I am not entirely certain about how to rate this book.

All three stories within it are indeed good. At times, the descriptions and the depth of the writing are truly remarkable.

However, one cannot help but think that Hemingway, with his concise and powerful writing style, would have been able to convey the essence of the first story in just a dozen pages rather than the 50 that it occupies.

The second story描绘了一个简单直接但略显天真的普通人。

The third story is the most straightforward and easiest to read among the three. Nevertheless, it has a puzzling diversion in the storyline towards the end, which leaves the reader somewhat confused.

Overall, while the book has its strengths in terms of the quality of the stories and the writing, these aspects also present some challenges in terms of rating it accurately.

Faulkner's development as a writer is the foundation of these three novellas.

"Spotted Horses" is rather a muddled and overly oblique narrative, leaving the reader with more queries than clarifications regarding Faulkner's purposes.

"Old Man" is undoubtedly the inspiration for Cormac McCarthy's later apocalyptic novels. Here, Faulkner appears to have found his niche as an impressionistic writer. His lengthy and detailed description of the convict's struggle in the flooded river is clearly aimed at evoking an emotional response from the reader, rather than an intellectual one.

In "The Bear," Faulkner has evolved as a social historian. The extended conversation between Isaac and McCaslin is surely intended to present a universal image of the South's decline as a pastoral paradise.

Reading these stories is reminiscent of Miles Davis turning his back on the audience and playing, perhaps not for his band but solely for himself. Faulkner's stories meander (many, I'm aware, view the challenge of following such narratives as part of Faulkner's genius). His inferences are oblique, often to the point of being a flaw. His characters are strangely superficial, serving merely as voices for his social and philosophical insights. Faulkner is not an easy read, yet there is ample depth to compel you to persevere through his elaborate prose.

His sentences had a certain charm that managed to capture my attention. They were crafted with precision and a certain elegance that made them stand out.

However, when it came to the stories themselves, they failed to have the same impact on me. There was something lacking in their substance, perhaps a lack of depth or a failure to engage my emotions on a deeper level.

Despite the beauty of the sentences, the stories seemed to fall flat. They didn't have the ability to draw me in and make me truly care about what was happening.

It was as if the author had focused so much on the individual sentences that the overall narrative suffered. While the sentences were a pleasure to read, they couldn't compensate for the shortcomings of the stories.

I found myself longing for more, for a story that would grip me from the beginning and not let go until the very end.

BOOK REVIEW

"Three Famous Short Novels" by William Faulkner

"Three Famous Short Novels" consists of the eponymous short novels "Spotted Horses", "Old Man", and "The Bear", all penned by William Faulkner. These novels were published together rather than separately to reduce the publishing costs. The second novel, "Old Man", is also a part of "Go Down, Moses".

MY THOUGHTS:

This book marked my first encounter with William Faulkner. Initially, I intended to give it a 3-star rating. However, I reminded myself that I truly liked the premises and plots of the short novels. Among the three, "Spotted Horses" and "The Bear" are my favorites. "Old Man", although the longest, seemed rather bland to me.

Nonetheless, this book serves as an excellent introduction to the works of William Faulkner. Although I have yet to read his other masterpieces such as "The Sound and the Fury", "As I Lay Dying", "Sanctuary", "Light in August", and "Absalom, Absalom!", I am eager to explore more of his literary world.

I truly relished the second story and the initial half of the third story. The first one was ostensibly a comedy, yet the humor simply eluded me. It might have been that the comical elements were too subtle or perhaps not in line with my personal sense of humor.

The second story, on the other hand, boasted excellent prose and vivid imagery. The author's use of language was so skillful that it allowed me to envision the scenes and characters with great clarity. It was like being transported into a different world through the power of words.

The third story began fantastically. It painted a visceral picture of late nineteenth-century woodland life, making me feel as if I was right there in the midst of it. However, about halfway through, the tone changed, and unfortunately, it wasn't to my liking. It seemed to deviate from the engaging and immersive narrative that had been established earlier.

Nevertheless, despite these minor drawbacks, I still believe it was worth a read. Without a doubt, I was able to expand my vocabulary, which is always a beneficial outcome of reading. I look forward to exploring more works by this author to see what other literary treasures I might discover.

I have a profound affection for "Old Man" among the three works, yet I thoroughly relished the entire collection. As I turned the pages, I couldn't help but constantly envision how wonderful it would be if everyone could read what I was reading. Faulkner's writing is truly a source of great delight. Every time I open one of his books, I find myself filled with excitement, and very rarely do I feel disappointed.

It was truly great to reunite with the Snopes crew in "Spotted Horses" and "The Bear." These stories take the reader on a remarkable journey.

The collection is indeed a fantastic trip of tales, filled with engaging characters, vivid descriptions, and thought-provoking themes. It offers a unique perspective on life and人性, leaving a lasting impression on the reader. Whether you are a fan of Faulkner or new to his works, this collection is definitely worth exploring.

I just completed reading "Spotted Horses." It truly felt like taking a significant step back in time. In those days, life was so much simpler as there was no internet, no cell phone, no computer, and no Skype.

When was the last occasion that any of us sat around the general store whittling away or rode a horse or drove a buggy? These were commonplace activities during that era, but now they have become a part of the dusty past.

This particular writing style brought to my mind the story-telling traditions of my grandfather and my father. They both loved to share stories, whether it was over the dinner table or just for the sheer fun of it, and they did so quite often.

Now, I'm moving on to the next two books. It's been several decades since I last read Faulkner. ..... I finished this one, thinking it would be memorable. However, to my surprise, I found it old-fashioned and a bit tedious. My father would be shocked to hear me say this. Sigh!

I found Faulkner's style both confounding and refreshing. It took me a while to get used to his perpetual shifting of narrative. In his works, every story seems to contain countless other stories. Some of them are trivial, while others are crucial to the plot. That being said, I liked two out of the three stories. This had more to do with my personal taste rather than any kind of disdain. I really enjoyed 'Spotted Horses' and 'The Bear'. I found the subject matter of these stories to be enthralling. As a result, I was better able to immerse myself and enjoy them. The middle story, 'Old Man', was a good read on its own. However, I found its plot to be a bit monotonous, and I was never able to enjoy it as much as the other two. Overall, I would recommend this collection of novels. But it is only suitable for readers with decent comprehension skills. This is because Faulkner's sentences tend to be long. If you are easily lost in the run-on style, what would otherwise be an enjoyable book could turn into a tedious one.

The Bear was my fourth Faulkner novel within eight weeks! It truly showcases Faulkner's remarkable talent as a prose writer, with numerous passages that are simply brilliant. The story begins with a seemingly simple plot of a boy, Ike McCaslin, engaging in a ritual to achieve manhood. However, it then delves into many other crucial American themes such as race, slavery, the exploration of the past, and the wilderness.

The novella consists of five sections that were originally published separately in different journals and later combined into one book in 1955. Sections 1-3 focus on Ike's participation in the annual hunting of the bear, Old Ben, with his comrades. These include Sam Fathers, Ike's mentor who is half Indian and Black; Boon Hogganbeck, who is half Indian and White; Major De Spain, the owner of the hunting expedition; Ike's cousin; and a few others. Ike, a boy when he joins this group, comes to understand the lives of these men and becomes highly skilled at navigating the wilderness. Section three concludes with the hunters finally killing Old Ben.

In Section 4, we encounter Ike again, now a 21-year-old, relinquishing his property. He is disgusted by his grandfather's past of owning slaves and his relationships with enslaved women. This section mainly consists of dialogues between Ike and his cousin about the nature of ownership and his reasons for renouncing inheritance.

In Section 5, the world has changed, as the sacred woods have been occupied by tractors from the lumber company. Nevertheless, Ike still ventures into the wilderness, whatever remains of it, is reminded of his youthful hunting days, and proclaims that the wilderness is his wife and mistress.

There is so much more to this novel that I don't want to disclose. The writing style is experimental, so I would recommend reading it slowly to fully appreciate its depth and complexity.

So far, I have only read The Bear.

The first three chapters and chapter five are truly remarkable. They present a beautiful coming-of-age story that is engaging and captivating.

However, chapter four is a different story altogether. It is a laborious and nearly impossible to follow genealogical review of one of the characters. The text drones on and on, and unbelievably, it is just one entire sentence.

This chapter feels like a bit of an obscene insert. I really should have found a version that excludes this chapter.

Overall, despite the setback of chapter four, the rest of the book has been quite enjoyable and has piqued my interest to continue reading.

I hope that the remaining chapters will maintain the same level of quality and storytelling as the earlier ones.

It will be interesting to see how the story progresses and how the characters develop.

I look forward to delving deeper into the world of The Bear and uncovering its secrets.

I have no doubt that these stories are truly superb. Their originality is remarkable, the quality of writing is outstanding, and the author's descriptions of post-civil war southern life are incredibly accurate. However, for me, they just fell short of achieving a full 5 stars. The main reason for this is Faulkner's rather baroque style.

There were indeed moments when I was able to witness Faulkner's brilliance shining through. His words seemed to dance on the page, creating vivid images and evoking powerful emotions. But unfortunately, there were far more moments when I found myself slogging through his ponderous sentences. Some of these sentences seemed to go on for pages, making it a real struggle to keep up with the flow of the story.

Despite this, I still have a great deal of respect for Faulkner as a writer. I think I shall have to try one of his novels next. But not today, lol. I need some time to recover from this reading experience first.

Faulkner's stream-of-consciousness writing demands that the reader maintain unwavering focus at all times.

If you read this book in the same way as you would any other, you will quickly find yourself floundering in a quagmire of confusion.

However, if you direct your energy into exclusive and single-minded attention, as a reward, you will enter 'the zone' and be able to relish a rich immersion in the experience of the human spirit.

Had I been creative and competent enough to enhance and adorn that sentence until it filled 50 lines of text (although my sentence would not even come close to the eminence of one of Faulkner's), you might get an idea of what it feels like to read this book.

Among the three short novels, I enjoyed Old Man the most and even laughed out loud at the final paragraph.

The first half of The Bear was the most readable, but most of the second half more than offset that with its near-incomprehensibility.

Overall, reading Faulkner's works requires a great deal of effort and concentration, but the rewards can be significant for those who are willing to put in the work.