Synopses & Reviews
Amid all that has been published about William Faulkner, one subjectthe nature of his thoughtremains largely unexplored. But, as Daniel Singal's new intellectual biography reveals, we can learn much about Faulkner's art by relating it to the cultural and intellectual discourse of his era, and much about that era by coming to terms with his art. Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from the earliest poetry through Go Down, Moses, Singal traces Faulkner's attempt to liberate himself from the repressive Victorian culture in which he was raised by embracing the Modernist culture of the artistic avant-garde. To accommodate the conflicting demands of these two cultures, Singal shows, Faulkner created a complex and fluid structure of selfhood based on a set of dual identitiesone, that of a Modernist author writing on the most daring and subversive issues of his day, and the other, that of a southern country gentleman loyal to the conservative mores of his community. Indeed, it is in the clash between these two selves, Singal argues, that one finds the key to making sense of Faulkner.
Review
A work of literary criticism that is so compact, sensible, and reassuring.
American Literature
Review
"[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.
American Historical Review
Review
(Singal•s) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.
Georgia Historical Quarterly
Review
"Singal•s . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.
Magill•s Literary Annual
Review
"[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.
American Historical Review
Synopsis
This intellectual biography relates the nature of Faulkner•s thought to the cultural and intellectual discourse of his era. Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from the earliest poetry through Go Down, Moses, Singal traces Faulkner•s attempt to liberate himself from his native culture of Southern Victorian repression by embracing the Modernist culture of the artistic avant-garde.
Synopsis
This intellectual biography relates the nature of Faulkners thought to the cultural and intellectual discourse of his era. Through detailed analyses of individual texts, from the earliest poetry through Go Down, Moses, Singal traces Faulkners attempt to liberate himself from his native culture of Southern Victorian repression by embracing the Modernist culture of the artistic avant-garde.
Synopsis
A work of literary criticism that is so compact, sensible, and reassuring.
American Literature One of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.
American Historical Review (Singal•s) work is a significant step forward in Faulkner criticism because of its clarity and good sense.
Georgia Historical Quarterly "Singal•s . . . . understanding of the cultural forces that competed within Faulkner help to unlock the novels.
Magill•s Literary Annual "[Singal's] explications are both seamlessly written and stingingly original. . . . one of the most engaging one-volume studies of Faulkner to have appeared.
American Historical Review
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. Progenitor: The First William Falkner
2. Poplars and Peacocks, Nymphs and Fauns
3. Fierce, Small, and Impregnably Virginal
4. Discovering Yoknapatawpha
5. All Things Become Shadowy Paradoxical
6. Into the Void
7. The Making of a Modernist Identity: Light in August
8. The Dark House of Southern History
9. Ruthless and Unbearable Honesty
10. Diminished Powers: The Writing of Go Down, Moses
Coda
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Illustrations
Statue of Colonel William C. Falkner in Ripley, Mississippi
Estelle Oldham as an adolescent in 1913
William Faulkner as "Count No-Count" in the early 1920s
William Faulkner the emerging novelist in New Orleans in the mid-1920s
The county courthouse and monument of the Confederate soldier in Oxford, Mississippi
William Faulkner the Modernist author at work in his study
William Faulkner the gentleman bohemian in the mid-1930s
William Faulkner the Virginia squire in his riding attire during the late 1950s