Attractively designed, this concise and well-written introduction to William Faulkner's life and works will be a welcome addition to library collections serving undergraduates writing papers on this noted Southern writer.



Notes that while there is an enormous body of critical literature on Faulkner, much of it "obscures understanding because of the uneven quality (and varying degrees of accuracy) in such a crowded field of study." Further, because most of these books tend to be easily categorized as "biography, textual analysis, influence study, historiography, and so forth," undergraduates have had the difficult and time-consuming task of having to plow through these lengthy, approach-specific studies to try and develop an overview understanding of this complex writer. It is within this context that Theresa M. Towner -- Professor of Literary Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas -- provides this concise guide to Faulkner's life, works, context and critical reception.



The book is easy to use: Chapter one being comprised of a nine-page, narrative biographical sketch; Chapter two offering two-to-four page, work-by-work discussions of Faulkner's books in chronological order; Chapter three being a placement and discussion of his contribution to American Literature in the context of his time and peers; and, Chapter four being an assessment of the critical reception and commentary of his works. The text is followed by notes, a "Guide to Further Reading" and a brief index.



The value of this book lies in how it serves as a clear, well-written introduction to this complex and challenging Southern writer. Highly recommended for public library collections in the South and all college and university collections.



R. Neil Scott

Middle Tennessee State University

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