Falling for Faulkner

My sister has had a massive aversion to William Faulkner since her senior year in high school. One of the novels that she was supposed to read that year was his Light in August...and she hated it. It was so horrible to her that she never finished the book (the only one she didn't finish) and she has never forgotten it. Not only has she never forgotten how much she hated Faulkner because of that book, she has never let anyone else forget it either.

Largely because of her experiences with his writing, and my lack of them, I have had an aversion to him. I've been a little wary of reading anything he's written, so I've just attempted to avoid it.

That's not entirely possible to do though, as an English major. It is even less possible to do as an English major who plans to teach High School English, and preferably junior year when the focus is on American Literature. In one of my previous English courses, I had to read one of his short stories, "A Rose for Emily." I honestly really liked the story a lot...I thought it was unlike anything else I'd ever read, so I was intrigued. My sister still hated him though, and it was only a short story and not one of Faulkner's novels, so I figured maybe it was just a fluke.

But this semester, I've been studying "A Rose for Emily" again (and still loving it) in one class, and in another course we've read the short story "Barn Burning" and his novella As I Lay Dying. Faulkner's not an easy read...not by any stretch of the imagination. He writes from multiple points of view, often using unreliable narrators. He writes with a strong Southern dialect. His prose pushes and challenges readers.

But it is gorgeous.

I am in love with William Faulkner's Southern Gothic style of writing, with his rich prose, with his oddball characters and rich tradition. I want to read more. And more. Faulkner may very well have just become my favorite author. I certainly didn't see this one coming. And I can now say that my sister doesn't know what she's talking about as far as Faulkner is concerned.