Collected Stories of William Faulkner [Paperback]

William Faulkner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 1995

“I’m a failed poet. Maybe every novelist wants to write poetry first, finds he can’t and then tries the short story which is the most demanding form after poetry. And failing that, only then does he take up novel writing.” —William Faulkner
 
Winner of the National Book Award

Forty-two stories make up this magisterial collection by the writer who stands at the pinnacle of modern American fiction. Compressing an epic expanse of vision into hard and wounding narratives, Faulkner’s stories evoke the intimate textures of place, the deep strata of history and legend, and all the fear, brutality, and tenderness of the human condition. These tales are set not only in Yoknapatawpha County, but in Beverly Hills and in France during World War I. They are populated by such characters as the Faulknerian archetypes Flem Snopes and Quentin Compson, as well as by ordinary men and women who emerge so sharply and indelibly in these pages that they dwarf the protagonists of most novels.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“No man ever put more of his heart and soul into the written word than did William Faulkner. If you want to know all you can about that heart and soul, the fiction where he put it is still right there.” —Eudora Welty
 
“For all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made for greatness of our classics.” —Ralph Ellison

From the Inside Flap

This magisterial collection of short works by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner reminds readers of his ability to compress his epic vision into narratives as hard and wounding as bullets. Among the 42 selections in this book are such classics as "A Bear Hunt, " "A Rose for Emily, " Two Soldiers, " and "The Brooch."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 912 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (October 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679764038
• ISBN-13: 978-0679764038
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,106 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

77 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Author, December 20, 2001

By 

Warren (Mt. Pleasant, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collected Stories of William Faulkner (Paperback)

The first Faulkner book I read was in my junior year of high school. When I consulted my teacher about whether I should choose Faulkner or another author to read, she told me something along the lines of, "Faulkner's regionalistic and enigmatic style is interpreted two different ways by two different types of people: One think that he is symbolic and profound, the other think that he is not and rather full of it." Well, I do feel sorry for the 'other' group, because to not reconize the depth behind his more-poetic-than-most-poets words is just plain out wacky. I will say that he is not your typical fiction writer, his books do not have action oriented plots (or even any action in some cases), but he still somehow manages to catch your interest. I have never fell asleep while reading a book or story by Faulkner, and not many authors have earned this distinction. He also leaves you with a sense of reflection, again something distinguishing him from many others. Personally, I prefer short stories to novels, I find that my focus to the point and plot of the story is less distracted by the end as with a novel and I typically find that I retain more. I do enjoy Faulkner's novels and have read quite a few, but this collection of short stories is just brilliant beyond brilliant. His words are potent and sharp in all of them, even if his point and meaning is more elusive. I completely and totally recommend that everyone read this collection of stories. Everyone. Really. That means you too.

38 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Introduction, June 23, 1999

By 

J. F Malysiak "macafferty" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collected Stories of William Faulkner (Paperback)

A terrific introduction to the world of Faulkner's fiction. Some of these stories "Wash", "Barn Burning", "All the Dead Pilots", and "That Evening Sun" serve as introductions to some of the characters that populate his novels. These 42 stories encapsulate a brilliant career, featuring a wide variety of styles and points of view.

I am not a big fan of short stories, but each of these reads like a mini-novel.

You will be engrossed and will want to go back and read them again.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading, February 15, 2010

By 

P. J. Owen (Atlanta GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Collected Stories of William Faulkner (Paperback)

William Faulkner (1897-1962) famously said that all novelists were failed short story writers and all short story writers were failed poets. To anyone who has tried to write fiction, I think these words make a lot of sense. However, while reading his collection of short stories, it occurred to me over and over again that the source of this quote may in fact be one of its exceptions. It goes without saying that Faulkner's novels are one of the finest bodies of work in that genre, so he was, obviously, a novelist. But with this collection of stories, it seems to me he was also a formidable short story writer. And I would challenge anyone who reads `Carcassone', the beautiful `story' that closes this immense collection, to tell me that Faulkner didn't have the poet in him as well.

This is the collection that came out in the fifties containing 42 stories, some from earlier collection and others previously unpublished in book form. They are not grouped chronologically, but rather by `subject': `The Country', `The Village', `The Wilderness', etc. I don't know why Mr. Faulkner did this, but I found it really worked to have stories of similar themes or places grouped together.

For those who haven't read Faulkner before, his writing is a dense, `stream of consciousness' style, essentially the exact opposite of his nemesis, the minimalist Ernest Hemingway. This means these stories can be hard reading in a lot of spots, as the meaning of what is happening or what Faulkner wants us to comprehend can be elusive. Some sections or whole stories will need to be read again until the meaning becomes clear, or clearer. Luckily the other trait of Faulkner's is his perfect rhythm, almost like a galloping horse at times, which pulls us through the stories and makes us want to read them again and again.

All of these stories are good, but my favorites had to be the haunting `A Rose for Emily' and `That Evening Sun'. `Lo!', `Artist at Home', and `The Brooch' were also favorites of mine. But really, the guy had me from the first line of `Barn Burning': "The store in which the Justice of the Peace's court was sitting smelled of cheese." This book is for anyone who cares at all about literature. Any exploration of twentieth century American literature is virtually worthless without a dip into the ocean that is William Faulkner.