Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Search - As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying
Author: William Faulkner
One of William Faulkner's finest novels, As I Lay Dying was originally published in 1930, and remains a captivating and stylistically innovative work. The story revolves around a grim yet darkly humorous pilgrimage, as Addie Bundren's family sets out to fulfill her last wish: to be buried in her native Jefferson, Mississippi, far from the...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780394747453
ISBN-10: 0394747453
Publication Date: 2/12/1987
Pages: 256
Rating:
  • Currently 3.8/5 Stars.
 37

3.8 stars, based on 37 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Members Wishing: 1
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Hard to follow and sort out the characters at first. I particularly like Faulkner's stream of consciousness style. The characters were very colorful. A good change of style and pace for me.
reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 109 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A good intro to Faulkner's writing. A disturbing, sometimes darkly humorous account of a family's struggle to properly bury thier mother.
lisareinke avatar reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 123 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Required reading for me in high school. However, I was shocked that I found the book extremely entertaining and funny. Black humor at its best and wacky but real characters. The stream of consciousness writing style is brilliant, Faulkner, ya know, but difficult to get into. Much like trying to read Shakespeare or listen to opera. Well worth it, if you can do it.
reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
My first Faulkner read.... it was a great book, but hard to read at first until you get used to his style. In the end, I enjoyed reading the story through each individual's eyes.
CharleneY avatar reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 80 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Somewhat interesting, though sometimes the language and writing style was hard to muddle through.
Read All 31 Book Reviews of "As I Lay Dying"

Please Log in to Rate these Book Reviews

reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 10 more book reviews
Superb story teller. Classic Faulkner.
reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 53 more book reviews
The conventional wisdom says that this a good introduction to Faulkner's unique style of writing. True, it's short and the black humor gets us readers over white waters in the stream of consciousness. But the multiple points of view may disconcert and disgruntle. And then there're sentences like this: But it's better to build a tight chicken coop than a shoddy court-house, and when they both build shoddy or build well, neither because it's one or tother is going to make a man feel the better nor the worse. Wait, what? There's no getting around that a reader has to read it twice through, once, then again quick. Nothing good comes easy, momma always said. Note: this is not the only masterpiece he wrote in the Thirties.
areadingwoman avatar reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 30 more book reviews
There is no way around the fact that Faulkner is hard to read. However, this is one of his more enjoyable books. It is humorous even though the subject matter is so disturbing. Personally, Varderman is the most intriguing character. No one cares enough to explain to him the situation surrounding his mother's death, so while his conclusion that his mother is a fish is disturbing, it still remains humorous.
reviewed As I Lay Dying on + 9 more book reviews
This was my first attempt at Faulkner. Somehow I managed to go through my entire undergraduate degree in English without so much as glancing at a Faulkner book. I was neither surprised nor disappointed in this book, it was about what I expected. It takes awhile to get in to the vernacular, but the story is interesting enough to get you through. All-in-all a worthy classic but by no means a "fun" read.


Genres: