The Sound and the Fury - by William Faulkner

Book Synopsis

One of the most influential novels of the twentieth century by Nobel Prize-winner William Faulkner.

First published in 1929, The Sound and the Fury is a masterpiece of modernist literature. Although Faulkner originally called it his "most splendid failure," the novel is renowned for its innovative narrative technique which brings to life a haunting tale of the American South set in his most famous fictional creation, Yoknapatawpha County. Told largely through the innermost thoughts of the Compson brothers as they grapple with the demise of southern aristocracy and the dissolution of their family, The Sound and the Fury is a powerful exploration of human fragility, family ties, and the relentless passage of time.

Review Quotes

"I am in awe of Faulkner's Benjy, James's Maisie, Flaubert's Emma, Melville's Pip, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein--each of us can extend the list.... I am interested in what prompts and makes possible this process of entering what one is estranged from."--Toni Morrison

"No man ever put more of his heart and soul into the written word than did William Faulkner. If you want to know all you can about that heart and soul, the fiction where he put it is still right there."--Eudora Welty

"The Sound and the Fury is a masterpiece of the modernist movement that wasn't afraid to reveal the dark side of the Mississippi aristocracy. It is a haunting tale you won't soon forget."--Medium

"The Sound and the Fury constituted an artistic breakthrough.... Careful patterns of words and images...create an artistic unity that transcends the fragmented perspectives on display."--The Guardian

"William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury is one of the monuments of High Modernism--America's answer to James Joyce's Ulysses."--The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

William Faulkner was born in New Albany, MS in 1897 and in 1902 moved to Oxford, MS, where he lived for the rest of his life. He was one of the most prolific and influential American authors of the twentieth century. His works explored the complex social structures in the American South, often pulling inspiration from his own life and ancestors. This includes his creation of Yoknapatawpha County, the fictional setting for many of his books. His many notable novels include The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Light in August (1932), and Absalom, Absalom! (1936). He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1949, Pulitzer Prizes for A Fable (1954) and The Reivers (1962), and National Book Awards for A Fable, his only novel not set in the South, and Collected Stories (1951). He died in 1962.