Faulkner's distinctive narrative structures--the uses of multiple points of view and the inner psychological voices of the characters--in one of its most successful incarnations here in As I Lay Dying. In the story, the members of the Bundren family must take the body of Addie, matriarch of the family, to the town where Addie wanted to be buried. Along the way, we listen to each of the members on the macabre pilgrimage, while Faulkner heaps upon them various flavors of disaster.It is ranked among the best novels of the 20th century.
It has varying chapter lengths with the shortest chapter consisting of only 5 words.
The title comes from The Odyssey when Agamemnon says to Odysseus "As I lay dying, the woman with the dog's eyes would not close my eyes as I descended into Hades."
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Read an excerpt here.
Oprah chose this book and 2 others by Faulkner for her club in 2005. Did you read along? Are you a Faulkner fan?
