Customer Reviews

SOLDIER'S PAY/TYPESCRIPT (William Faulkner Manuscripts)

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I know that Faulkner is considered a great writer, but I had not found him accessible. About forty years ago I read "Light in August", which I thought was okay. My other attempts to read his books failed. So when the Library of America recently issued his earliest works, I figured that maybe was the way I could finally access Faulkner.

And boy did I love "Soldier's Pay"! I know it was an early work, that his style was not fully developed, that it was considered a minor effort, etc.

But, first of all, I could read it and for the most part clearly understand what was happening. Second, I found what was happening was unexpected and fascinating to me, very poignant, funny, odd, involving. Thirdly, while Faulker's ways of spelling, recording people's thoughts, and richly and repeatedly describing things (like the decadent, sensuous South), the book did immerse me in the scenes at a deeper and more viceral level than a more conventional novel would. Thus, it gave me a strong feeling of presence in this oft-romanticized bygone era; it was very nostalgic -- even though I never lived in the South and was born much later.

The characters -- like the fat, odd, scholarly, obnoxious, sexually aggressive Januarius Jones -- were so unique and intriguing. They are not the kind of characters I've found in other books. The plot was similarly odd and unpredictable; with numerous bizarre scenes.

Two drunken soldiers returning from WW1 take a deeply caring interest in another passenger on their train -- a returning captain who has been horribly disfigured, mentally disabled, and reported as dead. Along with a beautiful war widow who is also on the train (and with whom the two able returning soldiers both fall in love), they help the injured officer to reach his home, and his beloved fiancee, who is shocked and horrified by his condition and can't stand to be near him. Of course, as events unfold, it isn't clear what if anything is going through the injured captain's mind.

This is the kind of book I could easily read over again, and it gives me great pleasure just to think about it. It may not be one of Faulkner's better works from a technical standpoint, but it sure hit the spot with me (unlike the next novel in the Library of America volume -- "Moquitoes"!)

I'm hoping I will now be able to enjoy some of his other efforts in the same intense way.