Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of As I Lay Dying

As I Lay Dying
As I Lay Dying
Author: William Faulkner
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
danelleb avatar reviewed on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


As I Lay Dying is a story following the Bundren family's trip across the country-side to bury their wife and mother. The story is told in turns by each family member - including Addie (the one being buried). Disturbing but with moments of dark humor, it's written in that stream-of-conciousness style that isn't for everyone. An excellent read and a slim 200 or so pages, but definitely not an easy read. There are moments where you aren't really sure who is who or what they are talking about until things happen later - unless you're able to keep an eye on some subtle clues. The writing is beautiful.

"Before us the thick dark current runs. It talks up to us in a murmur become ceaseless and myriad, the yellow surface dimpled monstrously into fading swirls travelling along the surface for an instant, silent, impermanent and profoundly significant, as though just beneath the surface something huge and alive waked for a moment of lazy alertness out of and into light slumber again." (p.141)