Selected Short Stories of William Faulkner

by William Faulkner

"נכשלתי כמשורר. ייתכו שכל סופר רוצה קודם לכתוב שירה, מגלה שהוא אינו מסוגל ואז מנסה לכתוב סיפור קצר, שהוא הצורה התובענית ביותר של שירה. וכשהוא נכשל גם בזה, הוא פונה אל הרומן." - ויליאם פוקנר

ויליאם פוקנר היה אמן הסיפור הקצר. רוב הסיפורים בקובץ הזה נלקחו מהתקופה הבולטת ביותר בכתיבתו, כשלושים שנה, החל מ-1929, שבהם הוציא לאור את מיטב יצירתו.

הסיפורים עוסקים בנושאים רבים שמופיעים גם ברומנים, ומתארים דמויות מחייה של עיירה קטנה במסיסיפי, שהן ייחודיות לפוקנר. בוורד לאמילי, סיפורו הראשון שהתפרסם במגזין כלל-ארצי, הוא סיפור על אהבה, בגידה ורצח. משפחת סנופס המרושעת (שהוקדשה לה טרילוגיה שלמה) מופיעה כאן בהצתת אסמים, המספר על תגובתו של בן למעשיו של אביו המצית. וג'ייסון וקדי - שני תושבים נוספים במחוז המיתי יוקנפטאוופה, שהומצא על ידי פוקנר - עדים להתעללות בכובסת שחורה בסיפור שמש הערב ההיא. אלה וסיפורים אחרים שנאספו בקובץ הזה מחזקים את קביעתו של הסופר והמבקר ראלף אליסון שאמר: "פוקנר הוא האמן הגדול ביותר שיצר הדרום."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, American, Literature, Classic Literature, Historical Fiction

310 pages, Hardcover

About the author

William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American writer. He is best known for his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in for Lafayette County where he spent most of his life. A Nobel laureate, Faulkner is one of the most celebrated writers of American literature and often is considered the greatest writer of Southern literature.
Faulkner was born in New Albany, Mississippi, and raised in Oxford, Mississippi. During World War I, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, but did not serve in combat. Returning to Oxford, he attended the University of Mississippi for three semesters before dropping out. He moved to New Orleans, where he wrote his first novel Soldiers' Pay (1925). He went back to Oxford and wrote Sartoris (1927), his first work set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County. In 1929, he published The Sound and the Fury. The following year, he wrote As I Lay Dying. Later that decade, he wrote Light in August, Absalom, Absalom! and The Wild Palms. He also worked as a screenwriter, contributing to Howard Hawks's To Have and Have Not and The Big Sleep, adapted from Raymond Chandler's novel. The former film, adapted from Ernest Hemingway's novel, is the only film with contributions by two Nobel laureates.
Faulkner's reputation grew following publication of Malcolm Cowley's The Portable Faulkner, and he was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature for "his powerful and unique contribution to the modern American novel." He is the only Mississippi-born Nobel laureate. Two of his works, A Fable (1954) and The Reivers (1962), won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Faulkner died from a heart attack on July 6, 1962, following a fall from his horse the month before. Ralph Ellison called him "the greatest artist the South has produced".

Reviews

[Diane Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Because it's Faulkner, and because they're wonderful.

That was my comment on first reading these stories 6 years ago. I decided to re-read them because the group On The Southern Literary Trail was reading a larger volume of his Collected Stories. With Faulkner, re-reading is just like a first read because there's so much to discover that you missed the first time around. So again, 5 stars, even though a couple of these were less than stellar. And this is why:

From the story Race At Morning - "Time was when all a man had to do was just farm eleven and a half months, and hunt the other half. But not now. Now just to belong to the farming business and the hunting business ain't enough. You got to belong to the business of mankind".

And this quote, from the same story - "Maybe," Mister Ernest said. " the best word in our language, the best of all. That's what mankind keeps going on: Maybe. The best days of his life ain't the ones when he said 'Yes' beforehand: they're the ones when all all he knew to say was 'Maybe'. "

Maybe 2021 will turn out to be a better year than 2020. Maybe.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, a winner that only a Faulknerian man-child would sniff at. Faulkner manages to achieve the condensing of his genius down into scrappy bits that should make any writer envious. There are a few crappy ones, though, like "Red Leaves", Falky's attempt at writing about Indians. But the others are so exhilarating and awesome that you overlook the few misses. My faves: "Turnabout" about crazy drunk teenaged British torpedo boat drivers; "Mountain Victory"; a listless just post-Civil War horror story; "Beyond", about a dead guy. In fact, Falky shines most when he leaves behind his southern obsessions and branches out.

[Sue K H · Rating 3 out of 5]

The different stories ranged from 5 stars to no stars and everywhere in-between. My favorite was Two Soldiers and I also liked Barn Burning and A Rose for Emily a lot.

[Zek · Rating 2 out of 5]

די, כמה אפשר לסבול… זהו הספר הראשון של פוקנר אותו אני קורא והקריאה בו פשוט בלתי נסבלת ומעיקה. למקרא כל הביקורות המהללות את קובץ הסיפורים הנ״ל אין לי אלא לתהות מה פיספסתי… אולי אחזור לקרוא בו בעתיד… אולי אז אהנה מהסבל… 🙈

[Sam Meis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be the best prose I’ve ever read. Faulkner’s lyricism is unbelievable, with writing style changing with each story and character. Each story is overflowing with life. Will be pursuing more Faulkner.

[Talea · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was horrible. I tried Faulkener a second time. I regret it. The only and I do mean the ONLY story I enjoyed was Race at Morning, the very last one. I have a headache. I will not be attempting any more books by him.

[Jim Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some stories are great, like Turnabout and Beyond, but others are just mediocre or even very poor. Worthy to read, but the language used is sometimes,shocking.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction into Faulkner's unique style and thematic matter. These are some of his greatest short stories and are much more accessible than many of his novels. It shows his excellent control over tone and characterization.

I think that one of the strongest points of the collection is that it shows a wide variety of Faulkner's works. From the chilling Gothic horror of "A Rose For Emily" to the sublime beauty of "Beyond" every facet of Faulkner's style can be found in this short volume.

Every story is an example of mastery, but I especially enjoyed "Race at Morning". It does a good job of speaking through the boy who is the main character and showing how the South was changing and the old homeostasis simply didn't apply anymore.

A great book for those who would like to be introduced to Faulkner's strongest short stories. Read these if you need to know why Faulkner deserved the Nobel.

[Mary Banken · Rating 4 out of 5]

I greatly appreciate the talent and the wonder that are imbedded in Faulkner's short stories. Power and frailty in every sentence. As all of the experts have told us, he captures southern culture as never before or since. It just makes me crazy though that I have to have to work so very hard to understand the messages. Wish I had a class of grad students to work it for me! But I don't so I know that I miss a lot of meaning....still great stuff.

[Bruce Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories took me places I didn't want to go. The protagonists live in a time and place far from my own. I couldn't look away.

[Christopher Renberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of finishing up graduate work at Ole Miss (#scoreboard), I returned to Faulkner and this collection of stories. Some, "A Rose for Emily", "Barn Burning", and "That Evening Sun", I read back in my days at Oxford and they proved to be entertaining once again. Others were new and just as good. The author is not for everyone and I admit not every story blew me away. Most of them did and they were powerfully written. "Dry September" and "Race in the Morning" come immediately to mind. Good to revisit your old friends.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good introduction to Faulkner to those who want a taste of his writing. The stories run from mundane to classic. Most take place in the fictional county Yoknapatawpha, though a few take place outside that. One is an aviation tale which reminds us of his early works. Many of the classic Faulkner characters appear in these stories -- Jason and Caddy Compson, Ike McCausland,The Snopes family. It is all very Faulkner and very satisfying.

[Robert Olsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are twelve Faulkner stories published in the 1930s and early 1940s, then collected by Random House in 1962, some apparently stand-alones and others apparently lifted from first drafts of several of his greatest novels, all of them steeped in the author's unique takes on Southern determination, change, pettiness, propriety, honor, history, youth, and old age, with accents aplenty. A good read.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star: hated it. I read 2 stories, Barn Burning and A Rose For Emily, and found neither one to be particularly interesting. Abandoned the rest because (a) I'm not in school any more and (b) life is too short to read books you don't enjoy. This is my second attempt at Faulkner (the first was Light in August) and he is not for me, I guess.

[James Violand · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this confirms my opinion that Faulkner was a truly great and significant writer. He flows and the reader follows. The stories in this book range in setting from the Civil War to a bombing mission over Berlin to the afterlife.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first exposure to Faulkner’s short stories, although I did read A Rose for Emily a few decades ago.

These stories were good and bit-sized. I think that they improved as the book progressed, with the last few stories my favorites.

[Charlie Barker · Rating 3 out of 5]

some stinkers, some really incredible pieces of writing—barn burning, a rose for emily, and race at morning (especially that one) particularly stand out as examples of exactly what short stories can and should be

[Ruthanne Stuart · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just a bit dark for me albeit excellent writing.

[Mandy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great stories and some I struggled to finish.

[Michael Thimsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

These are some of Faulkner's best stories. Insightful and arresting, they will linger in your memory long after you finish.

[Valerie Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although reading these stories makes me want to revisit Faulkner’s Yoknapatawpha novels, I really had to force myself to trudge through these. Reading Faulkner is a lot of work.

[Levi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Talk about a book to burn, this one would be great to never exist against.

[Dale Wilen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good, some very strange.

[James Binz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked almost every one of these stories. what a unique voice he has! I felt transported to another place and time.

[Toad Soup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me when Faulkner writes from the perspective of a little southern boy: oh yeah, this is goooooooooood soup

Me when Faulkner writes from the perspective of anything else: uhhhhhhhhh

[Maggie Dumas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I truly do not understand why people love Faulkner. His short stories are plodding and difficult for me.

[Stephen Hero · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Sarah Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Alive, Miss Emily had been a tradition, a duty, and a care; a sort of hereditary obligation upon the town …”

Faulkner is a great writer. Reading his works is like taking a breath of fresh air after being stuck inside for days. I have read good books by good writers and I almost forget that there are great writers and great books out there.

Our library was holding an adult summer reading program contest. It was a bingo game and one square was to read a book of short stories. I searched through the library collection for short stories and came across Selected Short Stories by William Faulkner. I am so glad I choose it.

Read more here: http://sarahannecarter.com/selected-s...

[Joseph Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to see where some of my current literary champions come from.

[Joseph Arida · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10
Favorites:
Race at Morning 9/10
Two Soldiers 8/10
A Rose for Emily 8/10
Mountain Victory 8/10
Barn Burning 9/10