Absalom, Absalom! Audiobook By William Faulkner cover art

Absalom, Absalom!

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Absalom, Absalom!

By: William Faulkner
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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ABSALOM, ABSALOM! tells the story of Thomas Sutpen, the enigmatic stranger who came to Jefferson township in the early 1830s. With a French architect and a band of wild Haitians, he wrung a fabulous plantation out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness.

Sutpen was a man, Faulker said, "who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him." His tragedy left its impress not only on his contemporaries but also on men who came after, men like Quentin Compson, haunted even into the 20th century by Sutpen's legacy of ruthlessness and singleminded disregard for the human community. Literary Fiction Classics Historical Fiction Genre Fiction

Critic reviews

“For range of effect, philosophical weight, originality of style, variety of characterization, humor, and tragic intensity, [Faulkner’s works] are without equal in our time and country.” —Robert Penn Warren

“He is the greatest artist the South has produced.... Indeed, through his many novels and short stories, Faulkner fights out the moral problem which was repressed after the nineteenth century [yet] for all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made for greatness of our classics.” —Ralph Ellison
Complex Storytelling • Layered Narrative • Poetic Language • Powerful Allegory • Intricate Plot

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This book was a difficult but great read. Faulkner makes use of an interesting technique by jumping back and forth between the past and the present with many of the characters. By doing this he creates a patchwork of small bits of information that eventually come together as a whole piece. Although this creates a very unique read it also becomes hard to keep all the facts straight, but if you stick through to the end you will not be let down.

PS: The second time through is better

Awesome Book

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I love Faulkner, and had tried to get through reading this book three times, all without success. The writing, while beautiful, is just so dense, and takes so much concentration to understand, that I plain ran out of steam each time. But I decided to give the audio book a try. My thinking was that maybe a narrator would interpret the writing, and give me a boost in understanding it all.
Unlike most of my plans and schemes, this one worked to perfection! Grover Gardner did a flat-out incredible job narrating. His tones, his inflections, his interpretations, were uniformly superb. With his help, the novel became comprehensible. I wasn't even aware when he hit the infamous 1300-plus-word sentence, it was all so smooth.
And what a novel! I hadn't known beforehand that this book is held in such esteem by Faulknerians, but it is, and justly so. It is breathtaking in scope and execution, nearly on a par with The Sound and the Fury and As I Lay Dying. And praise doesn't come higher than that.
Thank you, Grover Gardner, thank you Audible!

Outstanding All Around

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This novel is heavy, nearly indigestible.

I find it rather challenging to absorb, while driving (where I listen most), all the import of sentences filled with words that stretch the lexicon of even a Hahvahd literature professor. So, I purchased both the text and audible versions to listen to some and go back through. This proved too time-consuming.

If I were learned enough, perhaps I'd have enjoyed it enough to give it 5 stars. On the other hand, were I a true redneck I wouldn't have picked it up and certainly would have chunked it after Chapter 1.

If you purchase this, be sure to carry a pocket-sized dictionary for quick, easy and frequent reference.

Really difficult to follow in audible version

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I love classics. I've said that before. This is my third Faulkner. I listened to "The Sound and the Fury" and "Light in August" and now, "Absalom, Absalom!".

Faulkner is difficult, but I was able to follow each of the first two stories without a lot of difficulty.

But Absalom, Absalom! was a disappointment.

I didn't like the narrator at all. He didn't create a different voice for each character and it was hard to keep track of who was speaking. I read on the web that he has a beautiful reading voice -- but I was just irritated. I was frustrated through the entire first half of the story. When I got to the second half of the story, which was being told by the younger generation, I started to figure out what was going on.

There was enough of a story to make me want to listen to the entire recording -- I didn't give up on it. But I actually listened at 1.5 just to get it over with. Maybe some day I'll see if there is another narrator available and listen again -- or maybe I'll try actually reading it!

Not for the faint of heart

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The book is a classic for a reason.
This audiobook though is unlikely to become one. The narrator is only subpar. He is an okay reader, but he doesn't differentiate between the characters particularly well, which makes it difficult to tell who is currently telling the story.
I also wouldn't recommend listening if you aren't already familiar with the book.

Classic book, okay Narrator

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