THE SOUND AND THE FURY

by William Faulkner



Faulkner's masterpiece telling of Caddy Compson and the Compson family, seen mostly through the eyes of her three brothers: mentally handicapped Benjy, Harvard-educated Quinn, and cold, resentful Jason.

I was terribly afraid of this book, so decided to read just enough background to get a handle on how to approach it but not enough to give anything away. Here is what I learned: If you keep in mind that the first part, told from the point of view of Benjy, will make no sense until later, it's a lot easier to get through. And this, too: The second, third and fourth parts don't make much sense on their own either.

Despite that, I found much of the writing in The Sound and the Fury strangely beautiful. Even at its most confusing it was able to evoke emotion -- mostly making me uncomfortable, like when you see couples verbally arguing in public and you know you should just walk away and mind your own business, but you really want to know what they meant by some of the weird, enigmatic things they said to each other.

I was able to pick out bits and pieces of the full picture as the book progressed, but I have to thank Sparknotes and Wikipedia for any real comprehension of what on earth was going on. Once I looked at those, I wanted to go back and read the book again. I have a feeling that will be a repetitive theme with me when it comes to classics. And that's not a bad thing!