My father used to say that a person is equal to the sum of his misfortunes.

This statement always made me think deeply. It implies that our experiences, especially the difficult ones, shape who we are. Every misfortune we encounter is like a building block that contributes to the construction of our character. It is through facing and overcoming these challenges that we grow and learn. We become stronger, more resilient, and wiser.

Our misfortunes can also give us a greater appreciation for the good things in life. When we have known hardship, we are more able to recognize and cherish the blessings that come our way. In a sense, our misfortunes are a part of our journey, and they play an important role in making us the people we are today.

As you read the first few lines, you realize that you are facing a strange and vast world, and it can almost be said that you know nothing about it. You only notice that on each page, with a masterpiece, a Muslim castle and an inaccessible hand in modern literature, the wanderer walks. The wanderer's journey that modern man has with himself. The wanderer's journey of the kind of confused state of Quentin and the memory game of the crazy Benjy. A novel in four parts around a southern family (the declining Compson family), with the first three parts being narrated by three sons of the family.

Regarding the importance and greatness of anger and hysteria, critics both small and large have written a great deal. I am among Sartre, although his article at the end of this volume (which I read) has been translated by Abu al-Hasan Najafi. On the other hand, it is not my job to talk about anger and hysteria and its greatness. I only derived the pleasure of reading it, which has become very rare these days with the watery and superficial content of many books and films. Therefore, I pass over the more serious words about philosophy and Faulkner's view and do not distract the mind of the potential reader of this note.

On the other hand, a preliminary acquaintance with the children of this family, the three narrator sons and their only daughter, may be able to prevent future readers from getting lost in the layers of the novel. This preliminary acquaintance is so elementary that I did not need to hide the note because of "spoiler". Finally, if you are among the readers who like to discover everything themselves, do not read from here on.

The Compson family, as I said, is a southern American family, and in this novel, their decline is shown in a way (the superficial layer). This family consists of: Jason Compson III - father (born unknown - died 1912). Caroline Baskcomb Compson - mother (born unknown - died 1933). Quentin Compson (1891 to 1910) - the eldest son of the family, who is very influenced by his father and has a great affection for his sister, Caddy. He drowns himself in 1910. Caddy (Candace) Compson (born 1892 - died unknown) - the daughter of the family, who can be felt and present throughout the novel. Jason Compson IV (1894 - died unknown) - the second son and the dearest to the mother. Benjamin Compson (1895 - died unknown) - the last child of the family and the narrator of the first part of the novel and is mentally handicapped. His first name was Maury, the same as his uncle, which was later changed to Benjamin. Benjamin, because of his mental handicap, does not have the ability to understand the concept of time, and therefore all his memories and thoughts are in the form of the present time. Quentin Compson (?) - Caddy's daughter, who after being born, Caddy sends her to her father's house.

It's just my first novel by Faulkner (unfortunately), and I am under a tremendous impression.

I simply cannot stop thinking about the book because it evoked such strong emotions in me.

It is a story of a Southern aristocratic family and its inevitable decline.

Why is it inevitable? Because the family members fall into two groups according to their degree of vulnerability, values, and the world outlook.

The ones in the first group are empathic, vulnerable, kind-hearted, and perhaps weak-willed.

They are the real victims of those in the second group who are unable to sympathize and love, cruel (even sadistic), and selfish, always taking advantage of others.

The family members in the first group suffer, degrade, and often die in this loveless atmosphere.

Paradoxically, the family members in the second group consider themselves victims.

However, the most unfortunate victim here is Benjy, and it breaks my heart to think about him.

Faulkner's brilliant writing and the structure of the novel convey the atmosphere of the things constantly falling apart in the family.

Some semblance of normality is maintained by the only one person, an elderly Black servant Dilsey who already feels the approaching death.

The quotes from the novel add depth and further illustrate the complex themes and emotions.

For example, "I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it. Because no battle is ever won he said. They are not even fought. The field only reveals to man his own folly and despair, and victory is an illusion of philosophers and fools."

These words make one think about the futility of certain pursuits and the nature of time.

Another quote, "It's not when you realize that nothing can help you—religion, pride, anything—it's when you realize that you don't need any aid," emphasizes the importance of inner strength and self-reliance.

The novel is truly a masterpiece that leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

Terminei esta leitura e ainda o estou a "digerir".

Mas uma coisa é certa, foi o livro que maior dificuldade tive em ler neste ano de 2018.

Não apenas pela forma como está escrito (nas primeiras duas partes do livro), mas também pela dificuldade do próprio tema.

O livro nos confronta com duras realidades, incómodas e desagradáveis.

O livro tem quatro partes distintas, com quatro focos narrativos também distintos.

A segunda parte decorre no ano de 1910 e as restantes em 1928.

A família descrita é constituída por um casal, seus quatro filhos e uma neta, e têm como criados uma família de negros.

Essa família de criados também é constituída por um casal com três filhos e um neto, que vivem na propriedade da família.

Desde o início, o desconforto se instalou.

Logo à partida, havia incompreensão da realidade descrita, ou melhor, apreensão em pequenos pedaços de uma história que pressentia como terrível e trágica ainda antes de a conseguir entender.

Sentia que algo estava terrivelmente errado e fiquei presa entre esse sentimento e a ansiedade de saber o que se estava realmente a passar.

Mas o que estava realmente a acontecer estava-me ainda vedado, uma vez que o próprio narrador desta primeira parte apreende a realidade de forma diferente e não a entende como nós (a ação é narrada pelo filho mais novo do casal, Benjy, que é deficiente mental).

Na segunda parte, o foco narrativo passa para o filho mais velho.

Um rapaz sensível e inteligente, vítima da disfunção familiar.

Esta segunda parte é de grande beleza literária, mas pelo estilo literário adoptado para este narrador, também se torna por vezes difícil entender.

Pensamentos confundem-se com a realidade, com memórias, com emoções, num discurso que temporalmente também vai saltitando do presente para vários momentos do passado (Faulkner utiliza aqui, como na parte anterior, a técnica literária do "fluxo da consciência").

É só na terceira e quarta parte que a história se nos revela por completo... e que história!

Esta é sem dúvida uma obra genial.

Não posso dizer que seja o género de histórias ou de escrita que mais me agradem, mas há que reconhecer que este é um trabalho incrível.

Sobre relações humanas, familiares, fraternais, sobre o racismo, o machismo, sexualidade, sobre uma época, sobre o homem, sobre a vida... enfim.

Incrível este trabalho. "A vida é uma história contada por um idiota, cheia de som e de fúria, sem sentido algum... William Shakespeare."... foi esta citação de MacBeth que serviu de mote a esta obra de Faulkner.

Não sou muito dada a releituras, mas nesta obra impõe-se logo no momento em que a terminamos.

Aconselho mesmo muito a releitura das primeiras duas partes após terminar o livro.

É mesmo incrível como o que não fazia sentido ou fazia pouco, ganha todo um novo significado.

Resumindo, uma obra portentosa, recheada de dificuldades para o leitor, no processo de leitura em si mesmo, mas mais do que isso, no processamento cognitivo e emocional dessa leitura.

Diferente e inesquecível sem dúvida alguma.

Aconselho, mas com o aviso: "persistam" na leitura, vai valer a pena! :)

Video opinião no Youtube

Post no blogue LinkedBooks (inclui também opinião video).

“Caddy smelled like trees.”

  “Caddy smelled like trees.”

There is a Bollywood movie Gujarish about an ex-magician who meets an accident and is now suffering paralysis from neck down for several years. Finally, he requests an amendment in law to make Euthanasia legal, so that he could kill himself. In one scene, when he is asked if he wishes to say something before the verdict is given, he says he wishes to show a magic trick to the court. When it is allowed, his assistant brings in a box. The magician asks the lawyer of the state to volunteer, and the judge orders the lawyer to do so. The magician requests the lawyer to sit in the box, and his assistant locks the door upon him. A few moments pass as people expect the magician to do something. He just sits calmly, till the lawyer starts screaming from inside the box. The magician starts talking about some random subject (weather) and thus further frightens the lawyer.



After a couple of minutes, the magician signals to the assistant to let the lawyer out. "Are you stupid?" the lawyer says, breathing heavily, after coming out of the box. "It was so dark inside, I couldn't see anything, I couldn't breathe..." The magician replies calmly, "It is what my life has been like for years. Two minutes and you wanted out."



This is what reading Benjamin's story is like. Faulkner does an incredible job of putting us in the brain of an idiot. There is a good chance you will feel frustrated - I did. You may think this is how the book got the title - Faulkner makes random sounds, you get furious. You check on the internet and find out that it is, in fact, taken from a quote by Macbeth.




  

    "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."

You may actually want to murder the author but then you remember he is already dead. You look into Wikipedia to find out the cause of his death and are surprised to find that he died of totally natural reasons.



... but really that is the point. Now you know how Benjamin feels like - he couldn't differentiate between flashbacks and present, and he is probably suffering from synesthesia without knowing anything about it. Even so much as Caddie's wearing a perfume sets him crying for he couldn't associate the smell of perfume with her - to him, she must smell as she always did - like trees. And he doesn't even know anything about Gods or he too would have cursed them.... of course, you are supposed to guess all this by yourself. Faulkner is not going to doubt your intelligence by telling you all this.



There is a good chance you won't understand anything from that first section, but that is the point. You may want to read it again after having finished the book - to properly understand it. It is one of the best things that I've read.



Now talking about confusion, there are too many characters which are never introduced (except in an appendix in the end) and just thrown on to you; there are different characters having the same names and also characters having multiple names and so on - which is justified at least for the first section.



However, there are unjustified confusions too - When you go to the second section, you may be surprised how come Benjy, the narrator, is in Harvard. He isn't - it is just our run-of-the-mill change of narrator without so much as a by-your-leave. I don't know why Faulkner didn't feel the need to announce the change, for example, by giving the name of the narrator in the title.



It happens again in the third section, but by then, you are somewhat used to Faulkner's trickery. Of course, he will still surprise you by bringing back a dead character - and upon that, with a change of sex... but remember he is already dead. you can't do anything to revenge yourself. Having seen three different narrators in three sections, you want to quickly identify the narrator in the fourth section. Of course, Faulkner will beat you again for this time the narrator is none other than God himself. Go Guess!



Each successive section is easier to read than the last one and also more boring. The second one is easier compared to the first, but Quentien, the narrator, won't tell whether he is fantasizing or remembering. Also, he can occasionally go on for whole pages without using punctuation marks of any sort (Even Benjy had better sense than that.) The last two parts are pretty straightforward but have nothing good about them.



Years after the novel was published, Faulkner got into a good mood and was good enough to provide an appendix (more of a character guide) knowing what he has written are only fragments of a story - anytime you feel like leaving the book, you may want to check it. Reading it in the end feels like reading the answers to a puzzle after you have tried your best to solve it.


  “I took out my watch and listened to it clicking away, not knowing it couldn't even lie”

This is a very difficult book to read.

However, it is a blockbuster and definitely worth the effort.

Faulkner has his own unique style and approach.

You either love his works or you don't.

It is certain that this book gets abandoned more often than "Ulysses".

Perhaps the complexity of the language and the convoluted plot contribute to its challenging nature.

But for those who are willing to persevere, they will discover a world full of rich characters and profound themes.

Faulkner's writing is not for the faint of heart, but it rewards those who are brave enough to engage with it.

So, if you're up for a literary adventure, give this book a try.

You might just be surprised by what you find.

Iako nepripremljenom čitaocu pomalo konfuzna, na mahove nerazumljiva, prvenstveno zbog svoja prva dva dijela, jednog pisanog iz perspektive maloumnog autističnog odraslog djeteta i drugog iz perspektive njegovog brata, teško depresivnog harvardskog studenta, ovaj Foknerov klasik je veličanstvena rapsodija misli, osjećanja, žrtvovanja, bola, hladnoće ali i velike topline i ljubavi. Kada se potpuno utonemo u ovu knjigu, dobijamo sve jasnije i jasnije slike.

Pisana tehnikom "toka svijesti", koja se ne može preporučiti svakom, ali svako kome je ne preporučimo, izgubiće mnogo. Iako Magbet kaže "život je priča koju idiot priča, puna buke i bijesa a ne znači ništa", prema čijim riječima je roman dobio naziv, nama će ovde kroz unutrašnje monologe jedne američke aristokratske porodice u potpunom rasulu biti ispričano jako puno. Ova knjiga je zapravo kompleksnija i dublja nego što se na prvi pogled može vidjeti.

Ona nas upućuje u duboke teme kao što su porodična dinamika, mentalna bolest, ljubav i gubitak. Fokner uspjeva da izvede različite perspektive na isti događaj, što nam omogućava da vidimo različite strane priče. Kao što smo već rekli, ova knjiga nije za svakog, ali ako je čitate s otvorenim duhom, možete očekivati da vas ona duboko dojme i promijeni vaše gledište na život.

“La vida es un cuento contado por un idiota, lleno de ruido y de furia, que no tiene ningún sentido.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth

What do William Faulkner, Gabriel García Márquez, Juan Carlos Onetti, and even James Joyce or Juan Rulfo have in common? They all constructed part of their work based on a nonexistent city. In the case of Joyce, he based his entire work on the city of Dublin. Regarding William Faulkner, his creation of the fictional city of Yoknapatawpha, also present in two other of his famous novels “As I Lay Dying” and “Absalom!, Absalom!”, was a direct inspiration for Gabriel García Márquez to leave us the wonderful Macondo. And Onetti based his novels on another unreal city, Santa María. In fact, Comala, in Rulfo's novel “Pedro Páramo” also has its influence on Faulkner's city, who also bases “The Sound and the Fury” in another nonexistent city: Jefferson.

I must admit that when I started reading this novel, I faced the possibility of having to deal with two things, not understanding it or not liking it. But, beyond the logical confusion of the first chapter narrated by Benji, one of the main characters who has a mental retardation, I knew that I had to put all my senses on alert to capture the essence of the plot. Faulkner, in a large part of this novel, follows a technique created by James Joyce in his “Ulysses”. I am referring to the use of the “interior monologue”, which consists of a constant flow of thoughts, reflections, and descriptions of reality in a raw form, as they emerge from their conscience.

When reading these monologues, one encounters the difficulty of finding long sentences without punctuation, that is, without commas, periods, and even without the final period. Everything is dumped into the text disorderly, as happens in the famous monologue of Molly Bloom that closes “Ulysses” and that serves as the foundation stone for this so complex technique. In this way, the chapters of Benji and Quentin, two of the members of the Compson family, whose lineage and social position are suffering a progressive degeneration that is leading it to an imminent disappearance, are related.

Both Quentin, as well as his Benji and the third brother, Jason, build (and destroy) the deteriorated relationships between them, their mother, and their other sister, Candance or Caddy, who has a key preponderance throughout the entire novel, as well as Caddy's daughter, also coincidentally called Quentin. Between the retardation of Benji, the emotional distress of Quentin, and the misogyny and racial discrimination of Jason, everything is given for multiple dangerous relationships to be intertwined, especially the incestuous attraction that Caddy produces on Quentin.

They are all corrupt in a certain way. It is also important to highlight the role that the black servants who have been working for the Compsons for years have. In fact, the fourth chapter is narrated by Dilsey, the old servant of the family, and, throughout the entire novel, other servants, such as T.P., Frony, and Luster, contribute their share of dynamism to the way in which Faulkner develops the story. Another important aspect is the handling of time applied to the narration, since Benji, as a mentally retarded person, has no way of differentiating the present from the past. For this reason and to complicate the reading of the text, Faulkner introduces phrases (that correspond to the past) in italics, inserted in the main text.

In fact, he wanted to go further by asking that these intertexts be printed in different colors, something that the editor at the time flatly rejected. In this way, past, present, and future are dumped into the text in a disorderly way, giving support to the final phrase of Macbeth. All this demonstrates the narrative excellence level that William Faulkner had, which leaves me with a desire to continue reading more novels of his authorship and even venture into his stories. My assessment of this novel was from lesser to greater and could not end in any other way, given that it is no coincidence that “The Sound and the Fury” is considered one of the best novels of the 20th century and of all time.

“La vida es un cuento contado por un idiota, lleno de ruido y de furia, que no tiene ningún sentido.” William Shakespeare, Macbeth

It has been a long time since I finished the book, and I really have a soft spot for Bukowski and his writings. I didn't want to write a review at first.

I must admit that Bukowski is a great writer.

Bukowski

At that time, for seven years actually, he wore the uniform of the system and was drunk every day. He claimed that during the war, he was injured when his plane crashed, and there was still a metal fragment in his head. It caused him severe pain and endless suffering, and writing alleviated his pain. All of these are vividly presented, and during this time, he wrote a magnificent world, something he continued to do later. But unlike many people, I never liked any of them.

Human is equal to the sum of his misfortunes. It may be thought that the misfortune will be fruitless and tiring one day, but that time itself will be the source of our misfortunes.

Every misfortune that befalls a person is like a building block that contributes to the overall structure of their life. Some misfortunes may seem small and insignificant at first, but over time, they can accumulate and have a significant impact on a person's well-being.

It is important to remember that we have the power to choose how we respond to misfortunes. We can either let them defeat us or use them as opportunities for growth and learning. By facing our misfortunes with courage and determination, we can turn them into sources of strength and inspiration.

Some books are like gentle slopes, welcoming readers with open arms. They give us enough space to adjust, get our bearings, and contemplate the literary landscape. Then, perhaps, they gradually increase the intensity. But we never truly get lost.

However, The Sound and the Fury is not like that. This novel begins like a steep and slippery cliff face. There is little time to reflect, and we have no idea where it is leading. We can only hold on to what we can. Things will eventually improve, but tenacity and patience are essential.

The Sound and the Fury (1929) is a "plantation novel," a family chronicle, and one of Faulkner's early works. But it is not an ordinary family saga. Like Proust, Joyce, or Woolf before him, Faulkner uses "stream of consciousness" as one of his primary storytelling devices. But this is no average interior monologue. From the start, we are thrust into the inner lives and thought processes of a series of slightly or deeply troubled characters: the Compson clan.

The structure of the novel seems like utter chaos and confusion. Next to it, Mrs. Dalloway or The Waste Land appear almost cohesive and straightforward. The story jumps around, nonlinear, dislocated, and elliptical, from one paragraph to the next, from one chapter to the other. Three of the four chapters are set during Easter 1928, but not in chronological order, and the fourth chapter jumps back to 1910 without any apparent reason. Three chapters are narrated in the first person, while the fourth is in the third person without justification. The language is bent and twisted in every which way: a mosaic of Dixie and African American dialects, Greek tragedies and Biblical myths, bits of Shakespeare, sentence fragments, italics, lack of punctuation, irregular wording, inconsistent spelling, onomatopoeic outbursts... In short, there is no clear rule, no attempt at any form of aesthetic balance. Everything is smashed and then patched back together, jumbled together again, layer upon layer, into an experimental, complex, jarring, and fearless literary assemblage.

Yet, despite the pandemonium of the novel, there is also a sort of logical movement, perhaps like the four movements of a symphony. There is a progression, not unlike that of The Divine Comedy. While Dante's poem moves from darkness to light, Faulkner takes us from the dazzled and disorganized mind of the mentally disabled and scent-obsessed Benjy, through the tormented, possibly incestuous, and suicidal Quentin, the embittered, unsavory, racist, and rapacious Jason, and finally to Dilsey, the head of the Black family in the Compsons' service, who is definitely the sanest of them all. The novel ends with an appendix on the family's last three generations, written like a parody of the genealogies in the book of Genesis. (I would recommend reading this section first: it's like the lube that will help you get into the story; using it at the end makes no sense.)

This progressive movement from utter mental confusion to sanity runs counter to the spiraling decline of the Compsons, which, for all I know, heralds the upcoming downfall of the world economy in the early 1930s. Meanwhile, the actual anchors of the novel, to which Faulkner returns again and again, are the presence of nature (notably birds and vegetation) and the refreshing feminine figures of Caddy and Ms Quentin: the focus point and Ariadne's thread of the whole story.

After all, The Sound and the Fury is a demanding, alienating, maddening, but masterful novel that had a formidable impact on subsequent generations of American writers (from Southern, New England, or Californian traditions alike), such as Harper Lee, Cormac McCarthy, Stephen King, and even David Foster Wallace, as well as a few African American and Latin American writers. It is, in the end, a staggering example of how literature and language can be pushed to the limit and yet draw a deep and compelling picture of reality.

I'm done. My third and final attempt has failed miserably.

In fact, it wasn't really miserable. Gladly actually.

So it's official. I'm now as thick as two short planks, an intellectual misfit. I wouldn't know literary greatness if it shot me in the buttocks from close range. Well, that's likely what Faulkner would be thinking anyway. Fine. But then I'd most certainly whip his ass at a game of chess, and drink him under the table (as long as it's my special cocktails) as a way to get even.

The only reason I returned to this novel was that I thought "Light in August" was really good and was hoping for more.

Nope.

I didn't get it, and couldn't be bothered to even try. I got so frustrated that I started chain smoking. This coming from someone who is dearly trying so hard to quit! Thanks Bill.

The only thing Faulkner did for me was make me realise just how much I adore the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, now even more. They were true geniuses.

What's the likelihood of me reading Faulkner again? Only time will tell I guess. But at the moment, there is more chance of Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker having an affair.