#63 - "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

After reading The Lord of the Rings for so very, very long, my 63rd book from the list, The Sound and the Fury seemed like a breeze. It only took 10 days and there were days I looked forward to reading it; such a departure from #62. But there were a couple of problems; a couple of big problems.

When I finished reading this book, I have to admit I wasn't entirely sure what I had just read. The book is broken into four sections, each narrated by a different person. Well, except the fourth section which switches to third person. Of course Faulkner is hazy on the details of who is narrating and it usually takes ten pages or so to establish who 'I' now is.

In short, the book follows the Compsons, a Southern family in the early part of the 20th century. There are four grown siblings, a father who isn't around anymore (I think he's dead) and a mother who seems to be suffering from...something, maybe depression. If that seems vague, it's because so is the book.

One of the sons has a mental handicap (we're never really sure what the problem is as it's never even partially explained) so we read through his blurred sense of reality via his inner thoughts. But since this is never really explained, we actually read through a series of incoherent babble for 75 pages and wonder what the hell just happened. Later we learn about his handicap and are meant to now understand why it didn't make any sense.

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

I'm reading The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, and so far so good. Actually, I'm doing really well. Even though I finished The Lord of the Rings a couple of weeks ago, I wasn't able to start The Sound and the Fury until this past Monday as I had to finish a non-fiction book, At Home by Bill Bryson, which couldn't be renewed from the library. But that's done (it was great as all Bryson books seem to be), and I've been flying through Faulkner all week.

So far, I think I'm enjoying it more than Light in August, which I wasn't expecting. I say this not because I enjoyed Light in August so much, but rather from what I have read and heard about The Sound and the Fury. Having said that, this book isn't without its problems. After an interesting first chapter, things have turned a little bizarre. In what I believe is typical Faulkner fashion, there are time shifts and new characters, often without any explanation or description. Often I'm not sure who "I" is when I read "I said," and I'm not always sure when or where I am in the story. This was the same problem I had with Light in August, but for whatever reason, I'm finding this one a little more readable.

At my current pace, I should be finished over the weekend. That's right #62 will have taken five months, #63 will have taken less than a week. I hope anyway.

Then 'tis but reason that I be released

Now that I've unshackled myself from The Lord of the Rings, I feel as if I am Dbryan Unchained (the 'D' is silent). My lack of progress reading these past few months has resulted in my lack of posting about my reading. It's difficult to write about your reading when you're doing so little of it. But now that I'm finished with that seemingly never ending read, I'm ready to get back at it; both reading and writing.

The next book I've decided to read is The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, one of the authors with two books on the list. I wasn't fussy about his other book, Light in August (which was my fourth book), and have to admit that I was a little gun shy about reading this one. But after being bogged down in Middle Earth for so long, it really doesn't feel that intimidating.

Of course it is over 1,000 pages shorter than the last one, so its size is a lot less intimidating. Silly as it may seem, there is something comforting about reading a book that doesn't cause ships to list to starboard; it fits in a jacket pocket and can be held with one hand. And after being able to slog through a 1,300 page book I wasn't really interested in, I feel a 320 page book, regardless of whether or not I am enjoying it, will seem like a breeze. I'm feeling so confidant with these books now, I even considered reading Gravity's Rainbow next, but couldn't track down a copy in time.

I have a few other books lined up right now, waiting to be read, and plan to really make some tracks this month. Also on my shelf are Possession, A Clockwork Orange, The Big Sleep, and The Grapes of Wrath. I'm not going to think about what #64 will be until I'm nearly finished The Sound and the Fury however. I've got to keep my eye on the prize.

In debating which was best, we shall part with neither.

For those of you who have been on the edge of your seat, wondering what book I decided to start reading next, wonder no longer. Debating between moving to William Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury or finishing The Lord of the Rings, I've gone with the latter.

I have now read one hundred pages of the third book, or at least just shy of that, and the end is in sight. And I have a rather lengthy plane ride this morning, so I might really be able to make some good progress.  Perhaps I'll even be finished by the end of the weekend. Unlikely, sure, but it's possible.

I am happy to report that The Lord of the Rings continues to get better, and I'm not really finding it much of a burden anymore. However, I do regret that it's taken me so long to read. I almost feel as if my project to read these one hundred books has been put on hold and cannot continue until I finally finish this one (which I suppose it has and can't).

I've also realized that I'll really have to make some tracks when I do finally finish, as I have a lot of catching up to do.

Continue still in this so good a mind,

Well, there's good news and bad news to report. The good news is I finally finished the second book in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  The bad news is, I still have another book to read.

I'm happy to report however, that the final 100 pages of The Two Towers were the best yet, and actually had me interested in reading (which is perhaps why I read the final 100 pages today).  This also means that I am keen to continue reading the next book, to see what happens. This is in great contrast to when I finished the first book, and had no desire whatsoever to continue reading the next two books. Having said that, I'm still debating whether or not to continue with Lord of the Rings right now.

My other option is to squeeze in another list read before continuing, just so I can get some forward progress on the list for the first time since November. The danger in this tactic is that I may lose whatever momentum I have built up these past couple of days, and reading the third book will be like starting all over. But I fear that  regardless of having more interest, the final book will take me another month. Currently I have The Sound and the Fury sitting next to my computer, taunting me to pick it over The Return of the King which sits beneath it.

There wouldn't even have been a debate, had I not made a little discovery last week.  The Return of the King is, shall we say, the girthiest book of the three, and measures over 600 pages (compared to 535 for book 1 and 436 for book two). However, as I thumbed through it a few days ago, I discovered that in actuality, it's only 375 pages. I say this because I have no plans to read the over 200 pages of appendices found at the end. My philosophy on appendices in fiction writing is there shouldn't be any; either you want that information in your story or you don't.

This was the same situation I ran into with Infinite Jest, which contains 1,150 pages, but I only count as having read 1,079; there were 70 pages of footnotes. I've tried to imagine Hemingway having an appendix or two in The Old Man and the Sea. I then shudder.

I'm flying to Victoria tonight, and plan to make my decision before I leave for the airport. I will bring both books with me however.