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)

Amazing

Will Patton is amazing. Every bit of it. The social fabric of this story's time and place is hard to believe but, of course, is very real.

Amazing! Faulkner read by Will Patton = Amazing!

Faulkner can be tough to read, though I don’t think this book is particularly challenging. I would start with Light in August if you were going to read/listen to Faulkner for the first time. It’s a well-crafted story from start to finish, where the words dance off the pages, leaving you in awe of Faulkner’s ability to stitch them together to create a pallet of delightful imagery and sound, which transports you to this realm, like it or not. Will Patton is a master at his craft; I’m talking high-level master, well beyond first or second degree. I couldn’t stop myself from telling others about his voicing, his accents, because I couldn’t believe it was one person reading this book aloud, which he does with grace and impeccable timing. This is a must listen! Highly, highly recommended!

Will Patton narrating Faulkner..

I'll start by saying that I've read this book 4-5 times since I was 13yrs of age. It is one of my favorites and each time I complete it, I come away with something new. This audible was outstanding! I am a fan of Southern writers and will read pretty much anything written by one of these authors. Some are fair, some are good, and more than a few are great. Take a great writer and have his or her work narrated by Will Patton, and now you have a work that has been given breath, color and animation that cannot be replicated even if the work is set to film. Even if you have read this book before, let me tell you that you are missing and opportunity to experience it in an entirely new light with this audio version. Well worth the credit!!!!!

Good Faullkner Starting Point

Having lived in the south I felt like the performance was well done. I appreciated the accent and different intonations of the characters, it helped me to distinguish characters more clearly as is often difficult to do in a semi-stream of conscienceness prose.

That being said, the story was a good place to start when reading Faulkner, in my opinion. I read "As I Lay Dying" and it was a rather ubrupt introduction to Faulkner; had I not a professor to walk me through "As I Lay Dying" I would have been lost as to Faulkner's objective in construction, layout, theme, etc. In contrast I later read "Light in August" post-collegiately and was mostly able to follow what Faulkner was doing. If I were asked where a good place to start with Faulkner was I would reccomend this book.

Four stars was given becuase of the difficulty level of the story coupled with the length. I highly reccomend an audiobook as a reasonable accomidation.

Exciting, Disturbing, Rich

I would recommend this book for two reasons: First, because it is a profound and deeply moving (and disturbing) exploration of the legacy of slavery in the United States. Second, I would recommend it because Will Patton's narration is fantastic. He has an easy, warm style, unaffected and natural. I am going to seek his other performances out. Faulkner was one of those writers that everyone talks about, he's one of the giants of American Literature. For a long time I've been wanting to read him and I'm grateful for having had the opportunity to experience this audiobook.

There are NO spoilers in what follows because I don't want to ruin it for others. But here's some more details:

The novel, which is set in the 1930's, starts out with a young pregnant girl traveling to Jefferson in search of the father of her unborn baby. Once there, the story essentially shifts emphasis and focuses on a few men in the town, one of the named Christmas, who is very enigmatic. It is the story of Christmas which takes over for much of the middle of the book, before a return to Jefferson and the situation of the pregnant girl. There are other great characters: for example, a disgraced preacher called Hightower who has been forgotten by the town, and his friend Bunch, a hardworking, decent man who, as it turns out, is very lonely. There's also a middle aged woman living on an unkempt plantation. They are interesting people who are portrayed with depth and compassion.

The novel is not entirely linear and there are parts that are very meditative, descriptive and philosophical. Those parts are mostly entertaining because the writing is so rich but I confess that the second to last chapter, which I listened to twice, did me in, I just couldn't quite absorb it entirely. Other chapters were simply electrifying.

If you like straightforward, plot driven novels which go from A to B to C, then this book could be a slog. If you like reading modern classics and you're OK with some jumping around in time, with passages of rich description and psychology, then you'll love this.

Most importantly, Will Patton really sells this story. Thanks to his voice and talent I could get past the challenging parts and experience this great story.

Classic of the old south.

Would you listen to Light in August again? Why?

I might. The storyline was rich and might even be worth a second read --something I almost never do.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Light in August?

When the main character walked from Alabama to Missippi while in the advanced stage of pregnancy.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

We have improved race relations somewhat.

Vivid description, beautifully narrated

Would you listen to Light in August again? Why?

Absolutely. Especially if I was on a road trip in the southern United States to remind me of what it would have been like in an earlier time. This book addresses religion, racism, gender and southern values in ways which are both humble and honest. On top of that it's a beautiful story with the lives of a diverse group of people interwoven in complex ways.

Light in August

Not my first Faulkner book, but was not disappointed. A fantastic listen. My first audio book, but not my last.

Will Patton is a great narrator.

Not only is this a great novel by a master, it is performed by a master narrator as well. Patton's accents, pace, and expressiveness are excellent, all of which made it easier to listen to than to even read. Highly recommended.

Southern-accent storytelling at its finest and most triggering. A necessary and painful tale.

An excellent southern version of the Canterbury Tales telling taking the audience on a southern inroad into white supremacy’s power and fragility in the form of racialization laid bare by Jim Crow. The storytelling is both beautiful and striking. The southern accent is perfect