As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

261 pages -Trade Paperback (Fiction)

My wife suggested I read this book. Faulkner is considered one of the greatest American authors. I had never read anything by Faulkner before and I gave it a try. I really don’t know how to qualify this book. I found it repulsive and engrossing simultaneously like watching a car crash in slow motion.

The book starts with Addie Bundren dying in her bed. Outside her window her oldest son works on making her coffin. Each chapter is told from a new point of view and is titled as such. We are deep in the south and the language was particularly difficult for me to comprehend at first, but as the book went on I found it easier to grasp. The reader finds themselves in the heads of the different members of the family. For awhile it was hard to understand what is going on. The combination of the language and being “inside the head” of the “author” really took getting used to. There also seems to be time shifts from chapter to chapter. Sometimes we jump forward an hour and other times we jump back. Soon after the beginning of the book Addie dies. This is where the car crash really begins. Addie requested that she be buried with her family in another county. As the family attempts to fulfill Addie’s wishes every manner of problem crops up. It continually declines to the point of disturbing the reader.

So far as the story goes a fair comparison can be made to John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath. In both books a family from the south is traveling together, both families endure hardships, both are written by authors considered the best in American Literature. Where they differ is The Grapes of Wrath seems to be a testament to the unfailing endurance of the human spirit. As I Lay Dying seems to be a look at the failings of humans and the selfishness that seems to be a part of all of us.

I can’t say I enjoyed the book. I can say that it affected me emotionally. Being inside the heads of the Bundren family forces the reader to care about them, but the trauma they go through is real and disturbed me as I read. I was disgusted, hopeful, dismayed and eventually just angry at the book. This is a rare occurrence and I assume this is why the book is so highly regarded. It had an impact on me and though it wasn’t a good one, I have to give it respect for that alone.

5 Emotional/Intellectual – Only a few books have had such a emotional impact as this. I was upset by the book, but I was unable to stop reading. Even now a week past reading the book I find myself getting upset about it.

3 Style/Readability – Faulkner is known for his “stream of consciousness” writing style. This book is in no way easily read. This was intentional and it was a part of what makes the book great, but that didn’t make it any easier to digest.

4 Long Term Impact – As I Lay Dying is already considered among the best books ever written.

12 out of 13. I am rating a book that I didn’t like a 12. It certainly deserves it. I can’t think of many books that have had such an impact on me, but at the same time I don’t know if I can recommend it to someone else. If you are looking for something that will get to you and are willing to get upset at a book I suggest you give this a read. If you are looking for entertainment you may want to look at another book.

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