Light in August by William Faulkner (1932) - Fiction

An eerie and enigmatic tale mostly about a man's search for identity and a young woman's search for her baby daddy

If you're looking for a Faulkner novel that is a bit easier to swallow than something like The Sound and the Fury then Light in August should go on your reading list. Light in August is like a meaty meal - it's hard to digest at times, but the flavor is so rich it's hard to put down. It's a novel that deserves to be read slowly and read twice. However, it isn't for everyone. Avoid this novel if you don't like lengthy descriptions of setting and extended metaphors of characters' internal conflicts. Faulkner uses dialogue sparingly, but when he does it feels authentic because he's established the characters' internal state of mind so acutely. Actually, I wonder if Faulkner was quite at odds with his peer Ernest Hemingway since stylistically the latter chose to propel his narratives with much more dialogue.

In order to fully appreciate the grandeur of this novel I think Faulkner intended us to read it slowly and steadily without letting it collect dust before picking it up again (like what I did). Light in August starts at one moment in time, jumps back, continues for a few years, and then returns suddenly to the original moment from the beginning of the novel. Faulkner likely does this purposefully because what seems like a exuberant rabbit trail actually ends up revealing something of deep psychological importance for a character and draws a connection with other plot points.

The main reason this novel keeps drawing me back is for the same reason that it may repel others. It is difficult to read, but not because it's boring or unprovocative, but rather because it takes a high degree of attention and commitment to unpack those extended metaphors and dig deep into the minds of the characters. Faulkner develops his characters on a multisensory level. Let's look at a passage about midway through the novel in which the protagonist, Joe Christmas, describes his intimate relationship with a woman and her dualist personality. He is outside her house spying on her:

"Meanwhile the affair went on, submerging him more and more by the imperious and overriding fury of those nights. Perhaps he realized that he could not escape. Anyway, he stayed, watching the two creatures that struggled in the one body like two moongleamed shapes struggling drowning in alternate throes upon the surface of a black thick pool beneath the last moon. Now it would be that still, cold, contained figure of the first phase who, even though lost and damned, remained somehow impervious and impregnable;" (p. 260).

You might be reaching for a dictionary right now and that is completely understandable. Faulkner is known for his large vocabulary and even making up new words (a writer from oprah.com has even created a glossary of Faulkner's word creations). Faulkner's imagery of two struggling "creatures," the "thick black pool," the "cold, contained figure" and the "impregnable" persona of the woman, reads like poetry - the content combined with the syntax and style all matter and contribute to the overall meaning. Light in August is rife with these descriptions, which is a reason why Faulkner's works deserve a slow thoughtful reading pace. If you take the time to re-read, analyze, and ponder you will surely be rewarded with a literary genius perspective on human nature and an have an overall enjoyable experience.

Highest Score: 5 trophies per category

Writing: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Readability: 🏆🏆

Plot: 🏆🏆🏆

Characters: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆

Overall: 🏆🏆🏆🏆