Collected Stories of William Faulkner

After reading "A Mule in the Yard," "That Will Be Fine," and "That Evening Sun" I was reminded of why this guy is one of the greatest storytellers ever. I know, his writing can be dense and even a times nearly unintelligible, but patience and concentration pays off with Faulkner. And his use of point of view is amazing.

The first Faulkner book I read was in my junior year of high school. When I consulted my teacher about whether I should choose Faulkner or another author to read, she told me something along the lines of, "Faulkner's regionalistic and enigmatic style is interpreted two different ways by two different types of people: One think that he is symbolic and profound, the other think that he is not and rather full of it." Well, I do feel sorry for the 'other' group, because to not reconize the depth behind his more-poetic-than-most-poets words is just plain out wacky. I will say that he is not your typical fiction writer, his books do not have action oriented plots (or even any action in some cases), but he still somehow manages to catch your interest. I have never fell asleep while reading a book or story by Faulkner, and not many authors have earned this distinction. He also leaves you with a sense of reflection, again something distinguishing him from many others. Personally, I prefer short stories to novels, I find that my focus to the point and plot of the story is less distracted by the end as with a novel and I typically find that I retain more. I do enjoy Faulkner's novels and have read quite a few, but this collection of short stories is just brilliant beyond brilliant. His words are potent and sharp in all of them, even if his point and meaning is more elusive. I completely and totally recommend that everyone read this collection of stories. Everyone. Really. That means you too.

William Faulkner's work has influenced many writers. His extravagant language and quirky stories are the epitome of fiction. Having read this amazing collection of short stories, I have no doubt in my mind that Faulkner was a very interesting person -- I would've loved to meet him. My favorite story is "A Rose for Emily"; the quirkiness and symbolism in the story is both beautiful and strange. I also like "A Bear Hunt," "All the Dead Pilots," "Wash," and "Two Soldiers" -- all of the stories have a very unique language. If you like good literature, I strongly suggest that you read this amazing book.

A terrific introduction to the world of Faulkner's fiction. Some of these stories "Wash", "Barn Burning", "All the Dead Pilots", and "That Evening Sun" serve as introductions to some of the characters that populate his novels. These 42 stories encapsulate a brilliant career, featuring a wide variety of styles and points of view.I am not a big fan of short stories, but each of these reads like a mini-novel.You will be engrossed and will want to go back and read them again.