Absalom, Absalom by William Faulkner
The trick of reading this -- and most Faulkner -- is to just let go and read. In 50 pages or so you'll probably think, wait! What have I been reading? A quick review and you'll find you got it. If you fight it, if you don't fall into the rhythm, you'll struggle (AND I'll just note that the word "AND" for a word that carries little stress in the poetry I've read, hits like a hammer on an anvil in Faulkner) . But just sitting back and watching the view as Faulkner drives works pretty well. And eventually you may recognize that the lush wordage isn't really excessive, and what you're reading is a mystery novel, just not a who-dun-it, but a why-dun-it, each conjectured motive a bit more horrific than the last. Faulkner is said to have read mystery writers like Hammett (a drinking partner in Hollywood) and Rex Stout. He later wrote some short stories that were at least marketed as mysteries, and Intruder in the Dust which is a mystery and also a precursor of To Kill a Mockingbird in its plot, and Light in August and Sanctuary which are crime novels. He liked the form and it informed his writing.
Randy M.
