My Brother Bill (Hill Street Classics) [Paperback]

John Faulkner (Author), Jimmy Faulkner (Foreword)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1892514001 | ISBN-13: 978-1892514004 | Publication Date: September 1998

Perhaps no one knew the intensely private William Faulkner better than his brother John. At the time of Bill's funeral, a reporter remarked that seeing John walking the streets of Oxford, Mississippi was like encountering the ghost of the brother. Indeed, John and Bill were mirrors of one another in many ways. In his memoir we find an intimate and at time humourous portrait of William and his brothers from childhood to adulthood. John provides a keen view of the local characters and situation which Bill later used in his novels. John provides us a rare look into the soul of the Nobel Prize-winning author.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

LJ's reviewer found that the famous writer is shown in a "refreshingly new point of view" in this biography, which depicts him as a "very human, far from perfect, down-to-earth, slightly old-fashioned sort of man" (LJ 10/1/63). This edition includes previously unpublished family photos and a new introduction by Faulkner's nephew Jimmy. Though newer portraits of Faulkner are available, this insider's view is worth having.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

For anyone interested in William Faulkner and his writings (and everyone should be), this memoir of him by his younger brother is essential reading.
New York Times Book Review

Rooted so deep in the soil from which the Faulkner clan sprang that it is worth tomes of Faulkner criticism.
Atlantic Monthly

This affectionate memoir brings us to understand why Faulkner became the literary artist he did.
Christian Science Monitor

Splendidly evokes the flavor of boyhood in a small southern town.
Time

Sentimental, warm, and honest.
Saturday Review --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Hill Street Press (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892514001
• ISBN-13: 978-1892514004
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic, you don't know Faulkner until you've read this book, March 20, 2000

By 

Zack Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Brother Bill (Hill Street Classics) (Paperback)

A wonderful stylist, John tells the intimate story of the Faulkner family that no biographer or academic could. You simply don't know Faulkner until you've read this book.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best description of Southern society and culture., June 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: My Brother Bill (Hardcover)

John Faulkner succeeded capturing the South better than any author I have read. I grew up near his location and in a family with the same moral and cultural values of his. His family could have been mine. If you want to travel to the South that used to be, that our families helped build after the Civil War and before Korea this is the best way I know to do it. His frugal use of words and his short sentences only add to the authenticity of his descriptions. For those of us from there he brings to life,as none other, what used to be and is to never be again.

5.0 out of 5 stars As promised, January 2, 2012

By 

Emily M. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: My Brother Bill (Paperback)

This was a gift for my 86-year-old mother. Even though I ordered kind of late for Christmas delivery, it came before Christmas and was in excellent condition. She was thrilled.