[.ca] Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner (ISBN 0679424784)

WHO'S AFRAID OF WILLIAM FAULKNER?:
Faulkner scares readers. Before I read, re-read and loved "Light in August," I had tried books like "Absalom, Absalom" and "The Sound and The Fury" countless times only to get bogged down in the convoluted grammar and personal symbolism as well as the dialogue. For some reason, when I was ready to really read and concentrate, it was certainly not easy, but it was a great, distinct pleasure....one that has stayed with me. Faulkner is, as novelist and essayist Ralph Ellison calls him, "...the greatest artist the South has produced." This Modern Library compilation of some of Faulkner's short stories is a perfect place to start to read this author, or to keep returning for his keen insights into the heart and nature of the Southerners he created from the Southerners he knew. There are thirteen stories here and they include one of Faulkner's most famous, "A Rose For Emily" a tale of great love and, perhaps, necrophilia. My personal favorite, depressingly sad though it is, is "Dry September" which tells of the extreme violence not only of small town whites to blacks but of whites to whites. Every one of these superb stories is a gem, masterfully written. Most were intended for magazines and so are much more straight forward and "simple" than the novels. My only complaint and it is with Modern Library, is that, except in two cases, we are not told when Faulkner wrote the stories nor when they were published. Even so, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Nice Collection:
This is a great collection for someone who hasn't read much Faulkner. Everyone needs to have at least read "A Rose For Emily" and "Red Leaves."