out what was going on. I truly loved reading this book and realised why it is considered a classic. I know this isn't so much of a telling review, but this is really my strongest impression, and I do not a plot summary of any kind will do this justice as the storytelling and prose really made this novel a fascinating read for me. The prose and the storytelling were extraordinary and unlike anything I had read before. The story was very compelling and heartbreaking and the storytelling in the first part of the book allowed you to really understand one of the main characters, Benjy. I strongly recommend reading this book and look forward to reading other works by Faulkner. ( )

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