The Cambridge Introduction to William Faulkner (Cambridge Introductions to Literature) Review

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(More customer reviews)Attractively designed, this concise and well-written introduction to William Faulkner's life and works will be a welcome addition to library collections serving undergraduates writing papers on this noted Southern writer.
Notes that while there is an enormous body of critical literature on Faulkner, much of it "obscures understanding because of the uneven quality (and varying degrees of accuracy) in such a crowded field of study." Further, because most of these books tend to be easily categorized as "biography, textual analysis, influence study, historiography, and so forth," undergraduates have had the difficult and time-consuming task of having to plow through these lengthy, approach-specific studies to try and develop an overview understanding of this complex writer. It is within this context that Theresa M. Towner -- Professor of Literary Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas -- provides this concise guide to Faulkner's life, works, context and critical reception.
The book is easy to use: Chapter one being comprised of a nine-page, narrative biographical sketch; Chapter two offering two-to-four page, work-by-work discussions of Faulkner's books in chronological order; Chapter three being a placement and discussion of his contribution to American Literature in the context of his time and peers; and, Chapter four being an assessment of the critical reception and commentary of his works. The text is followed by notes, a "Guide to Further Reading" and a brief index.
The value of this book lies in how it serves as a clear, well-written introduction to this complex and challenging Southern writer. Highly recommended for public library collections in the South and all college and university collections.
R. Neil Scott
Middle Tennessee State University

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Nobel laureate William Faulkner is one of the most distinctive voices in American literature. Known for his opaque prose style and his evocative depictions of life in the American South, he is recognised as one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. This introductory book provides students and readers of Faulkner with a clear overview of the life and work of one of America's most prolific writers of fiction. His nineteen novels, including The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Go Down, Moses and Absalom, Absalom! are discussed in detail, as are his major short stories and nonfiction. Focused on the works themselves, but also providing useful information about their critical reception, this introduction is an accessible guide to Faulkner's challenging and complex oeuvre.

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