Book : The Saddest Words William Faulkners Civil War -...

-Titulo Original : The Saddest Words William Faulkners Civil War

-Fabricante :

Liveright

-Descripcion Original:

A “timely and essential” (New York Times Book Review) reconsideration of William Faulkner’s life and legacy that vitally asks, “How should we read Faulkner today?” With this “rich, complex, and eloquent” (Drew Gilpin Faust, Atlantic) work, Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Gorra charts the evolution of an author through his most cherished and contested novels. Given the undeniable echoes of “Lost Cause” romanticism in William Faulkner’s fiction, as well as his depiction of Black characters and Black speech, Gorra argues convincingly that Faulkner demands a sobering reevaluation. Upending previous critical traditions and interweaving biography, literary criticism, and rich travelogue, the widely acclaimed The Saddest Words recontextualizes Faulkner, revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent cultural issues facing American literature today. 10 illustrations Review The Saddest Words confirms Michael Gorras place as one of the most creative and readable literary critics working today. . . . Provocative and poignant, it delivers a rich, discomfiting sense of why the legacies of the war, and of Faulkner himself, remain such unsettled topics in our nation still.--Maya Jasanoff, author of The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global WorldA meticulous work spanning literary criticism and history. As Gorra demonstrates, writing allowed Faulkner (1897-1962) to clarify his thinking and create characters who were often a reflection of himself, in many ways depicting the people of the South as unable to move on from the past. Biographical portions of the narrative show how the authors own life mirrored these behaviors and sentiments, especially revealing is Gorras examination of Faulkners later career in Hollywood.?Faulkner once famously said, The past is not dead. In fact, its not even past, and this exceptional study by Faulkner lends credence to these words. A worthy addition to Faulkner studies, and for larger Southern literature and Civil War collections.--David Keymer - Library JournalFaulkners enduring, ubiquitous quote that the past is never dead might be a fitting epitaph for this new book. In this timely re-examination, Gorra considers how Faulkner should be read in the 21st century, with a focus on the depiction of Black people and racism in his fiction.--Joumana Khatib - New York TimesGorras well-conceived, exhaustively researched book probes historys refusals... Rich in insight... Timely and essential as we confront, once again, the question of who is a citizen and who among us should enjoy its privileges.--Ayana Mathis - New York Times Book ReviewPowerful... Mr. Gorra demonstrates convincingly that this unshakable past for Faulkner came increasingly to involve race.... For Mr. Gorra, Faulkners fiction should be read these days for the drama and struggle and paradox and power of his attempt to work through our history, to wrestle or rescue it into meaning. Reading Faulkner today we discover just how much imagination and courage can be required to face the past.--Randall Fuller - Wall Street JournalAs esteemed literary scholar Gorra informs us in this transcendent study, European audiences had long considered Faulkner one of the leading modernists . . . Gorra expertly mines his own deep reading of the Faulkner oeuvre to serve as our Virgil and guide us through an exploration of how the Civil War influenced Faulkners work and how, in turn, Faulkners writing helped shape modern literature. Gorra adroitly and poignantly portrays Faulkner at war with himself, juxtaposed and entwined with the history of a cleaved nation, to provide a compelling and necessary reexamination of a towering literary figure.--Bill Kelly, Booklist, starred reviewA magisterial, multidisciplinary study of Faulkner that shakes the dust off his canonization.--Kirkus Reviews [starred review]Michael Gorra is one of the finest critical minds at work in literature today, and this masterly rea