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Absalom, Absalom!  By  cover art

Absalom, Absalom!

By: William Faulkner
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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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.

What listeners say about Absalom, Absalom!

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Poor narration

Absalom! Absalom! Is a very difficult book to read. It has several narrators, each telling their version a complex story, over a period of 60 years.

The audio version needs different narration, to align more closely with the written book. The single narration has a deep southern accent.

The story is written intentionally with offensive language of the Deep South during the Civil war. So prepare yourself for extensive use of the N-word and perspective of slaves as property, as was the custom at the time.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Satisfying writing and intriguing story

I love this kind of literature, where every sentence is satisfying. Took me a while to get used to the language but once I was in I enjoyed the ride. Intriguing story that very slowly unravels through different characters memories and interpretations. Cool story telling

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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The South in all its profundity

An excellent reading of an extraordinarily beautiful tragedy. A masterpiece. Read with careful attention to emotional impact and clarity.

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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!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Just not a good writer - unless the goal is to confuse your reader

The guy has a good story to tell, but he jumbles it and confuses it and jumps from time to time and speaker to speaker so much so that it is incredibly difficult to follow. It’s almost like he is taunting his reader. A truly good writer writes clearly and walks her reader through the story with respect. This is just not good writing IMHO.

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How anti black racism hurts white people

Overall a splendid presentation
back in 1969 I taught the book as the first black professor at Emory University in Atlanta Georgia during the summer quarter of a part-time lecturer. To be be frank,,,I didn’t really understand the story ; that is, only parts of it. :For example, Henry is going to kill Charles bon his own 1/2 brother because of his black blood ancestry and that is what I understood at the time I am not a complex relationship between him and his connection to the entire stupendous family.

listening to the entire drama which was really well done by the way. with a mixture of southern drawl , Canadian accent, a normal voice of telling all these various characters Was really compelling. As well as the image of Sutpen’s rise to power From his poor white background and culture to becoming a power in the land, and then eventually losing it because of his Negro phobic racism,

and from that decision of rejecting his first wife, who had fought side-by-side with him against the Haitian rebels because of her black ancestry she did fit into his design will be the catastrophe that brings down so much pain for his whole family so that when it’s all over his only descendant is a retarded young black man. So this shows how anti-black racism hurts White foix.

I’m thinking about re-writing the novel to make it more compelling and comprehensible. And since I am familiar with the complex nature of modern writing styles, similar to the writing of James Joyce, plus my readings in other Faulkner works, I found a complicated, twisting, turning narrative structure of his writing style absolutely fascinating — a great great effort.
Reverend Dr. Finley C Campbell , chairman emeritus, the Unitarian Universalist multiracial unity action council.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The listening of this story is an exercise in frustration

The listening of this story is an exercise in frustration. But if you enjoy listening to a book that you will have to re-listen to, just to partially understand, then it’s right up your alley.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Okay as an audiobook

Narrator did a good job. But Faulkner long run on sentences can make it hard to follow who is still speaking at times. Since the narrator uses the same voice for every character I found myself asking " wait a minute. Who's speaking now." Works better as a book to be read.

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    4 out of 5 stars

A classic book; a very difficult Reid!

I cannot imagine reading this book without Audible. It is the reason that I finished the book. I have always wanted to read another William Faulkner novel, and this novel does not disappoint in that his writing, the story, the words are exquisite! But, the story with these very same words us hard to follow. I used auxiliary note to help me get through chapter by chapter. It was a very difficult read. But, if you want to read it, this audible recording is vital!

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Narration, Narration!

The audio is good enough. The book is a collection of beautiful, yet unrealistic complex sentences.

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