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)

As Many Have Confirmed Before Me

William Faulkner is a Human Marvel. Among the best of all of us. In rising to the heights, he brings us up to the precise with him.

Rich Language, engaging story, perfect reader

What did you love best about Light in August?

Its sense of place made real through Faulkner's rich, textured language. The story is told at a relaxing, ever-more-interesting pace.

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

Novels by Lee Smith, who is also a gifted southern writer. My favorite of hers is Fair and Tender Ladies.

Have you listened to any of Will Patton???s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but plan to.

The depth, richness, tragedy, beauty of Faulkner

In this story he portrays the true tragedy of ignorance and racism as it's played out in a small southern town in the 30's.

An orphan boy, abandoned on the steps of an orphanage by his insane grandfather after his mother dies in childbirth ends up as tragically as one might suspect. Other characters are twined around and through the story of Joe Christmas, so called because he was found at Christmas, their stories as tragic and filled with pathos as his.

Meandering, as is life

Would you consider the audio edition of Light in August to be better than the print version?

I've only heard the audio, but it was excellent. The characters were formed in my mind the same as when I read a good book.

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

The future being born in a specific act in the past.

What about Will Patton’s performance did you like?

The different characters's voices supported the text. His reading voice was never distracting and was pleasant to hear for several hours.

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

I don't understand this question.

Any additional comments?

At first I looked for a main character or plot, but then relaxed and just trusted the author to, eventually, reveal a theme and connect the lives. I felt that I was living in the times and among the people, following threads of different lives. Faulkner's observation and description of people's actions revealed underlying currents that control people and create "truths" where there is only reaction to embedded beliefs at work. The book treats racism and religion and sexual rules of conduct directly when one, or all, surface to take over; then things settle again into routine. It was as though Faulkner was walking next to me, revealing society and letting me learn to search out and examine my own underlying currents, but never directly pointing out or judging. He respects the reader's intelligence. Faulkner is truly a master writer.

dry listen

the artist is definitely obvious in this story but the narrator doesnt do it justice

Great story hiding in there, if you can find it

Will Patton does the most amazing job tirelessly scratching through Faulkner's overly wordy prose. There really is a great American Novel hiding under all those words, but you have to weed out all the extraneous verbage to find it. I found myself saying out loud more than once, "Yah, yah, I got it...just spit it out already!" Faulkner apparently likes to tell you something is red 5 different ways....or everything 5 different ways. I am amazed that more people didnt just lose interest in his work. No doubt the stiry us powerful, the characters deep and complex, but you have to strip the prose off to find all that out. Patten IS the best narration for Southern literature.

Master of Language

I had a great deal of trouble following this story. It seemed to have a lot of unresolved matters. Perhaps that was intentional. I found myself more interested in Faulkner’s lengthy descriptions of the characters with all the metaphors, similes and adjectives.

Awe in August

Finished the whole book in about a week. Unforgetable story, great narration.

Started a little slow, but once I got 2/3 chapters in I was hooked.

Will Patton Stars

Light in August is one of Faulkner’s best. As good a book as it is Will Patton brings the lush and often difficult prose to life in a way that I would not have been able to do if I just read the book. His ability to differentiate characters’ speech is amazing. I hope Patton will perform more Faulkner.

Excellent narration!

This excellent, nuanced reading by Will Patton is among the best audiobooks I’ve listened to.