Scan barcode
lakecake's review against another edition
3.0
I won a copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I feel like I don’t have enough familiarity with Faulkner to really appreciate this book. I read As I Lay Dying in college, thought it was weird and not good, and therefore never really wanted to touch Faulkner again. After reading this incredibly in-depth look at the works and place of the man’s creations, and also at the man himself, I’m intrigued and want to try again. This work is very comprehensive and focuses on the South, the Civil War, and racism through the lens of Faulkner’s fictional place and people. It’s fascinating and Gorra does a great job of looking at the full picture honestly and unflinchingly. There is no beating around the bush of the South’s racist past, the myth of the Lost Cause and dispelling it, and of Faulkner’s own somewhat complicated but ultimately racist ideas. There is no apologizing for the complication of those ideas, but there is an argument for reading the works in the context of their time and with this book (and maybe others) as a guide to where they are problematic. I would probably give this book 4 stars if I had any deeper background in Faulkner’s work; it’s well-written and in-depth.
I feel like I don’t have enough familiarity with Faulkner to really appreciate this book. I read As I Lay Dying in college, thought it was weird and not good, and therefore never really wanted to touch Faulkner again. After reading this incredibly in-depth look at the works and place of the man’s creations, and also at the man himself, I’m intrigued and want to try again. This work is very comprehensive and focuses on the South, the Civil War, and racism through the lens of Faulkner’s fictional place and people. It’s fascinating and Gorra does a great job of looking at the full picture honestly and unflinchingly. There is no beating around the bush of the South’s racist past, the myth of the Lost Cause and dispelling it, and of Faulkner’s own somewhat complicated but ultimately racist ideas. There is no apologizing for the complication of those ideas, but there is an argument for reading the works in the context of their time and with this book (and maybe others) as a guide to where they are problematic. I would probably give this book 4 stars if I had any deeper background in Faulkner’s work; it’s well-written and in-depth.
cawhite's review
I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway. I'm still slogging through it. Parts of it are very good and give clarity on some aspects of the civil war. It also gives some clarity on Faulkner's writing, which is sometimes good and sometimes strange to me. The book has been described as "scholastic", and maybe that's what's been working against me. At this point I'm giving it 3 stars, but that might change at some point. I'll keep trying and hope something clicks for me.
joshrskinner's review against another edition
5.0
TL;DR Review: This book is great.
Longer Review:
In *The Saddest Words*, Gorra argues for a new reading of one of American Modernism’s most lasting, and troubling, figures that moves away from the traditional lens of early Faulkner scholarship, specifically those who followed Malcolm Cowley, the Agrarians, and Cleanth Brooks’s lead to view Faulkner almost exclusively through Faulkner’s depiction of his white characters (i.e., viewing Faulkner’s presentation of social class within the white community). Drawing extensively from Faulkner’s fiction and historical documents, Gorra offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the work and world of William Faulner, weaving biography, history, and literary analysis into a seamless whole, demonstrating how William Faulkner’s fiction focuses on the before and after of events, but rarely the during. Faulkner more often than not described in detail the causes of an event and the results of an event, but the event itself was rarely depicted.
[Faulkner spoilers]
This is the case with the rape of Temple Drake (*Sanctuary*), the death of Joe Christmas (*Light in August*), the shooting of Charles Bon (*Absalom! Absalom!*), etc.
[End Spoilers]
It is also the case with Faulkner’s relationship to The Civil War. The Civil War, and the racism at the center of that conflict, functions almost as a decoder ring in rightly understanding both William Faulkner the man and the world that fills the pages of his novels and short stories. In light of this, Gorra argues that merely investigating Faulkner’s work for the aesthetics of his prose or his examination of the human psyche in general is “no longer adequate” (4). The reader must account for the historical setting of both the writer and the setting of his stories. Gorra presents Faulkner as an obviously flawed figure who, albeit a man of his times, was incapable of maintaining his personal prejudices and Southern assumptions as he composed his fiction.
Gorra presents the world Faulkner created as one that is as historically and locally rooted as it is timeless and universal. Gorra’s work is broken into three main sections, with an introductory section and concluding chapter. In it, Gorra looks at documents of the time to show how the war, and the racism that prompted it, were presented in a softened manner, minimizing the effects of racism on African Americans. Gorra seeks to produce “an account not only of Faulkner’s work but also of what (he) might call the rhetoric of the Civil War itself, of the ever-changing ways in which it has been conceived over time” (27). Rather than focus on Faulkner’s work novel-by-novel, Gorra presents a Civil War narrative through the writings of Faulkner--the Civil War as it affected (physically and psychologically) Yoknapatawpha County, while also examining the Civil War hagiography that flourished during the same time as Faulkner himself was writing. As he does this, Gorra examines how what was comes back again, demonstrating how Faulkner’s work reflects the perpetual racism infecting American individuals and undergirding American structures.
In the three parts of his study, Gorra tends towards various rhetorical modes. In “Part One: Twice-Told Tales,” Gorra writes in a biographical manner. In “Part Two: Yoknapatawpha’s War,” Gorra advances the conversation by focusing more on history, specifically Faulkner’s presentation of emancipation. Finally, in “Part Three: Dark House,” Gorra concludes his study with more literary analysis, as well as extensive interactions with Faulkner’s understanding and presentation of racial identity. These divisions are not hard and fast, but the sections do lean towards these categorizations. Throughout, Gorra presents Faulkner’s work chronology, not in publication or composition, but in the development of Faulkner’s fictional South, Yoknapatawpha County.
While Faulkner wrote much about the effects of the Civil War and even life before the War, he spends little if any time addressing the war itself. Gorra argues that the Civil War is “not dramatized as much as invoked”(3) in the works of Faulkner. It is simultaneously “everywhere” and “nowhere” (1). Gorra argues that this is a strength of Faulkner’s work.Faulkner’s work, while firmly situated in its place and time, maintains a timeless quality because of how he interacts with historical events like The Civil War. It also highlights the perpetual nature of much of humanity’s ills. Gorra argues that in the writings of Faulkner, “What was is never over” (10). History remains: good, bad, and very ugly. Gorra argues that the “saddest words” in the literature of Faulkner are “was” and “again.” Drawing this from The Sound and the Fury, Gorra shows how these are words that indicate the history of Faulkner’s fiction and the perpetual relatability of the world he created. “Was” is a world that ceased to be; “again” is the world that returns over and over. Faulkner shows us a world that we dare not forget because we have proven that we will rebuild it, or at least attempt to, again.
William Faulkner was a man of his time, and Gorra does not gloss over that truth. A white author in the Jim Crow South, Faulkner never fully overcame the racism in which he existed and even to more than a little degree participated. But Faulkner’s work dealt with race and the ugliness of racism in a way that few could or would and as much as the “was” of our racist past seems to perpetually arise “again,” Faulkner’s works remain as culturally relevant as they are artistically profound. Gorra’s work goes a long way towards making the case for all of us to revisit Yoknapatawpha County to understand America, to revisit, through literature, the 19th and 20th centuries to better understand the 21st.
Longer Review:
In *The Saddest Words*, Gorra argues for a new reading of one of American Modernism’s most lasting, and troubling, figures that moves away from the traditional lens of early Faulkner scholarship, specifically those who followed Malcolm Cowley, the Agrarians, and Cleanth Brooks’s lead to view Faulkner almost exclusively through Faulkner’s depiction of his white characters (i.e., viewing Faulkner’s presentation of social class within the white community). Drawing extensively from Faulkner’s fiction and historical documents, Gorra offers an interdisciplinary exploration of the work and world of William Faulner, weaving biography, history, and literary analysis into a seamless whole, demonstrating how William Faulkner’s fiction focuses on the before and after of events, but rarely the during. Faulkner more often than not described in detail the causes of an event and the results of an event, but the event itself was rarely depicted.
[Faulkner spoilers]
This is the case with the rape of Temple Drake (*Sanctuary*), the death of Joe Christmas (*Light in August*), the shooting of Charles Bon (*Absalom! Absalom!*), etc.
[End Spoilers]
It is also the case with Faulkner’s relationship to The Civil War. The Civil War, and the racism at the center of that conflict, functions almost as a decoder ring in rightly understanding both William Faulkner the man and the world that fills the pages of his novels and short stories. In light of this, Gorra argues that merely investigating Faulkner’s work for the aesthetics of his prose or his examination of the human psyche in general is “no longer adequate” (4). The reader must account for the historical setting of both the writer and the setting of his stories. Gorra presents Faulkner as an obviously flawed figure who, albeit a man of his times, was incapable of maintaining his personal prejudices and Southern assumptions as he composed his fiction.
Gorra presents the world Faulkner created as one that is as historically and locally rooted as it is timeless and universal. Gorra’s work is broken into three main sections, with an introductory section and concluding chapter. In it, Gorra looks at documents of the time to show how the war, and the racism that prompted it, were presented in a softened manner, minimizing the effects of racism on African Americans. Gorra seeks to produce “an account not only of Faulkner’s work but also of what (he) might call the rhetoric of the Civil War itself, of the ever-changing ways in which it has been conceived over time” (27). Rather than focus on Faulkner’s work novel-by-novel, Gorra presents a Civil War narrative through the writings of Faulkner--the Civil War as it affected (physically and psychologically) Yoknapatawpha County, while also examining the Civil War hagiography that flourished during the same time as Faulkner himself was writing. As he does this, Gorra examines how what was comes back again, demonstrating how Faulkner’s work reflects the perpetual racism infecting American individuals and undergirding American structures.
In the three parts of his study, Gorra tends towards various rhetorical modes. In “Part One: Twice-Told Tales,” Gorra writes in a biographical manner. In “Part Two: Yoknapatawpha’s War,” Gorra advances the conversation by focusing more on history, specifically Faulkner’s presentation of emancipation. Finally, in “Part Three: Dark House,” Gorra concludes his study with more literary analysis, as well as extensive interactions with Faulkner’s understanding and presentation of racial identity. These divisions are not hard and fast, but the sections do lean towards these categorizations. Throughout, Gorra presents Faulkner’s work chronology, not in publication or composition, but in the development of Faulkner’s fictional South, Yoknapatawpha County.
While Faulkner wrote much about the effects of the Civil War and even life before the War, he spends little if any time addressing the war itself. Gorra argues that the Civil War is “not dramatized as much as invoked”(3) in the works of Faulkner. It is simultaneously “everywhere” and “nowhere” (1). Gorra argues that this is a strength of Faulkner’s work.Faulkner’s work, while firmly situated in its place and time, maintains a timeless quality because of how he interacts with historical events like The Civil War. It also highlights the perpetual nature of much of humanity’s ills. Gorra argues that in the writings of Faulkner, “What was is never over” (10). History remains: good, bad, and very ugly. Gorra argues that the “saddest words” in the literature of Faulkner are “was” and “again.” Drawing this from The Sound and the Fury, Gorra shows how these are words that indicate the history of Faulkner’s fiction and the perpetual relatability of the world he created. “Was” is a world that ceased to be; “again” is the world that returns over and over. Faulkner shows us a world that we dare not forget because we have proven that we will rebuild it, or at least attempt to, again.
William Faulkner was a man of his time, and Gorra does not gloss over that truth. A white author in the Jim Crow South, Faulkner never fully overcame the racism in which he existed and even to more than a little degree participated. But Faulkner’s work dealt with race and the ugliness of racism in a way that few could or would and as much as the “was” of our racist past seems to perpetually arise “again,” Faulkner’s works remain as culturally relevant as they are artistically profound. Gorra’s work goes a long way towards making the case for all of us to revisit Yoknapatawpha County to understand America, to revisit, through literature, the 19th and 20th centuries to better understand the 21st.
ryalcoll28's review against another edition
5.0
A blend of historiography and literary criticism, Gorra’s book looks at Faulkner’s internal struggle with the legacy of the Civil War and how that struggle not only defined Faulkner’s work. but also how it is a huge part of contemporary Southern identity. Far from idolizing Faulkner, Gorra interrogates the ways Faulkner addressed the important issues/abominations of Southern ( and American) history while often failing to take a firm moral stance in his actual life.
Beautifully written as well!
Beautifully written as well!
canadianbookworm's review
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2021/11/the-saddest-words.html
drewmiller_'s review against another edition
5.0
Such an intensely enjoyable journey back to Yoknapatawpha. I need more Faulkner back in my life, now with such a better grasp of the man who carved out that little postage stamp. A great read.
More...