The Wild Palms

By: William Faulkner

Narrated by: Marc Vietor

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

In New Orleans in 1937, a man and woman embark on a headlong flight into the wilderness of illicit passion. In Mississippi ten years earlier, a convict risks his one chance at freedom to rescue a pregnant woman. From these separate stories Faulkner composes a symphony of deliverance and damnation.

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.

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

Be sure to check out Faulkner's Light in August as well.

©1964 William Faulkner (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

2 very different, good stories

Also known as If I Forget Thee, Jerusalem, this book contains two stories that alternate chapters: The Wild Palms, a portrait of a doomed love affair between a young doctor and a married artist who are both passionate and philosophical; and Old Man, about the tribulations of a convict trying to rescue two people from the flooding Mississippi River and return to his warders with his loaned boat intact. Since the plots of the two stories don’t interweave, the alternation of chapters seems like a puzzling choice, on the surface. The listening experience would be smoother if they were each presented sequentially. (I read Old Man as a stand-alone story in another volume, so I’m biased.) But since they are linked thematically, and Faulkner structured the book as he did for a reason, perhaps this presentation is best, despite their potential for coming across as disjointed. Marc Vietor’s narration is competent—not compelling, but not lackluster, either. For fans of Faulkner, it’s a worthwhile listen.

Wild Palms

My favorite Faulkner, so far. Marc Vietor does a fine job narrating. Beautiful, complex prose

Not my favorite Faulkner

This is one of those books that has a shadow hanging over your head the whole time you're reading it. It was pretty heavy duty reading I like the way the 2 parts came together in the end But it was a struggle sometimes to stay with it.

Deserves attention

Would you listen to The Wild Palms again? Why?

Yes. As well as having a compelling story that builds gradually to an intriguing conclusion, The Wild Palms is structured in a way that made me go back to earlier chapters to see how subsequent events are foreshadowed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wild Palms?

The climax of the "Wild Palms" portion of the novel is unforgettable. Having said that, the account of the flood in the other portion, "The Old Man", is also remarkable. The quote, "From grief and nothing, I choose grief", resonates and has an interesting relationship to the French film Breathless, in which this line is quoted.

What about Marc Vietor’s performance did you like?

Marc Vietor gives an excellent performance, well-sustained and with a dignity that serves Faulkner's prose well. The Southern aspect is evident in a good way, without ever seeming overplayed or affected. Faulkner's work is read impressively by various narrators at Audible.com, and this book is no exception.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I took a while to get into this, mainly because of the unorthodox structure. It is difficult to understand the relationship between the two alternating stories. The relationship is not direct but involves themes that echo between the two: loss, endurance, sacrifice, the transience of human relationships, attempts to comprehend intense experiences and to resolve threads of existence. It's a sad book that includes an element of the absurd.

Any additional comments?

I was surprised to see that this audiobook hasn't been reviewed yet. I downloaded it a while ago and had assumed that other listeners would have reviewed it by now. Although it's not the most famous of Faulkner's books, nor, like any of his work, a light read, I found it to be moving, intriguing and memorable.

Wild Qualms

I've read that other writers often made fun of the dialogue in some of Faulkner's novels. I'm no Faulkner scholar; after having read or re-read nearly all of his novels now though, I'd say this book is THE primary suspect. The dialogue between the 2 lovers at the beginning of their affair and onward through the botched abortion is embarrassing and distracting. I've never read any interaction so awkward in all of literature.

I rate this the worst of all Faulkner novels. I can handle almost any dismal tragedy in literature, like most of the rest of us; yet, this novel's beyond (or below) any hopeless gloom I've ever read, particularly when considering the subject matter of one of the 2 running stories.

A reminder that even the best have bad books.

Passion Run Amok

Though the two narratives are fairly unrelated, Faulkner presents two interesting meditations on the nature of passion. What occurs when people tap into passion? Are they rewarded with a life of happiness, or are they thrust into a life filled with regret? The Old Man looks at a man jailed for his participation in a failed heist, who is given the opportunity to escape prison. And The Wild Palms section discusses the failed romance of a couple who look to make life have meaning via their passionate affair. Both of these narratives end with the male in jail, because they are stuck in lives that do not allow for them to be forgiven for their previous dalliances with passion. Perhaps Faulkner was questioning why people give in to passion, but I think it equally probable that he questioned the viability of a life without passion.

Horrible lack of time and space at end of novel!

Horrible lack of space between a great novel and a great audible performance, and an unexpected interview of a Faulkner aficionado. Honestly? The interview kept me from steeping in the conclusion of the novel and ruined it for me.