The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner's fourth novel, is his first attempt at a wholly self-conscious style. Faulkner's willingness to experiment affords his readers no stable perspective from which to comprehend the decline of the Compson family.
Of all the books Faulkner wrote the one he thought most highly in later years was The Sound and the Fury. Here he portrays with startling realism the lives of some of the most famous characters in American literature, the Compson family. Most critics agree that this stunning narrative of the dissolution of the Compson family is one the most remarkable novels of the 20th century.