Literature
Ummmm...huh? Wait, did I miss something here? Yeah, pretty sure I did.
Read from April 19th to April 20th, 2011
- The Old Man And The Sea By Ernest Hemingway
?It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.? It took me a while to warm up to Ernest Hemingway but after finishing The Sun also Rises and now The Old Man and the Sea, I can see why he is held in high regard. After several negative reactions...
- Top Ten Most Intimidating Books
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly event! Considering my obsession with lists, I could not pass up the opportunity to participate in this one which asks to list your top 10 most intimidating books. When it comes to literature,...
- As I Lay Dying By William Faulkner
My mother is a fish. ------ Possible Spoilers! ------ On the surface, William Faulkner?s As I Lay Dying appears as a solemn reflection on death and yet, through the use of dramatic irony, the novel also takes on the form of a dark twisted comedy. The...
- Authors I Loathe #1: Henry James
( Boooooooooooooooourns!!!) Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning but after recently picking up The Ambassadors by Henry James, it did not take me long to realize that he now ranks as one my least favorite authors. Thus,...
- More Than Human By Theodore Sturgeon
More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon is an innovative and bizarre piece of science fiction from the 1960's that takes on a similar narrative structure to William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury; that is, the story is often dense, focusing...
Literature
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
?A man is the sum of his misfortunes. One day you'd think misfortune would get tired but then time is your misfortune.?
Ummmm...huh? Wait, did I miss something here? Yeah, pretty sure I did.
I have no reservations whatsoever in admitting my ineptitude of failing to understand what Faulkner was attempting too achieve with The Sound and the Fury. To be considered a masterpiece of American literature and one of the best novels of the 20th century is preposterous. Perhaps I will find the courage to read the novel again somewhere along the road and finally be able to see what everyone finds so great but until then, Faulkner is anathema to me.
This novel now officially ranks as the most difficult, frustrating, and painful reading experience of my life. It's not as if the entire novel is completely impenetrable, it's simply that Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness is so excessive and nauseating that it threw me constantly into perpetual fits of rage. I cursed his name, threw the book across the room, stomped on it until my legs started to ache. Reading Quentin's monologue was pure mental torture. I might as well have been reading Arabic. At one point I was even attempted to go outside and burn the novel until it nothing but ashes remained. By some miracle, I was able to resist this temptation and carry on, hoping that there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, I was still left in darkness, perplexed and irate. Faulkner nearly turned me into a Nazi, that's how much I detested this novel.
This novel now officially ranks as the most difficult, frustrating, and painful reading experience of my life. It's not as if the entire novel is completely impenetrable, it's simply that Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness is so excessive and nauseating that it threw me constantly into perpetual fits of rage. I cursed his name, threw the book across the room, stomped on it until my legs started to ache. Reading Quentin's monologue was pure mental torture. I might as well have been reading Arabic. At one point I was even attempted to go outside and burn the novel until it nothing but ashes remained. By some miracle, I was able to resist this temptation and carry on, hoping that there might be some light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, I was still left in darkness, perplexed and irate. Faulkner nearly turned me into a Nazi, that's how much I detested this novel.
Read from April 19th to April 20th, 2011
- The Old Man And The Sea By Ernest Hemingway
?It's silly not to hope. It's a sin he thought.? It took me a while to warm up to Ernest Hemingway but after finishing The Sun also Rises and now The Old Man and the Sea, I can see why he is held in high regard. After several negative reactions...
- Top Ten Most Intimidating Books
Thanks to The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly event! Considering my obsession with lists, I could not pass up the opportunity to participate in this one which asks to list your top 10 most intimidating books. When it comes to literature,...
- As I Lay Dying By William Faulkner
My mother is a fish. ------ Possible Spoilers! ------ On the surface, William Faulkner?s As I Lay Dying appears as a solemn reflection on death and yet, through the use of dramatic irony, the novel also takes on the form of a dark twisted comedy. The...
- Authors I Loathe #1: Henry James
( Boooooooooooooooourns!!!) Perhaps I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning but after recently picking up The Ambassadors by Henry James, it did not take me long to realize that he now ranks as one my least favorite authors. Thus,...
- More Than Human By Theodore Sturgeon
More than Human by Theodore Sturgeon is an innovative and bizarre piece of science fiction from the 1960's that takes on a similar narrative structure to William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury; that is, the story is often dense, focusing...