Absalom, Absalom!

Therocktopus

Faulkner's lengthy, rambling prose, sparse punctuation, and chronologically erratic plot make "Absalom, Absalom!" a challenging text, to say the least. Nine chapters, each constructed of lengthy, meandering paragraphs, written with unremitting verbosity and dialectical circuitousness, result in thousand-word-sentences and six-page-paragraphs. These long, unbroken blocks of text pose a Sisyphean task for any unprepared reader. I advice that the uninitiated come prepared with at least a "Spark-notes" knowledge of Faulkner, Shakespeare, Milton, and Melville before taking on this novel. That said, even the neophyte will find immense entertainment and enlightenment in these pages. Faulkner treats the white space as a loom and skilfully weaves a beautiful story of conflict between races, classes, and generations, marked by astoundingly beautiful passages and dialogue. While "Absalom, Absalom!" is in no way a beach-read, the time invested in this novel appreciates its value in enjoyment.