Friday, August 8, 2014

Faulkner virgin


Yes, I hate to admit it—the Faulkner virgin is in the house! Ah, William Faulkner. In this part of the world, he's not as talked about as, say, Ernest Hemingway or Virginia Woolf or even D. H. Lawrence. I can't even recall a single humanities class in college that required students to read Faulkner.

But lately, we're having a bit of a Faulkner renaissance, yes? Does it have to do with the movie adaptation of As I Lay Dying starring James Franco? Could be. Heck, I'll read anything that has James Franco on the cover.  Oh, Franco. If only all slackers had brains such as yours.

Anyway, I chose to read Light in August because, well, it is August. But here in Manila we're not getting enough light lately, as cloudy skies and the monsoon rains are the norm. I'm still a few pages in the novel, and I can't even decide if I like Faulkner's writing style. It certainly is different.

Hopefully, by the end of this month, I'll be Faulker devirginized. And maybe, somewhere in the near future, I may find him in my bed again.

4 comments:

Becca said...

Love this! I am actually a Faulkner virgin, too. Maybe your review will convince me to re-assess the situation. :)

Peter S. said...

Hi, Becca! Yay! I'm not alone!

Tin said...

Haha! I think we covered A Rose for Emily back in high school. But I really don't remember anything about the plot. And it' a short story. So, in terms of novels, I am a Faulker virgin too. Heck I am a Hemingway virgin...and a Lawrence virgin as well. It's a good thing TFG's May book of the month was Virginia Woolf's To The Lighthouse. And thus, I am a Woolf devirginized!

From among those authors, I think I'll most likely try Hemingway first. :)

Peter S. said...

Hi, Tin! Oh, I think Hemingway is much, much readable than Faulker. I love Hemingway! I hope you get a chance to read him soon!