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Light in August (Vintage International)
Light in August - Vintage International
Author: William Faulkner
Joe Christmas does not know whether he is black or white. Faulkner makes of Joe's tragedy a powerful indictment of racism; at the same time Joe's life is a study of the divided self and becomes a symbol of 20th century man.
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ISBN-13: 9780679732266
ISBN-10: 0679732268
Publication Date: 10/1/1990
Pages: 528
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 85

3.7 stars, based on 85 ratings
Publisher: Vintage
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

Leigh avatar reviewed Light in August (Vintage International) on + 378 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 5
This remains my all-time favorite Faulkner novel. Even the least astute literary critic can appreciate the multiple parallels between the main character and Christ. A reader will understand these characters, as Faulkner goes into their depths, giving feelings, reactions, and background information. One could almost guess how a given character would react in any situation. The language in this book, although still his typical stream-of-consciousness, isnt as difficult to follow as in his other books.
reviewed Light in August (Vintage International) on + 257 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Light in August, a novel about hopeful perserverance in the face of mortality, features some of Faulkner's most memorable characters: guileless, dauntless Lena Grove, in search of the father of her unborn child; Reverend Gail Hightower, who is plagued by visions of a Confederate horsemen; and Joe Christmas, a desperate, enigmatic drifter consumed by mixed ancestory.

This book was great the first time I read it and even better the second time around! If you haven't read Faulkner you must!
reviewed Light in August (Vintage International) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
I always recommend Light in August to people who say that Faulkner is impenetrable. Here the pages flow effortlessly by and the story line is easy to follow. There's none of the interior monologues that so confuse and derail those picking up the southern master for the first time. This plot is more traditional and will be readily appreciated by the average person.
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reviewed Light in August (Vintage International) on + 53 more book reviews
This excellent novel from 1932 is a Great Southern Novel, right up there with All the King's Men. On one hand, the plot and incidents unfold in a readily comprehensible fashion. While there are flashbacks and shifts in narrative voice, they are not as baffling as in TS&TF or As I Lay Dying. This is nearly a stand-alone novel, with few references to other novels in his Yoknapatawpha cycle. As for theme, it's Faulkner's enduring theme, how people endure terrible events. Just like reading TS&TF, even the most hardcore readers have to approach a Faulkner novel as if it were music, getting carried away by the rhythm and flow without trying to understand every note perfectly. In Faulkner's prose there are passages that seem off, that seem only kind of clear or not clear at all. So a reader has to read it twice. Like momma done tole me, nothing good comes easy.


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