Review: The Sound and the Fury

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

A loveless tale of early 20th century America, The Sound and The Fury is a modernist novel about a family slowly unravelling.
I found it quite difficult to get into this at first (as most people do), but eventually found myself settling into a rhythm with the style of writing in the first (of four) section of the book. Time and characters are swirling and confusing and at a certain point there's more of a focus on mood and emotion than on actual coherence. As the story continues, however, I found the characters and setting to be incredibly well realised. Faulkner is somewhat known for his focus more on how characters interact rather than the story they occupy and I think that's definitely evident here. Interestingly, despite pleasant characters being in the minority here the novel never felt like a slog. Even when reading from the point of view of Jason, a character who could best be described by the latter half of the novel's title, the passion and clarity of thought with which Faulkner writes propelled me through. The book is not without levity, however, with characters like Dilsey and Candace, despite the bleak nature of their surroundings, reflecting a hopeful ideal in contrast to the story around them.

I'm not going to be a revolutionary voice on this book, it's already lauded as a modern classic after all, but I do feel as though the obtuse style has led to this book retaining it's divisive reputation even years after its release and as such I feel a particular connection to it, having made it to the end. It may not seem like the sort of thing you would normally read and the first quarter of the book may seem incoherent but that's okay! I'd definitely recommend giving it a try anyway.