Absalom, Absalom!

By: William Faulkner

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

Absalom, Absalom! tells the story of Thomas Sutpen, the enigmatic stranger who came to Jefferson township in the early 1830s. With a French architect and a band of wild Haitians, he wrung a fabulous plantation out of the muddy bottoms of the north Mississippi wilderness.

Sutpen was a man, Faulker said, "who wanted sons and the sons destroyed him". His tragedy left its impress not only on his contemporaries but also on men who came after, men like Quentin Compson, haunted even into the 20th century by Sutpen's legacy of ruthlessness and singleminded disregard for the human community.

©1986 Jill Faulkner Summers; 1993 Books on Tape, Inc.

One the very best erer.

The use of language is without equal. This narrator delivers every nuance the author intended.

Best way to read Faulkner

I finally managed to make it through the most significant Faulkner novels, and enjoy them. Grove Gardner makes the language easy to hear, sensible, and most importantly “readable.” His performance gave me access to Faulkner I’ve never had before.

reader is too fast in his delivery

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Faulkner's language is so complex that it takes a little effort to digest the text. As always he is well worth the effort but the listener needs a slower text reader to really appreciate the complexity of Faulkners language.

Did Grover Gardner do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

yes he did. Just spoken a little fast for me

Engrossing performance of an incredible novel

If you could sum up Absalom, Absalom! in three words, what would they be?

Dark, foreboding, mysterious

What other book might you compare Absalom, Absalom! to and why?

One Hundred Years of Solitude

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Engaged different accents to make them recognizable and distinct without drawing too much attention to it.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I almost did on one long car ride

Any additional comments?

First Faulkner book I've read since high school and the first time I felt I really appreciated one.

onion-like novel perfectly read!

I'd recommend having a copy of the book in front of you while listening but still, hearing this out loud, especially as so much of the book is characters speaking is like Shakespeare aloud, alas Bravo!

A long, enjoyable listen

This was the first Faulkner novel I attempted to read/listen since high school (when I thought I'd never read Faulkner again). With that said, I found this audiobook to be really excellent, and I plan to buy more of Faulkner's books. The reader was crisp, clear, and fit the book perfectly. Warning: this story/ plot line may be difficult to follow. If one is unfamiliar with the story, I recommend consulting some sort of plot chronology because it makes the listening experience a lot more enjoyable. (google University of Virginia and Absolom)

Grover Gardner is terrific

This Faulkner novel is, as everyone says, a difficult read. Grover Garner makes it a pleasure to get through. I listened as I read. It is a powerful story about the loss of the Old South. Because there are so many different voices telling the tale (and remembering things differently), the book needs a talented narrator like Gardner to bring each of the distinctive voices alive. It's amazing how he gets smoothly through those long, very complex and embedded sentences of Faulkner's!

Hard to Follow

Was back an forth in time. Very hard to follow. I gathered that it was a dark secret and that was it.

Confusing at first, but well worth the effort.

Absolutely superb. I especially recommend this book to those who have exiled themselves from the South and to those who want to understand that region better.

Discover Faulkner in this book.

Would you listen to Absalom, Absalom! again? Why?

The reader has a great voice. He never seems to get bored with the material. How could he?

Who was your favorite character and why?

I'm not sure, but there were some good ones.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

His voice, intonation, and accent.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, it takes time to digest.

Any additional comments?

none