Collected Stories of William Faulkner

The first Faulkner book I read was in my junior year of high school. When I consulted my teacher about whether I should choose Faulkner or another author to read, she told me something along the lines of, "Faulkner's regionalistic and enigmatic style is interpreted two different ways by two different types of people: One think that he is symbolic and profound, the other think that he is not and rather full of it." Well, I do feel sorry for the 'other' group, because to not reconize the depth behind his more-poetic-than-most-poets words is just plain out wacky. I will say that he is not your typical fiction writer, his books do not have action oriented plots (or even any action in some cases), but he still somehow manages to catch your interest. I have never fell asleep while reading a book or story by Faulkner, and not many authors have earned this distinction. He also leaves you with a sense of reflection, again something distinguishing him from many others. Personally, I prefer short stories to novels, I find that my focus to the point and plot of the story is less distracted by the end as with a novel and I typically find that I retain more. I do enjoy Faulkner's novels and have read quite a few, but this collection of short stories is just brilliant beyond brilliant. His words are potent and sharp in all of them, even if his point and meaning is more elusive. I completely and totally recommend that everyone read this collection of stories. Everyone. Really. That means you too.

A terrific introduction to the world of Faulkner's fiction. Some of these stories "Wash", "Barn Burning", "All the Dead Pilots", and "That Evening Sun" serve as introductions to some of the characters that populate his novels. These 42 stories encapsulate a brilliant career, featuring a wide variety of styles and points of view.
I am not a big fan of short stories, but each of these reads like a mini-novel.
You will be engrossed and will want to go back and read them again.

William Faulkner (1897-1962) famously said that all novelists were failed short story writers and all short story writers were failed poets. To anyone who has tried to write fiction, I think these words make a lot of sense. However, while reading his collection of short stories, it occurred to me over and over again that the source of this quote may in fact be one of its exceptions. It goes without saying that Faulkner's novels are one of the finest bodies of work in that genre, so he was, obviously, a novelist. But with this collection of stories, it seems to me he was also a formidable short story writer. And I would challenge anyone who reads `Carcassone', the beautiful `story' that closes this immense collection, to tell me that Faulkner didn't have the poet in him as well.

This is the collection that came out in the fifties containing 42 stories, some from earlier collection and others previously unpublished in book form. They are not grouped chronologically, but rather by `subject': `The Country', `The Village', `The Wilderness', etc. I don't know why Mr. Faulkner did this, but I found it really worked to have stories of similar themes or places grouped together.

For those who haven't read Faulkner before, his writing is a dense, `stream of consciousness' style, essentially the exact opposite of his nemesis, the minimalist Ernest Hemingway. This means these stories can be hard reading in a lot of spots, as the meaning of what is happening or what Faulkner wants us to comprehend can be elusive. Some sections or whole stories will need to be read again until the meaning becomes clear, or clearer. Luckily the other trait of Faulkner's is his perfect rhythm, almost like a galloping horse at times, which pulls us through the stories and makes us want to read them again and again.

All of these stories are good, but my favorites had to be the haunting `A Rose for Emily' and `That Evening Sun'. `Lo!', `Artist at Home', and `The Brooch' were also favorites of mine. But really, the guy had me from the first line of `Barn Burning': "The store in which the Justice of the Peace's court was sitting smelled of cheese." This book is for anyone who cares at all about literature. Any exploration of twentieth century American literature is virtually worthless without a dip into the ocean that is William Faulkner.

After reading "A Mule in the Yard," "That Will Be Fine," and "That Evening Sun" I was reminded of why this guy is one of the greatest storytellers ever. I know, his writing can be dense and even a times nearly unintelligible, but patience and concentration pays off with Faulkner. And his use of point of view is amazing.

How can I rate Faulkner? Only by saying that he is one of the really great ones [up there with Steinbeck, Harper Lee, Tennesee Williams, Arthur Miller and Philip Roth, and that is as good as it ever gets]. He describes the Southern zeitgeist of his time better than anyone. His stories [and novels] breathe a life of their own: they are funny, compassionate, macabre, tragic, touching, sometimes violent but always totally on target - in your mind's eye you can actually not only see but almost smell and touch the Deep South. Ever since my first introduction to Faulkner [in high school] I've been an ardent fan, and I have almost all of his books! Pity Amazon allows me only five stars!

Faulkner's "Collected Stories" (paperback edition) are excellent works of literature. They have a lyrical quality and depict bold characters. This collection of stories is my favorite of my entire library.
However, I originally purchased this book in April 2011, but found the printing rather smudged and many of the words were lighter than the rest of the text. I am ordering another copy of the paperback edition with hopes that the problem has been resolved. I'll report back.

The first stories in this book are truly brilliant and so well written that they should be compulsory reading for all aspiring writers. They're also devastating. Some other stories are quirky or strange. What is undeniable is Faulkner's mastery of voice whenever he draws his characters. Well worth reading. Some of these stories will haunt you.

William Faulkner is not an easy Man to understand in his writings but in his complexity he shows strength, admiration and guilt all wrapped up in one sentence and as a reader...all at one time. The confusion and glory is one to beholdin. All of his words put together bring understanding to anyone's compromise. Faulkner is the master of great prose in an educated and complex way.
A writer to be treasured with a devotion likened to Shakespeare of modern time. Sharon lin andrews navarro

I love a good short story and Faulkner hit the spot for me with this collection of various tales from the Country to Beyond. My favorite story was The Bear Hunt, but there were so many that were good in an creepy way like the story Wash. I had to re-read that ending a couple of times and afterwards, I read the whole story over again to put the pieces of the puzzle in place.

Every section has good stories in them and some better than other. Reading Faulkner ain't no walk in the park though. In the Beyond section of the book the stories are a little more difficult to read and understand. That section alone is the reason I gave the book four stars and not five. Carcassonne may be poetic and beautiful to some but it's...I don't know read it for yourself. Faulkner kind of puts you in your place and says, "I know poetry, you know nothing". I'll keep reading until I do understand though.

I've been reading Faulkner's works for about 5 months straight and I think this collection of stories is what I should have started with first. I hope that if you decide to take on Faulkner to start here and save The Sound and the Fury for later...but not too much later.

Enjoy.

For readers coming to Faulkner for the first time, or from having read The Sound and the Fury, the expectation is that his large collection of short fiction, some 900 pages in my edition, will be wall-to-wall southern gothic tales, post and ante-bellum stories of the south and its unique American culture. And indeed, in the Collected Stories there are tales of these aplenty. But refreshingly, Faulkner shows his great power as a writer by throwing a knuckle ball every now and again. There are a string of short stories in this collection which take place in the Great War and involve largely British characters (Turnabout). There is a story about aviators in the Great War (All the Dead Pilots). A story about homeless men in New York City (Pennsylvania Station) and even the writer writing of writers story (Artist at Home). Nothing is more refreshing to than to approach a writer the stature and reputation of Faulker, who made his bones in one type of literary fiction and realize that in addition to his well trodden paths he has range and depth of subject matter.