William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism) [Paperback]

William Faulkner (Author), Fred Hobson (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Casebooks in Criticism | Publication Date: June 26, 2003

Absalom, Absalom! has long been seen as one of William Faulkner's supreme creations, as well as one of the leading American novels of the twentieth century. In this collection Fred Hobson has brought together eight of the most stimulating essays on Absalom, essays written over a thirty-year span which approach the novel both formally and historically. Here are critical responses by Cleanth Brooks, John Irwin, Thadious Davis, and Eric Sundquist, as well as four essays published in the last decade. The casebook concludes with Faulkner's own remarks on the novel, delivered in a discussion with students at the University of Virginia. What emerges from all the selections is a rich and suggestive treatment of a work which Faulkner himself called "the best novel yet written by an American" and a less biased critic has called "the greatest American novel of the century... joining Moby-Dick and Huckleberry Finn at the pinnacle of American fiction."

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Fred Hobson is Professor of English and Lineberger Professor of Humanities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195154789
• ISBN-13: 978-0195154788
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #801,599 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good if you like this sort of thing..., May 7, 2007

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Big Chief (Laguna Niguel, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom!: A Casebook (Casebooks in Criticism) (Paperback)

I told my duaghter that I finished a great book, "Absalom, Absalom", and that now I was going to read a book ABOUT that book. She gave me a look, as if she never heard of anything so strange.

For literary scholars and the academic community, I'm sure this line of thinking is naive, but for many readers, a book of critcal analysis is just wierd, nerdy, or painfully boring. Well, I like reading about great books once I've read them, and I find that I get much more out of the experience. I've done this for War and Peace, Brothers Karamzov, and many others and I'm very glad I did.

It can be slow going at times, for sure, but some of the information is very brisk and enlightening, and the historical background context provided is very interesting. Another amusement for me is how "academic" and "preposterous" some of the anaysis can be; I think some of the critics are really reaching! This book is on par with the best of the ones that I have read. If you enjoy this sort of thing and have read Absalom, Absalom, I think you'd do well to check this one out.