Robert Stevens

With very little exception, these stories lack sufficient substance to merit any attention. The style is dated, devoid of any character development, and lacking in interest other than the occasional slightly ironic observation or ending. The words flow with ease but there is nothing behind them and they go nowhere.

Despite being familiar with other major Faulkner works, I knew very little about this one. It is certainly a more dramatic, more suspenseful, and more accessible work fhan some of his other major works. I loved it. I think it would have a wider popularity if it were not for the rather rough characters and lives presented in the work, but it is certainly masterful story telling. It may be my favorite Faulkner work at this point. It avoids much of the the observations, asides, and other aspects (which I like - BTW) of many Faulkner works, making it seem more like traditional fiction, somewhat different from most Faulkner. I was left thinking what a great, great writer he was. The reading could not be better.

This was a "first" Austen work for me. It was an excellent work to begin with. Wonderfully read and wonderfully written.