Customer Reviews

The William Faulkner Audio Collection

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Caedmon has done it again. This is an excellent selection of Faulkner's short stories (A Rose for Emily, Barn Burning, That Evening Sun, Spotted Horses, and Wash--all unabridged) and excerpts from a few of his longer works, all read very well with passion and control by Debra Winger, Keith Carradine and Arliss Howard. But the best part of this collection has to be the opportunity to hear Faulkner himself read from "As I Lay Dying", "A Fable" and "The Old Man", plus his 1949 Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. Running 5 hours long, on 5 discs, this is a great collection for Faulkner enthusiasts and audio book addicts alike.

I have been unable to take these CDs out of my automobile's CD changer since I bought this set. It has really rekindled my interest in Faulkner. I never cease to be awestruck by this great American writer's ability to capture the distinct voices of people of all classes, races, ages and of both genders. And the three able actors who read these stories--Debra Winger ("A Rose for Emily" and "Barn Burning"), Keith Carradine ("Spotted Horses"), and Arliss Howard ("That Evening Sun" and "Wash") all do an excellent job of rendering these voices with great authenticity and compassion. Besides being examples of Faulkner's best short stories, the stories provide an excllent introduction to several families that are central to his most powerful and memorable novels ("That Evening Sun" introduces us to the Compson children who are the subject and narrators of THE SOUND AND THE FURY; "Barn Burning" and "Spotted Horses" introduces us to the "tribe" of Snopeses who are the focus of Faulkners great trilogy, THE HAMLET, THE TOWN, and THE MANSION; and "Wash" gives us insight into Colonel Sutpen, whose full story is told in ABSALOM, ABSALOM!" The selection of stories also does a good job of representing the range of Faulkner's talent and vision--the folksy humor of country people, the tragic character of the oppressed and marginalized, and the frustration people experience when their traditional values fail to equip them for the intrusion of modernity. It's all here.

The CD set is augmented by several readings by Faulkner himself. (These are old recordings that were originally issued on vinyl and reissued on audiocassette, but it's great to have them on CD at long last.) Faulkner's reading from AS I LAY DYING is fast and breathless and is especially poignant in the Vardaman sections where he endows the youngest Bundren with a seer-like wisdom and nerve-rattling existentialism. The excerpt from perhaps his most difficult novel, A FABLE, and his brilliant Nobel Prize acceptance speech are stunning indictments an man's propensity to wage war coupled with a celebration of the human race's capactiy to endure and prevail in spite of depth of its folly.

My only regret is that I paid full price for these CDs at a bricks and mortar store (who shall remain nameless). Get it from Amazon.com! It's the best price I've seen. And with the money you save, treat yourself to Hans H. Skei's book, READING FAULKNER'S BEST SHORT STORIES, which discusses all of the stories on this CD.

I've heard about William Faulkner all the way through my life, but I'd never actually read anything by him. With eye fatigue from long hours of close work an issue, I determined to LISTEN to some of his work. This CD collection was the source of some major revelations. As painful as it was to hear his accounts of life in the segregated Deep South, I also recalled relatives of mine who remained loyal to their home there while quietly working behind the scenes to bring positive change. In order to change a person or place who you dearly love yet still recognize as deeply flawed, you must accept everything without filtering... and yet still retain a moral compass. Faulkner was a man who clearly loved the culture in which he was raised yet knew that major changes were needed. I was simply dumbfounded by his Nobel speech that is at the beginning of the series as a statement of all that is still wrong with the American national character in the years after World War II.
Faulkner was a deeply flawed man within a culture that was just as deeply flawed, yet his hope for better times and his belief in the basic kernel of goodness within his fellows is highly moving. I'd recommend the collection to anyone who has an interest in understanding the social traditions and problems of the South. I'd compare him favorably with another regional author: John O'Hara, who also wrote unflinchingly yet lovingly about his home in Pennsylvania.

I bought the above title as a gift for my sister who has macular degeneration. She was very pleased with the collection, and I was pleased with the speed it was sent to her. Thank you.