Rating: 
Summary: ...
Review: William Faulkner is a genius when it comes to creating a plot that will always relate to society. However, I must say that although the writing style was magnificent, it was too wordy in the sense that it could almost send anyone into a world of monotony.
Rating: 
Summary: A very interestingly written story
Review: William Faulkner's Light in August is a very wonderful story about various characters, each with real depth and character. The story is set in the South, in the early 1900's I believe. The main character is Joe Christmas, a very complex character who seems to have trouble fitting in, perhaps on account of his being of mixed race. But, there are other interesting, well-developed characters such as Reverend Hightower, Lena Grove, Joe Brown and Byron Bunch. It's kind of hard to describe exactly what the plot of the novel is. But basically, it intertwines the tales of the aforementioned characters in Jefferson, Tennessee. A large portion of the novel concerns Joe Christmas' pursuit by the law after his suspected murder of a middle-aged woman. The writing style in this novel is very interesting. It tends to delve into the mind of each of its characters, giving the reader a sense of the motivations behind their actions. As I said, the novel intertwines story and so it tends to jump back and forth in time shedding light on events and people in a very interesting manner. Faulkner does this very well, without doing it so much it becomes confusing. I had originally read this novel 3 years ago as a junior in high school and for some reason I can't really explain, I just kind of felt I should read it again. So, I did and I'm glad I did because Light in August is a great novel. I haven't read anything else by Faulkner, so I can't compare it to any of his other works, but this novel is a pretty good read.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgettable skein of characters; stream-of-consciousness
Review: William Faulkner's Light in August set in the south at times of slavery. What seems to be a tale of an ambitious, determined pregnant woman hitch-hiking out from Alabama to look for the child's father evokes the lives of a skein of interesting characters whose lives readers will not easily forget. Lena Grove was pregnant with Lucas Burch's child. She set out from Alabama for Jefferson, Mississippi to search for the man who promised to send for her as he settled down with a job at the mill. Welled with anticipation and hope, Lena arrived at the plant only to realize that she had mistaken Byron Bunch for Lucas Burch. As soon as the search shed lights Faulkner takes away Lena from his readers and defers her until the end of the book. Joe Christmas, a man with mixed ancestry (part white and part Mexican) somehow befriended with Lucas Burch who carried a fictitious identity "Brown" and colluded in bootlegging whiskey. A substantial coverage of the book recounts Joe Christmas's childhood in an orphanage, his abused adolescence under the McEacherns, his mystifying affair with a slave advocate Miss Burden, and his apprehension after he allegedly burned down the house in which Burden resided in and thus murdered her. Brown sold him out for the thousand-dollar reward. Byron Bunch, if not dredging overtime at the mill, would visit and keep accompany of Reverent Gail Hightower, who had be expelled by the elders in town after his adulterous wife committed suicide in Memphis. The ex-minister inherited a small income, gave arts lessons and handpainted Christmas cards. He was constantly plagued by visions of Confederate horsemen who killed his grandfather. So go back and forth the narratives of the book, over vast intervals of time. Byron Bunch, who was in the know of Lucas Burch's dual identity from the beginning, deftly dodged Lena from the truth but arranged her to settle down at Burch's cabin. Together with Lena, Byron also ascertained the identity of Joe Christmas when the Hines, an old couple from Mottstown, arrived in Jefferson. I don't want to elaborate on the aspects of symbolism (this book has an abundance of them). The names could be symbolic (Christmas, Burden, Bunch, etc). The notion of race and skin color is outrageous in this book. Joe Christmas led a tragic life as a desperate, oppressed, enigmatic drifter who was irreparably consumed by his mixed ancestry. His very own grandfather talked of lynching him because of his copper, parchment-colored skin. Political overtones seep through the book. Miss Burden's father moved back south from California and spent much time cursing slavery and slaveholders. I get the impression that the curse of the black race is God's curse, while the curse of the white race is those whom the white race has suppressed. The chapter on the reverent is so obscurely filled with dissertation on sins (some of the most arduous, tenacious reading of the entire book). The structure of the novel is worth a discussion. With 21 chapters, Lena Grove's search for the father of her child is deferred until the very end. Faulkner barely mentions her in passing in Chapter 14 when she settles down in Jefferson. The third and the second-to-the-last chapters devote to Reverent Gail Hightower. From Byron Bunch seems to be sewing all the pieces together as he recounts all the happenings in town and Lena Grove to the reverent. So everything in between shrouds the story the Joe Christmas. The result is a concentric ring structure Faulkner has astutely and deftly constructed in the novel. Light in August deftly captures the Southern life focusing both on the personal histories of his characters and the moral complexities and uncertainties of an increasingly dissolute, diverse (of which Joe Christmas is an epitome, nobody recognized him as part Mexican) society. The book is a unique combination of a plethora of symbolism and a stream-of-consciousness technique. The characters stay with readers. 4.0 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Light In August
Review: Written about what's being felt and thought, just like most of all of Faulkner's books. My first was Sanctuary (at the age of 15) and just flew through them. Next was Absalom, Absalom!For how you get into the characters, and into yourself as you feel how they do. I see an observation of the American South which was occurring in his time, and sadly, is occurring still - aren't we learning anything here? It's cool, though, that his stories are still getting people to think and communicate. What more could any author wish for?
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