Notes on a Horsethief

by William Faulkner

The New York Times praised Notes on a Horsethief as “at once a brilliantly told story of a manhunt and a subtly woven allegory on man’s fate” (Blotner, 539). “The stolen racehorse recaptures a Mark Twain-like America, before war, commercialization, publicity-it is Faulkner at his most nostalgic, when he could be a believer” (Karl, 761). It is the only of Faulkner’s works first published in his home state of Mississippi. No slipcase was issued with this limited edition.
First edition, issued as a limited edition signed ''William Faulkner'' on the rear fly-leaf. Issued without a dustjacket, book is bound in pine green boards with a silver illustration of a horse on the front board and silver titling to spine.

71 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

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

[Mat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmmm......

I AM a pretty big fan of William Faulkner. He is the writer of great novels such as Absalom! Absalom! and Light in August, which is almost THE perfect novel (just stunning), but this short novelette was slightly disappointing (knowing he could do much better).

At first, I thought this might have been an earlier abandoned version of The Reivers, Faulkner's final novel because it shares one thing in common: both stories are about horse-thieves.

However, it turns out to be a completely different story altogether. This short novel starts out in a fairly straightforward manner but in the second half of the story, Faulkner lapses into his rambling, sprawling stream-of-consciousness style, reminiscent of A Fable, which is easily his worst novel, a dreadful book, and ironically the book that won him the Pulitzer Prize.

Like A Fable, the reader emerges from the heady and impenetrable prose to a somewhat clearer finish. Personally, I have my doubts about this. I'm not ready to call this 'good writing'. Having read ALL of his novels and all of his short stories now (I saved this one to last because it's the only signed Faulkner I have), I can say that this is one of his weaker efforts.

If you're a Faulkner fan like me, you might want to check it out and there is one more reason to buy this one: it's the only slightly affordable signed book by Faulkner available on the market (still expensive though).

Faulkner fans, have a go. Others, I recommend passing on this one. Now that I have read all of his novels and short stories, I'd like to read his letters next.

[grace mine to know · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been a Faulkner fan. Being from the next county over, not half of an hour west, he is near to my heart. I was gifted this book from an employer who was fond of me and knew of my connection to his works. I didn’t know it was so rare of a find until recently.
It’s a funny novelette full of typical Faulkner prose and rambling. It’s reminiscent of The Reivers. If you can get your hands on it, definitely give it a read.