Light in August

By: William Faulkner

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Earphones Award Winner (AudioFile Magazine)

Audible is pleased to present Light in August, by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner.

An Oprah's Book Club Selection regarded as one of Faulkner's greatest and most accessible novels, Light in August is a timeless and riveting story of determination, tragedy, and hope. In Faulkner's iconic Yoknapatawpha County, race, sex, and religion collide around three memorable characters searching desperately for human connection and their own identities.

Audie Award-winning narrator Will Patton lends his voice to Light in August. Patton has narrated works by Ernest Hemingway, Don DeLillo, Pat Conroy, Denis Johson, Larry McMurtry, and James Lee Burke, and brings to this performance a keen understanding of Faulkner, an authentic feel for the South, and a virtuoso narrator's touch.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of William Faulkner's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview – where James Atlas interviews James Lee Burke about the life and work of William Faulkner – begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

Be sure to check out Faulkner's The Wild Palms as well.

This production is part of our Audible Modern Vanguard line, a collection of important works from groundbreaking authors.

©1954, 1976 William Faulkner (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Nominee - Best Classic Audiobook, 2011

"For all his concern with the South, Faulkner was actually seeking out the nature of man. Thus we must turn to him for that continuity of moral purpose which made for the greatness of our classics." (Ralph Ellison)

"It's impossible to overstate the difficulties facing Will Patton as he undertakes a reading of this Faulkner classic. It's not simply the matter of conveying early-twentieth-century Southern backwoods dialects. That, a skilled mimic with an exceptional ear like Patton masters easily. But this novel's demands are so much more arduous, requiring a narrator to plumb the depths of despair, hopelessness, faith, rage, and yearning that go on for page after page without letup." ( AudioFile)

a good reintroduction to Faulkner

I read William Faulkner or at least tried to read him in my 20's. I never really thought much about him after that until audible offered up this book as part of its Audible Modern Vanguard classic selections. The plot seemed interesting and I liked that it was narrated by actor Will Patton, who also narrates the James Lee Burke novels I enjoy, and since he's from the south where this book takes place, he had the southern accents down to a T.

This is a thought provoking book that touches on several different topics. Since it's set in Mississippi in the 1930's, it is a timepiece novel looking at that era, post Civil War but where racism still existed even all those years later. But it also touches on the hopes and dreams of people who are just trying to get by in life. It touches on the effects our parents and even out grandparents have on our lives. Did we lead the lives our parents wanted us to or did we stay true to ourselves and lead the lives we wanted to? Was it possible to do both? How did our grandparents effect the lives of their children and how then did that get passed down onto us? Many of us rebel and strike off on our own but as we get older we sometimes think that we are leading the life we were supposed to and now we've gone full circle.

Faulkner touches on all these issues in this book. Yes, it's a novel of the deep south in the 1930's but it is also universally timeless. I enjoyed this book much more than I thought I would when starting out. Read it slow and think about it, as i said, it's thought provoking.

Great reading

Will Patton is excellent. He captures every character and every moment perfectly. A master in my opinion.

circle of confusion

the narrator was the only reason to listen. the story followed a circle but it was not clear if it was a circle or a line in the sand. It had beautiful words and phrases but could not support a never ending round.

Revealing of the southern mentallity

Amazing all the different points of view and how true the characters remain to themselves. No individual growth. Stuck in there culture.

will part will blow your mind.

the performance of this reading dives you under the skin of every character and their pivotal moments.

May be better in book form

This is the first time I have read anything from William Faulkner. I think this book would be better to read than listen to. The story is good but it jumps around a lot with many characters that need to be pieced together into the overall story. It is harder to do that when you are passively listening which I often do. I enjoy listening to books while I am cleaning or driving so they do not get 100% attention as they would with reading.

Missed the gist

Any additional comments?

After a couple of chapters I stopped reading. I had the idea I was missing the gist of the story. I may try it again this August ;-)

Hardwork

I couldn't finish this book. My reads need to have a good storyline, move at a reasonable pace and have interesting character development. Light in August failed all three.

Memory Believes Before Knowing Remembers

If you could sum up Light in August in three words, what would they be?

Engaging Southern Story

What other book might you compare Light in August to and why?

the old testament

What does Will Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

the right tone and everything else

Who was the most memorable character of Light in August and why?

Joe Christmas

Any additional comments?

This was a far better experience than I expected. I thought it would be too dense and difficult to be enjoyable. Perhaps I am just at a point in my life where I can appreciate a work of this quality and depth.
The read by Will Patton was simply amazing and confirms in my mind that he is the best.

Wonderful Narration

If you could sum up Light in August in three words, what would they be?

Entertaining, descriptive (of the time period, people and scenarios) and drama-filled (like an old fasioned-soap opera).
The narrator's voice and ability to go into the characters really made the book come alive for me. The story, written in 1932, set in the 1800's I believe, is written in older-style, poetic in areas and very wordy at times. I had to sometimes paraphrase in my mind the main points through the wordy parts of any such scene to keep focus of what was really being said. Though overall the story kept me listening for more. Kudos to Will Patton for a superb job with his intonations and inflections for the many interesting characters and storylines (there were multiple stories within stories that were within the main story itself). He kept me listening to that wonderful voice of his and I heard the entire 15+ hour book within 2.5 days during spare time. It was thought provoking to the time period and sometimes humorous as well. Overall a definite recommended read (or listen).