tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post4605048469957862135..comments2024-03-27T16:48:21.039-05:00Comments on Wuthering <br>Expectations: Woolf's Waves and Faulkner's stories - more books I read in May - I love tremendous and sonorous wordsAmateur Reader (Tom)http://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-36908614825599367452020-06-22T12:28:23.662-05:002020-06-22T12:28:23.662-05:00And even more so in Three Guineas.And even more so in Three Guineas.Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-67797414991876748892020-06-20T09:46:35.201-05:002020-06-20T09:46:35.201-05:00The novelist as Mussolini. I had not thought of t...The novelist as Mussolini. I had not thought of that. I remind myself that some related ideas are in <i>A Room of One's Own</i>, two years earlier.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-29823626725325379752020-06-20T07:21:24.648-05:002020-06-20T07:21:24.648-05:00Agreed, he's not really summing up. Throughout...Agreed, he's not really summing up. Throughout the 30s, Woolf worried more and more about dictators. For obvious reasons. I'd say that the question about who controls the storytelling isn't just academic--it's a mirror for the era's politics.Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3719012159146377802020-06-19T23:53:28.683-05:002020-06-19T23:53:28.683-05:00Right, right. He could be hijacking even if it is...Right, right. He could be hijacking even if it is all his invention. Author, let your characters breathe. They <i>were</i> breathing. Butt out.<br /><br />He is not really "summing up," even if that is how he begins the section.<br /><br />The relation between the real author, taking Woolf as real, and the fictional author, is also full of ideas and traps.<br /><br />A difficult book, in the good way.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-54069004217731279802020-06-19T22:54:31.649-05:002020-06-19T22:54:31.649-05:00I'm fascinated by The Waves. I teach it pretty...I'm fascinated by The Waves. I teach it pretty regularly, and students are both shocked and awed. It still feels quite strange. Something we talk about a lot is how to understand the relationship of the last section to everything else. As some scholars point out, using some language of Bahktin's, there's such a tension between the polyvocal and the monolingual. Does Bernard summarize the story or does he hijack it?Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-7676762163911249332020-06-19T22:52:02.222-05:002020-06-19T22:52:02.222-05:00If it is, I've missed it. Good joke.If it is, I've missed it. Good joke.Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-43991814366635742512020-06-19T22:51:34.897-05:002020-06-19T22:51:34.897-05:00I've taught some marvelous English-Physics dou...I've taught some marvelous English-Physics double majors (yes, it's a thing!), and they do tend to love The Waves. Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-13683266040186593822020-06-19T22:49:19.451-05:002020-06-19T22:49:19.451-05:00Agreed!Agreed!Dorian Stuberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10502464360299604387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-75575937848299236802020-06-19T17:51:51.296-05:002020-06-19T17:51:51.296-05:00Right, those are Faulkner's detective stories,...Right, those are Faulkner's detective stories, with his long-running stand-in as the detective.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-4992023763859856932020-06-19T17:40:25.018-05:002020-06-19T17:40:25.018-05:00I was going to say actually that the only story of...I was going to say actually that the only story of those I've read that I thought was good was Barn Burning - but of course, that's from his Snopes period, so it's bound to be good. (Fittingly, it won the O'Henry Award).<br /><br />This evening I read the first story in Knight's Gambit called Smoke, which seems to have been strongly influenced by Agatha Christie.<br />obookihttps://obooki.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-3653308448280652402020-06-19T16:17:31.254-05:002020-06-19T16:17:31.254-05:00A Fable is some kind of phenomenon of badness. If...<i>A Fable</i> is some kind of phenomenon of badness. If for some reason you ever want to see such a thing. It won the Pulitzer.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-48066669680991909872020-06-19T14:28:09.814-05:002020-06-19T14:28:09.814-05:00"as any of the novels I have read", then..."as any of the novels I have read", then. I haven't read a terrible Faulkner novel. The closest I've come to that is <i>Sanctuary</i>, which is pretty good, though I'd not call it great. I'd rather read <i>Sanctuary</i> again than read "Emily" again.<br /><br />Somehow my objections seem more forceful than I intend them to be. <i>Faulkner, yeah, he's okay. I don't mind Faulkner. I'm reading him now. I like some of his stuff a lot.</i>scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-60069336514473337552020-06-19T14:24:44.533-05:002020-06-19T14:24:44.533-05:00Faulkner can certainly wait for another time.Faulkner can certainly wait for another time.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-12090971651826186062020-06-19T14:14:07.721-05:002020-06-19T14:14:07.721-05:00That collection includes a number of Faulkner'...That collection includes a number of Faulkner's best stories; many of those specific stories are as good as or better than some of his novels. Faulkner wrote some terrible novels.<br /><br />Which novels are included in the phrase "than any of his novels"? That was the bit that made my eyes pop. I did not restate it!<br /><br />I find the best parts of "Rose for Emily" - its narrative strategy and its, God help me, symbolism - to be easily separable from its over-familiar corniness.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-79900942755484962942020-06-19T14:12:02.994-05:002020-06-19T14:12:02.994-05:00Stuff moves me or it don't. It leaves an impre...Stuff moves me or it don't. It leaves an impression or it don't. The only thing in that collection that I remember is "Emily," and that's primarily because of the sense of disappointment I've had at every reading. <br /><br />If I had time, I'd read "Barn Burning" again, but I don't have time. I really don't have time to be reading and commenting on blogs these days. I have enormous piles of work just now. Thanks, global pandemic.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-44412055195313494032020-06-19T13:50:46.004-05:002020-06-19T13:50:46.004-05:00"Barn Burning" is also a great story. N..."Barn Burning" is also a great story. Not sure what your criteria are for stories.Languagehathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285708503881129380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-42923051577404846342020-06-19T13:41:42.681-05:002020-06-19T13:41:42.681-05:00Hang on a darned minute! When you restate my argum...Hang on a darned minute! When you restate my argument, I cannot recognize it. I think my comment was clearly limited to the contents of the Modern Library edition I mentioned. Those contents are:<br /><br />Barn Burning<br />Two Soldiers<br />A Rose for Emily<br />Dry September<br />That Evening Sun<br />Red Leaves<br />Lo!<br />Turnabout<br />Honor<br />There Was A Queen<br />Mountain Victory<br />Beyond<br />Race at Morning<br /><br />None of which strike me as being "great". I recommend Faulkner's novels often enough, but I would not urge "A Rose for Emily" on anyone. The "features of high interest" (the commentary about the townsfolk is pretty good) are smothered to death by features of Southern Gothic Goofiness. C'mon, man. A bad Victorian ghost story ending. The whole thing is a setup for that iron gray hair on the pillow. I'm happy that Faulkner moved away from the O. Henry influence.scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-15610639759399620462020-06-19T13:06:37.341-05:002020-06-19T13:06:37.341-05:00"none of them is as good as any of his novels..."none of them is as good as any of his novels" - wait, hang on there. You've read <i>A Fable</i>? <i>Soldier's Pay</i>?<br /><br />I'll hammer in the peg, if you want to discuss it: "A Rose for Emily" is a great story, with many features of high interest, and a number of Faulkner's stories are as good as a number of his novels. To the extent that "as good as" is meaningful here. Faulkner wrote many artful, complex, influential, much-studied short stories. That is what I Mean by "as good as."Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-71674016026538580562020-06-19T11:56:43.476-05:002020-06-19T11:56:43.476-05:00As I understand it, the stories in Go Down, Moses ...As I understand it, the stories in <i>Go Down, Moses</i> were not planned as a single work, and first appeared over several years in a variety of magazines.<br /><br />I have a Modern Library edition of <i>Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner</i>, with original publication dates ranging from 1931-1939. Thirteen stories, and they are uneven but mostly okay, though none of them is as good as any of his novels. "A Rose for Emily" is the third story in this collection.<br /><br />I first read "A Rose for Emily" as a teenager, the second time in a college intro to fiction course. I've read it a few more times over the years. It has some interesting use of language, but I have never thought much of it as a story.<br /><br />Because of this post's pernicious influence, I'm currently re-reading <i>Absalom, Absalom!</i>scott g.f.baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05726743149139510832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-80617944404110823772020-06-19T09:44:03.767-05:002020-06-19T09:44:03.767-05:00Those aren't the four novels I meant, no. As ...Those aren't the four novels I meant, no. As usual, I meant the usual.<br /><br />I want to emphasize that the first 200 pages of <i>Collected</i> are not the earliest written. <i>Collected Stories</i> is all jumbled, chronologically, although carefully ordered, conceptually.<br /><br />But the first 200 pages include "A Rose for Emily," Faulkner's first published story. Vague! "A Rose for Emily"!Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-83456841562861276992020-06-19T08:37:18.671-05:002020-06-19T08:37:18.671-05:00Also, sheesh, of course he wrote great short stori...Also, sheesh, of course he wrote great short stories; anyone who doesn't think so simply doesn't like short stories.Languagehathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285708503881129380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-47874689295307328992020-06-19T08:35:52.422-05:002020-06-19T08:35:52.422-05:00I'm assuming by 4 great novels you mean the Sn...<i>I'm assuming by 4 great novels you mean the Snopes trilogy and Pylon.</i><br /><br />Good lord, what a strange assumption! <i>Pylon</i>?! What about <i>The Sound and the Fury</i> and <i>Light in August</i>, two of the greatest novels of the 20th century?Languagehathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13285708503881129380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-73340758283301961782020-06-19T06:02:21.899-05:002020-06-19T06:02:21.899-05:00Sorry, last comment was me again. It defaulted to ...Sorry, last comment was me again. It defaulted to my work persona.obookihttps://obooki.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-17253366419739437172020-06-19T05:59:52.155-05:002020-06-19T05:59:52.155-05:00I have 2 Faulkner short-story collections. One'...I have 2 Faulkner short-story collections. One's called Knight's Gambit, which I've never read, and one is called Collected Stories (which is 900 pages long). I've only read the first 200 pages of Collected Stories, which I presume are the earliest - and I sense Faulkner is for the most part just writing vague ideas for money.<br /><br />I wouldn't count Go Down Moses are short stories, but perhaps that's just marketing.<br /><br /><br />I'm assuming by 4 great novels you mean the Snopes trilogy and Pylon.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06728831654369154880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3383938214852108244.post-18025490407893364712020-06-18T17:37:46.817-05:002020-06-18T17:37:46.817-05:00I can understand the sense in which Go Down, Moses...I can understand the sense in which <i>Go Down, Moses</i> does not count (if it turns into a novel), but I think it counts. <br /><br />Faulkner's second, and last, book of short stories was more mangled than <i>These 13</i>, with pieces going into <i>The Unvanquished</i> and <i>The Hamlet</i> as well as into the appropriate slots in <i>Collected Stories</i>.Amateur Reader (Tom)https://www.blogger.com/profile/13675275555757408496noreply@blogger.com